Maria Thackwell
Christchurch-based adviser Maria Thackwell was crowned with the Outstanding Adviser Award – Lending at the Financial Advice New Zealand conference last night,
“Maria’s advice process is 100% client focused and is supported by technology that provides transparency and in turn builds trust and educates," the judges said. "Maria continually seeks new ways to improve her operations; she has engaged a business consultant for the past two years and has actively undertaken further studies to improve her industry knowledge and understanding.”
After 26 years in banking and one of New Zealand’s top performing mobile mortgage managers, Thackwell made the shift to being an independent adviser.
This Award recognises the brightest new talent in advice amongst Financial Advice New Zealand members in their chosen field of financial advice; those that demonstrate that they provide high quality financial advice, deliver an exceptional client experience, and show commitment to their professional and personal development.
Sarah Bloxham of Let’s Talk Mortgages won the Rising Star Award.
“If enthusiasm for working to provide quality advice and looking after clients’ interests was a category then Sarah would have won that award as well," the judges said. "Sarah started her business from scratch with no franchise help just over two years ago, and has quickly built a very successful business that has a major focus on listening to clients and working with them for as long as it takes to help them reach their goals.”
The Outstanding Support Person Award is given to a person who demonstrates an exceptional adviser support experience and shows ongoing commitment to the financial services sector.
The winner of this award was Liz Cannon from Westpac.
“This was a hotly contested award with a number of excellent candidates. But when it came to decision time, Liz’s work to support advisers in what could be described as a challenging environment, made her the clear winner. Liz has been a leader in the push towards more professional standards and is not afraid of making hard decisions. It is clear that Liz has a passion for lifting the standards in the third party banking field, and has provided services to assist advisers, while at the same time, is leading the industry on dealing with poor and unethical advice.”
