Top 10 Most Influential: Richard Gilbert
WHEN Richard Gilbert entered the Top 10 Most Influential People list last year, he had only just stepped into his new role as chief executive of one of the country’s most influential lobby groups and one of the industry’s largest associations.
Little more than a year later, Gilbert is again being applauded for his continued lobbying efforts, but also for managing to fill the shoes of formerInvestment and Financial Services Association(IFSA) chief executive Lynn Ralph.
While Gilbert took up the post at a challenging time for the industry and investors, according to our voters he has “grown into the role very well”.
Over the past year, the man who is commonly described as a “highly political animal” and who says advocacy is a hobby, has continued lobbying on behalf of the industry and consumers, with notable wins on many counts.
He has been recognised as one of the main drivers in combining the lobbying power of the industry and, according to our panel, “had a huge influence on issues we’ve dealt with as an industry, with fees being just one”.
Gilbert says he is flattered and honoured to make this year’s list, adding he thinks it is a good sign the industry is aware of the work being done by the association as “most of IFSA’s work is done in a non-public sphere”.
Recommended for you
With an advice M&A deal taking around six months to enact, two experts have shared their tips on how buyers and sellers can avoid “deal fatigue” and prevent potential deals from collapsing.
Several financial advisers have been shortlisted in the ninth annual Women in Finance Awards 2025, to be held on 14 November.
Digital advice tools are on the rise, but licensees will need to ensure they still meet adviser obligations or potentially risk a class action if clients lose money from a rogue algorithm.
Shaw and Partners has merged with Sydney wealth manager Kennedy Partners Wealth, while Ord Minnett has hired a private wealth adviser from Morgan Stanley.
