Lelané, congratulations! In late 2025 in Chicago, you received the Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB) 2025 Noel Maye Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Financial Planning Profession – the highest global honour in your field. How did you feel when your name was announced?
I could not move at first – my legs simply carried me forward as I walked to the stage. I was lost for words and could only manage a very South African “haai julle”, which the audience understandably did not grasp. Dante [De Gori] knows me well enough to recognise that I was genuinely overwhelmed.
I have only been lost for words twice in my life: when my wonderful husband asked me to marry him 31 years ago and when I received the Noel Maye Award. I feel deeply honoured and grateful for the opportunity to give back to a profession that I care about so profoundly.
The FPSB CEO, Dante De Gori, noted that the 2025 award recipients – yourself and Stephen O’Connor of New Zealand – have significantly contributed to the advancement of financial planning and CFP® certification globally. Could you please share your thoughts regarding this recognition?
To truly appreciate the significance of this award, one must understand who Noel Maye is. He was the founding CEO of the FPSB more than 25 years ago and a true pioneer of our profession. I have had the privilege of working with him since 2019 when I became CEO of the FPI.
Noel transformed financial planning into a globally recognised profession, expanding the FPSB into 27 territories and growing the CFP® professional community to more than 203 000 members worldwide by the time he retired in 2022. I have immense respect for him and hold his contribution in the highest regard.
The Noel Maye Award represents the pinnacle of global recognition for those who make a lasting impact on the profession. I am deeply committed to continuing this work for as long as I am able. Financial planning is not for the faint-hearted, and I have enormous respect for every student, candidate and CFP® professional who chooses – every day – to remain professional by choice.
Please tell us about your work with the FSPB.
My involvement with the FPSB stems from my role as CEO of the FPI, which is currently the sixth-largest affiliate globally by number of CFP® professionals. I previously chaired the FPSB Chief Executive Committee (CEC), comprising the seven largest affiliates globally together with three invited smaller affiliates. I also chaired the All-Chief Executives Committee (ACE), which includes the CEOs and executive leaders of all FPSB affiliates worldwide.
While my term as chair has concluded – with Canada now holding the chairmanship – I remain an active member of both the CEC and ACE, continuing to contribute to strategic discussions and global collaboration at executive level. During my tenure as chair, I served ex officio on the FPSB Member Advisory Group, assessed the performance of the CEC and ACE committees, implemented improvement actions where required and regularly reported to the FPSB board.
I currently serve on the FPSB Nominating Committee, which is responsible for leadership succession and board appointments, and I am a member of the Regulatory Engagement Group. This forum focuses on global regulatory matters impacting the profession, including AI, digital assets and AML/CFT developments.
Importantly, the FPI South Africa (FPISA) will be hosting the FPSB Chief Executive Committee meeting in Cape Town in April, bringing together global leaders of the financial planning profession. Fintech providers interested in supporting this global engagement are welcome to reach out to me directly regarding sponsorship opportunities.
I would like to extend a sincere thank you to Asset-Map, who have already stepped forward in support of this event. As a global leader in financial-planning technology, their commitment to advancing the profession is both valued and appreciated.
I actively share best practices from South Africa with the global community, including the FPI’s advocacy framework, our enterprise risk management approach and our work with young financial planners. The FPSB team is small but deeply committed, and it remains a privilege to contribute to advancing the profession on a global scale.
In December 2025, the FPI unveiled its new strategy, Vision 2030. Please outline Vision 2030.
Vision 2030 is a strategy developed by members for members. It was enhanced through extensive engagement with FPI professional volunteers, the FPI board, executive committee and an independent strategist. At its core, Vision 2030 focuses on people – those who aspire to build better futures. Whether student, candidate, professional member or consumer, the desire for a better tomorrow is universal. This vision is delivered through the FPISA framework, which focuses on:
Financial planning. Strengthening member experience, retention and professional belonging.
Partnerships. Expanding access and impact through collaboration.
Innovation. Sanctioning future readiness through digital and thought leadership. Standards. Upholding competence, ethics and certification.
Advocacy. Safeguarding the public and amplifying the profession’s voice.
Vision 2030 positions the FPI as both a trusted professional standards authority and a catalyst for inclusive growth, public trust and long-term relevance.
| VISION 2030 Vision. Empowering people to build better futures through trusted professional financial planning and advice. Mission. To foster prosperity by enabling growth for people who are building better futures through: • Growing and retaining a diverse community of professional members. • Building strategic partnerships. Driving innovation in standards, education and member services. • Upholding and evolving international and local professional standards. • Advocating for the public good. |
How does the FPISA framework differ from the previous LARS framework that it replaced?
