How the BDM of the Year was decided

Choosing the BDM of the Year

The inaugural Business Development Manager (BDM) of the Year Award was hugely popular, with hundreds of readers nominating 98 BDMs for the award. Culling the list to a manageable field of finalists was no mean feat.

However, after consultation with our panel,Money ManagementandResnik Communicationsnarrowed the list down by selecting those nominees who had two or more nominations from two or more discrete individuals.

This resulted in a list of 19 finalists published in a number of issues ofMoney Management. Financial advisers were invited to vote for the BDM they thought best deserved the title BDM of the Year and to rate their skills on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 representing the highest score and 1 the lowest.

Hundreds of voting forms poured in and all were checked for validity to ensure that only financial advisers voted.

The number of votes received by each candidate was tallied and their aggregate score calculated. At this point, there was one clear and indisputable winner, who received not only the most number of votes but also a perfect aggregate score of 100 per cent.

Choosing the runners-up was a little more difficult - five finalists were in contention for second and third place.

Money Managementphoned each of the five contenders to profile their achievements and history in the industry and forwarded the information, along with their scores and number of votes received, to the panel.

Each panellist individually assessed the final contenders and voted on who should take out positions two and three. The people with the most number of votes were awarded second and third place.

Money Managementand Resnik Communications would like to thank everybody who nominated and voted for the BDMs, and for their overwhelming interest in the BDM of the Year Award. We would also like to thank the members of our panel for their commitment to a difficult task.

The BDM of the Year Award panel of judges were...

Paul Resnik

Paul Resnik has been in the retail investment and advice industry since 1981. He established and headed Norwich Australia Asset Management, Bankers Trust Life and was a founding executive of the financial planning group FPI. In 1991, Resnik established The Paul Resnik Consulting Group, which has helped in the design and implementation of many retail products.

Ray Griffin

Ray Griffin (CFP) is a financial planner based in Tamworth, NSW, and a past winner ofMoney Management’s Financial Planner of the Year Award. He has over 20 years experience in the industry, which began in 1989 after a career in banking. He established his own financial planning practice in 1991 and his own dealer group, in conjunction with two Sydney practices, in 1994. In 2002, Griffin became the first ever non-American to hold the position of chair of the International Certified Financial Planner Council. He is also a past chairman of theFinancial Planning Association(FPA).

Julie Bennett

Julie Bennett is managing editor of financial services publications with Reed Business Information. She has the editorial responsibility forMoney Management,Super ReviewandFinancial Planningmagazine and has also worked as an editor on consumer finance publications. Bennett began her career in financial services with industry training body,IntegraTec, almost 10 years ago.

John Ntatsopoulos

John Ntatsopoulos currently works atProfessional Investment Servicesas head of distribution. Ntatsopoulos joined the industry in 1987, the week of the stock market crash and in that time was an agent with AMP where he was the leading producer in 1990 and 1991. He also worked in the institutional market with Noble Lowndes, Armstrong Jones andColonial, before joiningInvescoas head of institutional sales where he worked until 2001.

Robert Kiddell

Robert Kiddell (CFP) is a financial planner based in the La Trobe Valley and this year’s winner ofMoney Management’s Financial Planner of the Year Award. He has over 10 years experience as a financial planner, servicing around 400 ‘mum and dad’ clients. He is also an active member of the FPA.

Caroline Saunders

Caroline Saunders has a long history in the industry, most of it withAssirt. In 1999, she moved to Perth to look after theAsgardmenus, Model Choice Portfolios, and the Sealcorp Dealer Groups, and in 2000 was promoted to director of investments. Saunders returned to Sydney two years later to take on the management of Assirt in addition to her Sealcorp duties. Today, Saunders is also responsible for the management of the research house, the overall direction of Assirt investment research, the implementation of investment and insurance decisions for Asgard and theSecuritor/PACTdealerships.