With the first-round winners in the SCMP/IFPHK Financial Planner Awards 2011 just announced, the stage is set for an intense battle for prizes for various categories and the overall crown.
Since their launch in 2005, the awards have become an annual highlight, challenging practitioners to demonstrate their financial knowledge and professional skills in a contest that pits them against the best in the industry.
As it has grown, the event has won particular praise and recognition for its impact in two important areas.
One is the competition's contribution to instilling the principles of good financial planning and raising overall professional standards. The other is in raising public awareness of what it takes to manage one's personal finances more effectively and build a future free of major money worries.
'We believe the awards represent the highest level of recognition for professionals in the sector and set benchmarks for the industry to follow,' says Eleanor Wan, CEO of the Institute of Financial Planners of Hong Kong (IFPHK).
Sticking to a proven formula, this year's awards again consist of three rounds. The first, now completed, required contestants to submit a financial proposal based on a case study of an actual client. Limited space made it important to focus on the essentials, a key early test of every submission.