AFA Learning Pillars Shape AFA National Adviser Conference Program

The program for the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) 2014 National Adviser Conference has been built around the AFA’s four learning pillars of professional development and leadership, which is a cultivation of practitioner-focused content and peer-to-peer learning.

AFA’s General Manager of Membership Services and Campus AFA, Nick Hakes, said at a big picture level the AFA is implementing a clear knowledge strategy focusing on the balance between the development of practical skills and technical knowledge for financial advisers. “We have created a professional development program that is a true reflection of the significance the AFA places on professional development in order to inspire and help our members to provide great advice to more Australians.”

As an extension of this strategy, the National Adviser Conference program is based on the AFA’s four learning pillars of adviser performance, advice strategies, business performance and professionalism and leadership.

“AFA National Adviser Conference delegates will benefit tremendously from the guidance provided by both industry experts, and, importantly, their practitioner peers who can demonstrate how to practically implement innovative measures into their own practices,” Mr Hakes said. “We want advisers to collect the tools and the knowledge they need in order to go back into their own businesses after our conference and implement change.”

Sessions at the AFA National Adviser Conference range from guidance on how advisers can sit across from their clients and know they are delivering their best, to insights on how to run profitable, sustainable advice businesses. “Delegates will learn some of the innovative, emerging technical advice strategies and know these strategies work because they have been adviser-tested,” Mr Hakes said.

The AFA’s learning pillars were introduced for the AFA’s National Roadshow in July. Almost all (99%) delegates attending the Roadshow indicated they would recommend the program to their peers.

“This feedback confirmed for us that we have struck the right balance in the delivery of professional development programs and gave us the confidence to apply the same learning pillars when building the curriculum for the National Adviser Conference,” Mr Hakes said. “Delegates will see high-value content coming from a variety of sources including advisers, licensees, manufacturers and academia, delivered in a variety of ways which take into account the different ways in which we all learn.”

Mr Hakes said the AFA has curated, over some time, content from members, partners and other stakeholders including government, academia and media to deliver the four learning pillars and has designed a professional development program that has resonated not only with AFA members but with the broader AFA community, including licensees.

“We want our members and our partners to be leading in terms of professional development and innovation within the broader community,” he said. “We want to see advice professionals reach their true potential. We also believe the AFA’s professional development program will be attractive to prospective members who will discover it is only one of the many benefits the AFA has to offer advisers in the brave new world of advice.”

To register for the AFA National Adviser Conference in Cairns from 12-14 October, or to view the program, please visit http://www.afaconference.com.au/.