“There’s been so much negativity about the FPA for a long period of time…being hijacked by institutions and all those sorts of things. So they’re doing the right thing. We’ve actually got Mark Rantall speaking at our conference, and the reason we’ve got him speaking is that we want to re-engage with the FPA, because they are now doing the right thing. I couldn’t speak more highly of what he’s doing.
“I’d love to see them disconnect that umbilical cord from CFP to the Financial Planning Association. And I’d love to see the copyright symbol disappear from the CFP. Because once you use that copyright symbol on what many people believe is a post-nominal designation, it just cheapens the entire thing.”
Name: Darren Steinhardt
Position: Managing director, Infocus Wealth Management
Years in financial planning/financial services: 23
Qualifications: Masters Degree in Applied Finance (dist); Fellow of Australian Institute of Management
Industry background and experience: Joined SGIO (now Suncorp) in Mackay as an insurance consultant in 1989; moved to MLC in 1991 to continue development of financial planning skills; relocated to Sunshine Coast in 1994 and established Steinhardt Financial Services; obtained a dealer’s licence in 1998; obtained an AFSL in 2001 and changed business name to Infocus Money Management; opened first of 75 offices in November 2003; awarded the Owner/Manager Management Excellence Award from the Australian Institute of Management in 2008.
