Julie Berry receives Lifetime Achievement Award
Former Financial Planning Association (FPA) chairperson and chair of the Institute of Financial Advisers (IFA) in New Zealand, Julie Berry is this year’s winner of the Money Management Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by Perpetual.
Berry, the principal of Berry Financial Services in Port Macquarie, has a long track record in supporting the financial planning industry in both Australia and New Zealand as a continuing member of the FPA and a long-standing judge of Money Management’s Financial Planner of the Year and Women in Financial Services Awards.
Berry is also a member of the Tax Practitioners Board, receiving a further three-year appointment last year.
With a career spanning nearly 30 years in the financial planning industry, Berry has not only been witness to changes which have tested the industry, but has also been an advocate in favour of positive change, including her period as FPA chairman which coincided with the so-called Ripoll Inquiry which gave rise to the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) changes.
Berry began her career in 1989 working in Parramatta before moving to Port Macquarie where she worked for St George Bank, then Bridges Financial Services and the NRMA.
Berry, having made her home in Port Macquarie and established her financial planning business in the town, is an ardent supporter of the interests of financial planners in regional Australia.
It is a measure of her contribution to the industry that Berry is a Life Member of the FPA and has received a Distinguished Service Award.
As the financial planning industry enters its next period of change under the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics (FASEA) regime, Berry been a consistent advocate of the professionalisation of financial planning.
Berry said that she was honoured to receive the award.
“To be awarded the lifetime achievement award was a huge surprise and honour particularly given those who have gone before.
“Financial planning is something everybody needs, and the work being done by planners for their clients makes a real difference to people’s lives.
“The financial planning industry has come a long way over the years and hasn’t been without its ups and downs.
“There are some incredible people leading the way and doing their best to ensure that we are seen to be doing the great job that we do for our clients. I am proud to have been able to work alongside these people as we work towards being recognised as a profession.”
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