Hat trick for FTAdviser at the PFS Awards 2022

Hosted by the indomitable comedian and activist Sally Phillips at the Festival of Financial Planning, the PFS Awards showcased the work of financial planners and financial journalists alike. 

For the third year in a row, FTAdviser won Trade Press Personal Finance Publication of the Year, as voted for by more than 200 PFS members.

Editor Simoney Kyriakou also won the Trade Press Personal Finance Journalist of the year. 

Judges said they “respect her journalism and the impact of her articles goes far and wide".

Fellow FT colleague Claer Barrett won National Newspaper Financial Journalist of the Year.

Financial planning firms celebrated

But the real stars of the show were those financial planning firms and individuals whose work throughout the year was rightfully rewarded.

Leeds-based The Private Office was named the PFS's Chartered Financial Planning Firm of the Year, based on their approach to attracting fresh talent to the profession.

Judges praised the work of the company's trainee adviser academy, which has so far led to 25 qualified financial planners.

"[They] have excelled in meeting their clients’ needs, committed to continuous improvement, and gone above and beyond to raise public trust in the financial planning profession Mark Hutchinson, PFS

Stuart Phillips, chief executive of The Private Office, said: “We are proud to have won this award, which validates the trust clients place in us when they present their life’s work and savings and ask us to look after their family.”

Meanwhile, the Chartered Financial Planner of the Year award went to Hazel Bowen, director and chartered financial planner at Coutts.

Bowen impressed judges with her client-centric approach, financial education work and the way she has challenged perceptions of socio-economic mobility in the profession.

The full list:

• Chartered Financial Planner of the Year - Hazel Bowen, director and chartered financial planner at Coutts
• Chartered Financial Planning Firm of the Year - The Private Office
• Paraplanner of the Year - Marlena Eltringham, paraplanner at BRI Wealth Management
• Mortgage & Protection Advice Specialist of the Year - Yasir Al-Din, chartered financial planner at Palm Financial Services Independent Financial Adviser
• My Personal Finance Skills Education Champion of the Year - Daniel Williams
• Investment Advice Specialist of the Year - Andrew Day, chartered financial planner and founder of Depledge Strategic Wealth Management
• Retirement & Later Life Advice Specialist of the Year - Ailsa Thomas, chartered financial planner and director of Springfield Financial Services
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Champion - Allard Whiteley Associates

Mark Hutchinson, membership director of the PFS, said: “The PFS is proud to shine the Birmingham NEC’s spotlight on those who have excelled in meeting their clients’ needs, committed to continuous improvement, and gone above and beyond to raise public trust in the financial planning profession.”

A strong line-up from the FT stables over the years

And now for something you've never seen before.

Journalists rarely praise other titles for their awards, but this time it is different.

It is worth noting that all of the journalists who won awards and were shortlisted had, at some point in their careers, worked at FT Specialist, the division of the FT in which FTAdviser sits, or on FTAdviser itself.

So we are going to herald all of the media winners and runners-up:

• Former FTAdviser editor-in-chief Kevin O'Donnell, now at Financial Planning Today, who was highly commended in the Personal Finance Trade Journalist of the Year award. 
• Former FTAdviser chief reporter Rachel Mortimer, who won the National Newspaper Personal Finance Newcomer award, and is now at the Telegraph.
• Former Money Management deputy editor Jeff Prestridge, who won the Personal Finance Consumer Champion of the Year award for his work on the Mail on Sunday, and was also highly commended in the National Newspaper Personal Finance Journalist award.
• Katie Morley, highly commended for her work on the Telegraph in the Personal Finance Consumer Champion of the Year award, an ex-Investors' Chronicle reporter.
• Former deputy news editor Marc Shoffman, who was runner-up in the National Newspaper Financial Journalist of the Year award for his work on i Newspaper.

It has been an honour to work with for and with you over the years. 

Simoney.Kyriakou@ft.com