Anne Graham

For the first time in its 21-year history, a woman has been awarded the Money Management Financial Planner of the Year (FPOY) title.

But it was dedication to clients, quality service and commitment to the profession that made financial planner Anne Graham, founder and managing director of McPhail HLG Financial Planning, the most worthy contender for this year's award.

"It is abundantly evident that Anne epitomises what it is to be a professional, and she exemplifies all that is good and proper about this fledgling profession," said Ray Griffin, previous winner and regular Money Management columnist, who sat on the judging panel this year.

Fellow judge and 2008 FPOY recipient Peter Roan commended Graham's numerous qualifications and her dedication to high educational standards and professionalism.

"Anne also impressed with her high commitment to putting the client first and developing clients with high quality advice."

Another judge on this year's panel, chair of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) Julie Berry, noted the comprehensive advice Graham provides to her clients - and the strong relationships she builds with them in the process.

"She has clear and transparent service levels and an open fee structure. Her client segmentation is truly built on service requirements not size of portfolio," Berry said. "Anne demonstrates a strong commitment to her clients which is demonstrated by the amount of time she spends with them face to face."

The judges gave honourable mention to Neil Kendall, authorised representative of Tupicoffs and the 2006 recipient of the FPOY award, who closely followed Graham to be named runner-up.

"Like Anne, Neil conducts a very professional approach to clients and financial planning. This was a hard decision as there was not much between them," Roan said.

"Neil showed this through his submission, his high ethics, his commitment to putting the client first and the fact that he implemented a fee-for-service model many years ago."

Berry praised Kendall's "client-first focus" and commitment to the profession, while Griffin noted his numerous professional achievements "only serve to amplify the quality of the services provided by the business he leads".

As Money Management's Financial Planner of the Year, Graham will attend the 2010 US Financial Planning Association annual conference and expo in Denver, Colorado, a prize to the value of $10,000.