Ballantyne receives top award

Financial Advice NZ handed out its annual excellence awards with Naomi Ballantyne receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Friday, April 4th 2025, 2:41PM

Naomi Ballantyne, from The Adviser Platform (TAP) was honoured by Financial Advice with its Lifetime Achievement Award.

The award acknowledges “her extraordinary career-long commitment and significant impact on the financial advice community.”

She has dedicated more than 40 years to the insurance industry, founding two life insurance companies and is currently the chairperson of The Adviser Platform (TAP).

Her commitment to making financial advice accessible to more New Zealanders is evident in her continued efforts towards driving the importance of advice and innovation.

“Her tireless advocacy for the importance of financial advice is sure to inspires the new generation of advisers, leaders and entrepreneurs walk in the path she has carved,” Financial Advice NZ chief executive Nick Hakes says.

The Community Impact Award was presented to Lifetime Group for Dream Days, a charitable initiative dedicated to creating unforgettable experiences for children living with a serious health condition or disability.

Lifetime mobilises local communities, bringing together businesses, volunteers, and supporters to curate a special and meaningful day-out which can be a much-needed distraction from the daily challenges faced by these children and their families.

“Their actions foster a sense of purpose and cultivates a cycle of goodwill, encouraging continued acts of kindness and generosity within the community.”

Brenda Nom, Brenda Nom Mortgages & Insurance was presented with the Financial Capability Award.

This award is presented to an individual or organisation that has made significant efforts to promote financial capability and education.

Nom crafted an online course for First Home Buyers to help clients understand their current financial status and develop a new budget (using a budget tool) s tailored to their circumstances.

Through this online course, clients learn about home ownership and become motivated to take one step at a time, towards their dream of becoming homeowners.

Steven Benton, (Rede Advisers), was awarded Life Membership recognising his enduring contributions and steadfast support of Financial Advice NZ. Benton worked in financial services in some form for his whole career, starting out providing financial advice in the 1990s.

Benton has always been an advocate for professionalism and further education. He has held the CFP and CLU designations for over 20 years and was a committed member of Financial Advice NZ and its predecessor bodies for almost 30 years and held the position as Chair of the Certification Committee for the past three years.

Service Recognition Awards

Christine Hay (Financial Sense) has been on the Financial Planning and Investment Member Advisory committee since 2020. She has been instrumental in helping to curate CPD opportunities for FANZ members and has hosted many webinars.
Dean Logan (First Capital Financial) was the Risk Member Advisory Committee Chair from 2020 -2024. Dean also was a founding member of the Canterbury Nelson Regional committee established at the beginning of the formation of FANZ. Logan stepped in many times to host webinars and in his role as MAC chair, participated in strategy meetings with the board and CEO to ensure the challenges facing members were understood by the directors.
Toni Dodds (Lifetime Group). Dodds has committed many hours and expertise to helping shape the Financial Advice NZ submissions and helping to make a material difference to the quality of our regulator engagement.
John Bolton (Squirrel Mortgages) was the first practitioner director on the Financial Advice NZ board once the founding board was transitioned over and served on the board from 2017-2021. JB has been actively involved in being part of FANZ’s ongoing professional development webinar series sharing his knowledge and expertise to our members.
Greg Moyle (OnePlan for Retirement) has been a long standing member of the associations that went before Financial Advice NZ contributing in committees, council and branches. He has served on the Certification Committee for the past three years and has supported advisers on the CFP pathway with mentoring and supervision.

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