Guilford quits AMP for Timbercorp
Well-known financial services figure Bonnie Guilford has departed AMP Financial Planning and joined Timbercorp in the newly created position of marketing and technical manager, NSW.
Overseeing New South Wales, Guilford will work with research houses, dealer groups and financial planners on strategy, marketing and agribusiness investment placement. She will also take a national role, dealing with those dealer groups and research houses whose head offices are located within the state.
Guilford says the change of role has come from her desire to work with financial planners and build financial planning strategies.
"What I wanted to do was be out with the financial planners, rather than in an internal role. Now I have the opportunity to get out and mix with financial planners, looking at how they run their practices," she says.
Guilford has a strong background in financial planning, and worked as a planner in Queensland before joining the Hillross division of AMP in 1994. She spent two years as a senior paraplanner before she moved across to AMP Financial Planning as technical resources manager. While working in this capacity for five years, she was in charge of research for the investment and insurance services, financial planning strategy training, and quarterly national professional development day training.
With 23 years experience in the financial services industry, Guilford also takes an active role in the industry. She was a speaker at the FPA conference in 1998 and the CFP Conference in 1999, and is also involved with Women in Finance.
Guilford's new role at Timbercorp also reflects her belief that the agriculture investment scene is a growth industry.
"I have the belief that agriculture products will become more mainstream over the next two to three years," she says
"The perception in the past [of agricultural investment schemes] has been unsure, and there is a lack of knowledge out there in the community."
As Timbercorp marketing and technical manager, NSW Guilford reports to Timbercorp executive director Sol Rabinowicz.
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