The 50 most influential financial advisers in Australia named

THE 50 most influential financial advisers in Australia for 2020 have been named by financial services trade publication, Financial Standard, in its annual FS Power50 guide.

The list, comprising 31 men and 19 women, is a diverse group of professionals nominated by readers of the Financial Standard for their unique efforts to create a blueprint for the future of financial advice.

“The Power50 exemplify the best aspects of the advice industry and how it is set to change," Jamie Williamson, editor of Financial Standard, said. "Some are influencing the advice industry, be it through regulatory bodies or peer groups, others are influencing the delivery of advice and the client experience through technology and innovative business models.”

"And others are leveraging their role as an adviser to make a meaningful difference in their community or communities abroad,” Mr Williamson said.

“To make it on to this list is no mean feat and all that are featured should be proud of their achievement.”

The purpose of the guide is to raise awareness, in the eyes of the Australian public and the advice industry itself, for the advisers who are playing a key role in shaping the future of financial advice.

Financial advisers have managed to deliver value of 5.2 percent or more each year to clients, according to new research from Russell Investments.¹

Furthermore, twice as many Australians are seeking financial advice as they were five years ago, according to research from Investment Trends.²

“Highlighting the talent within the advice industry is more important than ever in an environment where trust in the sector remains low despite the growing need for quality advice,” Mr Williamson said.

“The FS Power50 badge is synonymous with the best the industry has to offer.”

Nominations for the list are sourced from the Financial Standard audience, as well as the Financial Standard editorial team.

A shortlist is selected by Financial Standard before industry voting begins. This year hundreds of nominations were considered and almost 6000 votes determined the final list.

Both the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) and Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) screened the list before it was published.

2020 saw plenty of change in the list of the most influential advisers, with 23 advisers appearing in the FS Power50 for the first time.

Similarly, the movement within the advice industry was reflected in the FS Power50, with 32 percent of this year’s list belonging to an advice group with more than 100 advisers, down 22 percent in two years.

This aligns with the trend of advisers moving away from larger, institutional groups, into non-aligned groups, with the number of institutionally aligned advisers falling by 25 percent in the year to June 2020, according to Rainmaker Information.³

“At a time when so much focus is on the impact of industry change and diminishing adviser numbers, Financial Standard is proud to showcase excellence in advice and celebrate just how bright the future of advice is,” Mr Williamson said.

“Congratulations to the 2020 FS Power50.”

Click here to view more on the 2020 FS Power50.

Full Name	Account Name
Esther Althaus	Perspective Financial Services
David Andrew	Capital Partners
Caroline Bell	Summerhill Financial Services
Marshall Brentnall	Evalesco Financial Services
Jenny Brown	JBS Financial Strategists
Chris Carlin	Master Your Money Now
Mathew Cassidy	Partners Wealth Group
Sabil Chowdhury	Koda Capital
Sue Dahn	Pitcher Partners
Victoria Devine	Zella
Andrew Dunbar	Apt Wealth Partners
Brett Evans	Atlas Wealth Management
Scott Farmer	Bravium
Trevor Geffin	Core Private Wealth
Simon Growden	Shadforth Financial Group
Matt Hale	Rising Tide Financial Services
Will Hamilton	Hamilton Wealth Management
Glen Hare	Fox & Hare Financial Advice
Nicole Heales	Nicole Heales Financial
Joseph Hoe	Wealthwise
Fran Hughes	Intuitive Money
Shane Light	The Hopkins Group
Troy MacMillan	The Wealth Designers
Olivia Maragna	Aspire Retire Financial Services
Kate McCallum	Multiforte Financial Services
Karen McLeod	Ethical Investment Advisers
Ben Nash	Pivot Wealth
Ben Neilson	Neilson & Co Wealth Management
Paul Nicol	GFM Wealth Advisory
Donna Powell	DLP Life Design
Rebecca Pritchard	Rising Tide Financial Services
David Rae	Federation Financial Services
David Reed	The Retirement Advice Centre
Hugh Robertson	Centaur Financial Services
Diana Saad	Silway Financial Services
Julia Schortinghuis	Lighthouse Capital
Liam Shorte	Verante Financial Planning
Campbell Sorell	Shadforth Financial Group
Christine Swanson	Prominent Financial Services
Michelle Tate-Lovery	Unified Financial Services
Troy Theobald	Robina Financial Solutions
Dawn Thomas	Wealthwise
Tim Townsend	Townsend Cobain Private Wealth Partners
Ben Travers	Infinity Financial Advisors
Stevie-Jade Turner	Tribeca Financial
Charlie Viola	Pitcher Partners
Cara Williams	Perrier Ryan Financial Advisors
James Wortley	Enlightened Financial Solutions
James Wrigley	First Financial
Chris Youssef	Shadforth Financial Group

1. Russell Investments' Value of an Adviser Report 2020, www.financialstandard.com.au/news/through-good-and-bad-advisers-add-value-175803481
2. Investment Trends Financial Advice Report, www.financialstandard.com.au/news/demand-for-advice-rises-172546141
3. Rainmaker Information Financial Adviser Report, Volume 01, Issue 02.

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