Inaugural Gwen Fletcher Memorial Award winner, Erin Shields, plans to continue along the path by the late ‘First Lady of financial planning'.
Shields, who scooped the award for being the top student in last semester's Certified Financial Planner (CFP) Certification Program, said it was a "huge achievement" for her.
"The CFP certification is a magnificent achievement because it is one of the few programs that truly sets you aside from others in the field," she said.
"Being named as the first winner of the Gwen Fletcher Memorial Award is a huge achievement for me. "Not only does it acknowledge the hard work I have put into the CFP course, it also reminds us all of one of the most important woman in financial planning, not just in Australia but across the globe.
"I applaud the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) for driving the recognition of Gwen and her work, and I see my job now as continuing along the path that Gwen forged."
FPA chief executive, Mark Rantall, congratulated Shields on her performance in the CFP program, saying it highlighted her commitment to raising the overall standards of the profession.
"Now, more than ever, it is important that we continue to forge ahead along the path to professionalism, which we first embarked on some 20 years ago," he said.
"The CFP accreditation is one of the key tools to prove indefinitely, to peers and clients alike, that our commitment to professionalism, excellence and expertise is unfaltering.
"While this is a journey that the FPA continues to lead the wider financial services industry on, it was Gwen who really started us on this path — it was Gwen who brought the CFP designation to Australia back in 1990."
