The 2022 Categories

PROFESSIONAL ADVISER AWARDS 2023 - CATEGORIES

The list of categories for 2023 is below.

Adviser Firm of the Year - London | Midlands & East Anglia | North East | North West | Scotland & Northern Ireland | South East | South West & Wales

(Requires entry: case study and questionnaire)

These awards seek to highlight outstanding advice processes by setting a challenging case study, kindly provided this year by the Personal Finance Society. There is also a brief business questionnaire that all applicants are required to complete.

Best Model Portfolio Service

As there is no direct relationship between a model portfolio service (MPS) provider and the end-client, the support and communication on offer to financial advisers is a critical consideration. So, while performance, cost and investment process will be under the microscope, the judges will also be looking for MPS solutions that offer advisers a range of options – for example, ethical, active, passive, income for a range of risk profiles and availability across a choice of platforms. In addition, examples of supporting documentation to ensure advisers select a suitable solution for clients will be important while evidence of communications delivered to advisers in the last 12 months, covering performance and amendments to portfolios for use with clients, will also be considered. We are also looking for those who offer great value for advisers and their clients, justifying any higher costs where necessary. The winner will be selected by an independent panel including financial advisers.

Best Discretionary Fund Manager

Performance matters, so we are looking for discretionary fund manager (DFM) businesses that can demonstrate they have met their clients’ investment goals over the last 12 months – whether through bespoke portfolios or a full range of DFM investment solutions. (DFM businesses that focus principally on model portfolio services may prefer to enter the preceding category.) We are also looking for those who offer great value for advisers and their clients, justifying any higher costs where necessary. The judges may also be keen to know how you manage risk within the portfolios, and what reporting you provide to advisers and their clients. The winner will be selected by an independent panel including financial advisers.

Best Risk-Profiling Service for Advisers

Risk-profiling tools have become an integral part of the advice process since the Retail Distribution Review but which one is currently offering the best all-round service to financial advisers? Key considerations for the judges will be the strength of the risk-profiling service on offer, how your business helps advisers interpret client results, the clarity of objectives and principles involved, and any ‘added-value’ aspects of, or new innovations within, your service. The winner will be selected by an independent panel including financial advisers.

Best Ratings/Research Service for Advisers

Advisers need all the help they can get these days and the increasingly complex world of fund selection is no exception, especially with the growing popularity of ESG and sustainable investing. We are looking for the fund ratings and/or research provider that has provided the best service for advisers in the last 12 months. Key considerations for the judges will be the depth, breadth and objectivity of research and ratings, how they help fulfil client needs, the clarity of objectives and principles involved and any ‘added-value’ aspects of, or new innovations within, your service. The winner will be selected by an independent panel including financial advisers.

Best Platform for Advisers

We are not judging platforms on sales figures. Instead, we want to hear from platforms that believe they give advisers and their clients the best all-round service and experience.

Best Technology Provider

This award is open to all providers of technology to regulated financial advisers and advisory businesses. With advisers desiring greater cohesion between their front and back-office operations, and with new artificial intelligence developments in the space such as robo-advice, we want to hear from those providers who have demonstrated innovation in the last 12 months while putting their adviser clients front-of-mind throughout. The winner will be selected by an independent panel of judges including financial advisers.

Best Support Services for Advisers

What has your company done in the last 12 months to help your adviser clients or users grow their businesses and support their own clients? What particular challenges and opportunities do you see for your adviser clients in the coming years and how are you helping them to prepare or take advantage of them? Are you providing a type of support service for advisers that they struggle to find elsewhere and what sets your own offering apart from your competitors? The winner will be selected by an independent panel of judges including financial advisers.

Best Advice Network

What has your network done in the last 12 months to help your adviser members grow their businesses and support their clients? What particular challenges and opportunities do you see for your adviser members in the coming years and how are you helping them to prepare or take advantage of them? What support are you offering firms opting for the independent or restricted advice routes? What help are you providing for succession planning? Overall, how are you helping advisers feel valued? The winner will be selected by an independent panel of judges.

Best Adviser Website

This award is open to financial adviser firms only. A website is your shop window so it would be a rare adviser business these days that did not have one. But what sets yours apart from the crowd? If you believe your website has a winning combination of great design, simple and consumer-friendly navigation and excellent content that adds up to an all-round great user experience, this is the category for you. The winner will be selected by an independent panel of judges including marketing experts.

Best Client Engagement (Advisers)

This award is open to financial adviser firms only. How, why, when and in what way do you engage with your clients? We are looking for firms that have come up with powerful and/or innovative ways to communicate with their clients in the last 12 months. What have you done beyond a brochure and a website to explain to existing and potential clients what your business does and can do for them? If you believe you have gone the extra mile to engage with clients, we want to hear about it.

