IFP chief executive Steve Gazzard
A prestigious award established in memory of one of the founding fathers of the Financial Planning profession in the UK is open for entries.
The Institute of Financial Planning has launched the sought after David Norton Building Excellence award for 2014.
The award, established in 2008 as a tribute to the former President of IFP David Norton, focuses on finding the firm which shows the most outstanding potential for excellence in Financial Planning combined with business management expertise.
Steve Gazzard CFPCM, chief executive at the IFP, and a competition judge, said: "This competition is about identifying firms which know Financial Planning is the answer, who have made progress towards their ultimate goal, who accept they are on a journey, and appreciate recognition for what they have achieved.
"The calibre of entries we see each year reflects the fact that not only are there many excellent Financial Planning businesses out there but also that the prospect of winning such a significant prize is so attractive."
The winner will be announced and presented with their award at the IFP Annual Conference and Exhibition at Celtic Manor in October.
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To be successful, firms must be able to clearly demonstrate that they:
• Are committed to "true" Financial Planning
• Have an engaging customer proposition
• Understand their business
• Have a robust business plan
Mr Gazzard said: "I thank all the experts who are supporting this award by providing mentoring days.
"I'm sure that David himself would have been incredibly proud of this award which so appropriately bears his name."
Applications are requested from strong Financial Planning firms which believe that they have the potential to become Accredited Financial Planning FirmsTM.
All firms (other than those already on the Accredited Financial Planning Firms register) are welcome to enter, and there is no requirement for firms' personnel to be members of the IFP in order to do so.
Online application forms on the IFP website need to be completed by Friday 2 May. Shortlisted candidates will be informed by the end of May if they have been selected to progress to the next round of the competition.
