Tate, who has run Nigel Tate Financial Planning for the past 33 years, says the main objective of the new $5000 annual Tate Scholarship is to highlight the benefits of becoming a certified financial planner (CFP) and push advisers past the NZQA Level 5 regulatory requirements.

"It's no surprise the level 5 qualification has seen a decline in the number of CFPs in New Zealand," says Tate.

"Well before the new regulations came in we had around 700 CFPs and that's dropped to about 230.

"Some have retired, but many have not bothered to increase their qualifications past level 5 because they are so focused on compliance they have decided not to spend as much time on this."

Tate says he wants advisers to think past the minimum requirements for the betterment of the industry as a whole.

He says becoming a CFP can take time, however, it is recognised internationally and can lead to further high-level qualifications.

"We also want to recognise those with CFPs and also encourage the younger, new CFPs to boost their experience.

"We didn't want it to be purely academic and more about applying the knowledge that they've acquired."

Chief executive of Financial Advice New Zealand Katrina Shanks says the scholarship recognises the commitment of financial advisers in obtaining qualifications and their continuing professional development.

"We would like to thank Nigel ... for this generous scholarship.

"Nigel, a CFP professional himself, is committed to the highest professional standards in financial advice. He works hard for the profession and is an advocate for the future of quality financial advice in New Zealand," she says.

"CFP professionals meet rigorous education and training standards and are committed to serving their clients’ best interests today to prepare them for a more secure tomorrow."

The $5000 Tate Scholarship will be awarded to an adviser who has been granted CFP certification and will run for five years, with the first scholarship awarded at the Financial Advice NZ Gala Dinner and Awards Night in Wellington on November 16.

All CFP professionals are eligible for the Tate Scholarship in the year they have been granted CFP certification.

Tate Scholarship eligibility criteria:

To be eligible for the scholarship, those who have received CFP certification must:
– be a member of Financial Advice NZ
– have been awarded the CFP mark by Financial Advice NZ in the particular year of the award; and
– not have held the CFP mark previously.

Read more about the Tate Scholarship here.