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14 financial advice professionals awarded MetLife/AFA grant

Announcement posted by MetLife Australia 08 Aug 2019

Media Contact: Sarah Kelly                                          
MetLife Australia                                   
+61 (0)411 893 890                              
sarah.kelly@metlife.com
 
14 financial advice professionals awarded MetLife/AFA grant
 
Sydney, 8 August 2019 – SYDNEY: MetLife Australia and the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) today announce the recipients of the inaugual MetLife Progress: Professional Development Grant for Women. A total of 14 grants have been awarded to up-and-coming female financial advisers and paraplanners.
 
Recipients of the 2019 round receive professional development packages, which include a 2019 AFA Conference registration, attendance at AFA events including Masterclasses and ongoing events, along with networking and support from MetLife Australia.
 
Amongst the winners is Cassandra Scoble, who applied for the grant because she recognised the opportunity to expand her skills in financial advice, along with other accomplished women in the finance industry. Commenting on the opportunity, Ms Scoble said: “I’m thrilled to receive this professional development grant from MetLife and AFA – I know it will be a great way for me to further my career and do the best I can for my clients. The client landscape for fianancial advice is changing and we need to keep pace with that. This is a great way to make sure women, who are still outnumbered by men in the industry, have the development opportunities they need to succeed. I’m really grateful for that.”
 
MetLife Progress was created to advocate for greater diversity in the industry by helping women in financial advice achieve their career goals.
 
AFA CEO, Philip Kewin said of the winners, “The AFA is proud to support the professional development of emerging female advisers and paraplanners with this grant. We are very impressed by the high standard of the grant applications we received and we are confident that both the profession as a whole and the recipients themselves will reap the rewards of this initiative.”
 
MetLife’s Head of Retail Sales, Matt Lippiatt said, “I want to congratulate the inaugural MetLife Progress recipeints. They are a high calibre group of women who are each blazing trails in their own way within the profession. We are delighted to be able to partner with the AFA to bring this iniative to life. Not only will these advisers benefit from this opportunity, but so too will their clients.”
 
The other MetLife Progress grant recipients are Rhianne Rees, Rochelle Leese, Emma Fowler, Ewelina Barilka, Samantha Henry, Amanda Montesin, Indee Herath, Rebecca Maher, Errin McDowall, Angela Reade, Cara Williams, Melissa Robin and Katherine Hope.
 
The judging panel was made up of  Rachel Towell (MetLife), Jeff Thurecht (Evalesco Financial Services), and Natalie Kleibert (AFA).
 
 
-ENDS-