Best Client Engagement (Providers)

This award aims to recognise investment, pension, protection and other providers who go the extra mile in helping advisers to educate themselves and so become better able to inform their clients on a particular area or areas of finance. We are therefore looking for companies that have come up with powerful and/or innovative ways to help advisers better educate, inform and communicate with their clients in the last 12 months. What have you done beyond a brochure and a website to help advisers explain to clients what your services and solutions are – and can do for them?

Best Adviser Firm for Vulnerable Client Care

This award aims to recognise advisers who have provided the best care for their vulnerable clients during the coronavirus crisis. With that in mind we are looking for advisers who can prove and outline why they have gone above and beyond to ensure they felt financially secure and confident in this troubling year. Have you gone further than your monthly or quarterly newsletter to reassure clients? Explain how you knew your extra efforts ensured particularly vulnerable clients were well-looked after and remained financially comfortable.

Paraplanner of the Year

What are we looking for? We are calling on paraplanners who have made a difference over the past 12 months to put themselves forward. Advisers and administrators are also encouraged to enter paraplanners for this award. With this award we are looking for you to outline how and why the paraplanner has made a difference, both to their working lives and to outcomes for clients, over the last 12 months. This person will have shown initiative and demonstrable benefits to the business and evidence of the longer-term effects their actions have made.

Administrator of the Year

What are we looking for? We are calling on administrators to put themselves forward. Advisers and paraplanners are also encouraged to enter administrators who have impressed them for this award. With this award we are looking for you to outline how and why the administrator has made a difference, both to their working lives and to outcomes for clients, over the last 12 months. This person will have shown initiative and demonstrable benefits to the business and evidence of the longer-term effects their actions have made.

Young Achiever of the Year

Are you under 30? What have you done in the last 12 months, either with your own clients, or to help your firm support their clients? How have you grown and developed in your role in the last year? What do you feel you bring to your firm as a young employee? How are you making a difference in the wider industry? The winner will be selected by an independent panel of judges.

Best Adviser Marketing Initiative

This award is for financial adviser firms only and will be judged on an innovative idea(s) the business has put forward in the past 12 months to help engagement with new and potential clients. Examples will be needed in terms of the type of marketing activity, how, why, what, who, and the impact it has had on the business.

Best Financial Adviser to Work for

Who are the best financial adviser firms to work for? To answer that question and honour the leading candidates, Professional Adviser is running its third annual Best Financial Advisers to Work for survey and awards. The nominations are now closed but for more information for future entry please visit, https://www.bestadviserstoworkfor.com/

Best ESG Solution for Advisers

We would like to see a solution that has clearly defined aims centred on ESG factors and a benchmark, as well as a strong track performance and clear communication of the strategy to financial advisers. Please consider and answer the following questions in your entry. Open to DFMs and all other product providers running ESG portfolios or solutions for advisers.

Best Adviser Firm for ESG

Financial advice firms that have integrated ESG factors into the centre of their investment processes or have created a segmented part of their investment proposition centred around ESG. Suitability in this area is key, so we want to hear from firms who make sure they understand and balance client needs and wishes in this area. Please consider and answer the following questions in your entry.

Best D&I Initiative

What initiative have you put in place to bolster diversity, equality or inclusion in your firm or externally? What were you trying to achieve with the initiative? What was the reach and impact of the initiative? What challenges did you encounter when running the initiative and how did you overcome them? How could the initiative be extended in the future? The winner will be selected by an independent panel of judges.

Best Retirement Initiative

How has your strategy around retirement planning grown and developed over the last year? What specific initiative are you running, or have you launched? What did you hope to achieve with the initiative and what impact has it had? How could it be extended in the future? What do you think makes your firm stand out in the retirement planning space? The winner will be selected by an independent panel of judges.

Champion of Advice Award

Are you a stalwart within the financial advice profession? Have you blazed a trail of innovation through pro bono work, starting a new initiative, or your wider contribution to the industry? What have you done in the last 12 months to make you stand out as a true champion for the profession? What impact have you had? How do you feel you contribute to the industry both within your job and through your extra work?

Newcomer of the Year

Have you joined the financial advice world since January 2021? What was your past career or work history and what motivated your move into the advice space? How have you progressed and excelled in the last 12 months specifically? What impact have you had? What unique perspective do you think you have brought to the advice industry? How would you like to progress in the future?

Outstanding Contribution to the Advice Industry

Are you a stalwart in the advice industry or do you know someone whose name and work is synonymous with best practice? Summarise the achievements in your/their career thus far and tell us how you, or the person you are nominating, has gone above and beyond with their contribution to the industry over a number of years. Demonstrate the impact of the nominee’s external work within the industry or influence on the industry, pro bono work, or other specialist projects. Tell us what challenges have been overcome and goals for the future.