Adelaide-based financial planner John Wotherspoon has beat out a host of other high profile advisers to win this year’s Money Management Financial Planner of the Year award.
The South Australian won the prestigious award narrowly ahead of three other advisers in what judges scoring revealed was a close held contest.
The three other advisers – Victorian Robert Kiddell, Western Australian Lawrence O’Neill and Queenslander Peter Kirk – were all rewarded with Highly Commended awards for their contributions to financial planning.
Wotherspoon was himself highly commended in last year’s Money Management Financial Planner of the Year awards after being beaten to the top prize by Victorian based planner Dominic Alafaci.
Alafaci, part of the judging panel for this year’s awards, says Wotherspoon’s tireless effort above and beyond the call of duty for the financial planning profession carried him over the line in this year’s contest.
Wotherspoon, originally an engineer by trade, began his career as a financial planner when he left the South Australian public service in 1987 to join the Wheeler, Grace and Pierucci dealer group.
In 1994, with business partner Rosemary Osman, he started his own planning group, Accumulus. The group has grown by 500 per cent in a little over seven years and is currently advising on $300 million to well over 1,000 clients.
As a founding member of the Financial Planning Association (FPA), and one of the first Certified Financial Planners (CFP) in South Australia, Wotherspoon has also been one the most consistent and long standing advocates of higher levels of education and professionalism for investment advisers.
Wotherspoon now joins an impressive list of financial planners to have taken out the Financial Planner of the Year award in its 13-year history, including high profile Bendigo adviser George Flack, former FPA chairman Ray Griffin and two time winner Neil McKissock.
Wotherspoon will receive a trip to the US Financial Planning Association’s annual conference in New Orleans courtesy of Money Management and MC Marketing Concepts in recognition of his achievements. He will be presented with the Financial Planner of the Year award at a gala dinner in May.
Financial Planner of the Year – Hall of Fame
2001 – John Wotherspoon
2000 – Dominic Alafaci
1999 – Peter Dunn
1998 – Kevin Bailey
1997 – Neil Heriot
1996 – George Flack
1995 – Ray Griffin
1994 – Geoff Crowe
1993 – Neil McKissock
1992 – Bill Bundey
1991 – Neil McKissock