For over a decade, the Leadership, Awareness, Recognition and Standards (LARS) framework gave the FPI a strong strategic foundation. It helped establish credibility, strengthen the CFP® designation and position the FPI as the authority on professional standards. However, the profession and its environment evolved. LARS focused heavily on awareness, but less on growth, retention, transformation and innovation. It did not fully address emerging regulatory demands, digital disruption or the need to broaden professional pathways beyond CFP® alone. FPISA builds on LARS but marks a deliberate shift from establishing credibility to expanding relevance; from setting standards to living them. It places equal emphasis on professional experience, partnerships, innovation and advocacy, ensuring the FPI remains future-ready while staying rooted in ethics and public interest.
What core challenges or opportunities in South Africa’s financial planning landscape prompted the development of Vision 2030?
Vision 2030 was shaped by a meeting of challenges and opportunities: regulatory reform through COFI, low consumer trust, uneven transformation, an ageing advisor base and rapid technological change. At the same time, there is growing demand for ethical, professional financial advice, particularly as households navigate economic uncertainty. Vision 2030 responds by strengthening standards, accelerating the professional pipeline and positioning financial planning as a public good.
How does Vision 2030 redefine the role of the financial planner in a rapidly shifting economic and regulatory environment?
Vision 2030 reframes the role of the financial planner from being transactional to being fundamentally relational. In a world of economic uncertainty and regulatory change, professional financial planning is no longer about products or processes – it is about judgement, trust and long-term client relationships.
The financial planner is positioned as a trusted partner [hence the updated Vision statement] who helps clients navigate complexity, behavioural bias and life transitions through holistic, ongoing engagement rather than once-off transactions. Vision 2030 reinforces that ethics is the foundation of professionalism.
While COFI rightly focuses on customer outcomes and Treating Customers Fairly, regulation should not be viewed as more important than professional standards. COFI sets the regulatory baseline; the FPI Code of Ethics and Practice Standards set the professional benchmark.A professional member of the FPI who truly understands and lives these standards, particularly the principle of putting the client first, will not struggle under COFI but will continue to succeed within it.
Vision 2030 places strong emphasis on elevating professional standards. What specific competencies or ethical expectations will become non‑negotiable for FPI members?
Under Vision 2030, “professional” is defined by competence, ethical integrity and service quality, not only technical knowledge. The FPI’s standards focus is to keep CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® (CFP®), FINANCIAL SERVICES ADVISOR® (FSA®) and REGISTERED FINANCIAL PRACTITIONER® (RFP®) as hallmarks of excellence, with ongoing competence and credible, fair certification processes that remain globally aligned and locally relevant.
Practically, that means members must live the FPI Code of Ethics daily, commit to lifelong learning and consistently demonstrate professionalism anchored in the FPI’s core values (integrity, innovation, competence, empathy and trust).
How will the FPI support practitioners in adapting to new standards without creating barriers to entry for emerging talent?
Vision 2030 strengthens standards and expands access by improving the candidate journey with better resources, study support and mentorship, while refining onboarding, assessments, audits and continuous professional development (CPD) tracking into a seamless experience. It also expands Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) pathways to enable capable professionals from adjacent sectors to transition into the profession, supporting mobility and transformation without compromising standards.
South Africans face unique financial pressures. How does Vision 2030 aim to improve financial literacy and consumer protection at scale?
Vision 2030 scales consumer education through structured, partnerready programmes that deliver accessible, unbiased financial education and then link consumers to qualified professional advice.
A key next step is the FPIMyMoney123 Consumer Education Toolkit, designed with facilitator guides, multilingual content and impact-measurement templates that can be adopted by Qualifying Small Financial Institutions (QSFIs), financial service providers (FSPs) and FPI members – positioning the FPI as a national leader in consumer financial education.
To further strengthen consumer protection, the FPI’s CPD policy will be updated to make pro-bono activities compulsory for all FPI professional members. This will include, but not be limited to, mentoring candidates, providing pro-bono financial advice and delivering consumer education initiatives aligned to the FPIMyMoney123 programme.
What role does the FPI see itself playing in rebuilding trust in the financial services sector?
Vision 2030 positions the FPI as the trusted authority and independent voice that rebuilds confidence through consistent standards, visible advocacy and a professional community that is accountable and values-led. It makes trust tangible for members and the public by showcasing advocacy in action, keeping stakeholders informed on key regulatory developments and demonstrating impact through briefs and dashboards
How does Vision 2030 accelerate meaningful inclusion within the profession?
Vision 2030 accelerates inclusion by strengthening access to high-quality, recognised education and by deliberately widening entry pathways into the profession without compromising standards. A key focus is ensuring that aspiring financial planners are supported through credible, well-governed learning routes offered by FPIrecognised education and training providers. Inclusion is embedded across the professional pipeline, from student awareness and candidate support to mentorship, certification and early-career development, with a particular focus on attracting and retaining young professionals, women and historically underrepresented groups. Through strategic partnerships with education providers, employers and industry stakeholders, Vision 2030 aims to remove structural barriers, improve articulation between learning and practice and ensure that transformation is achieved through competence, ethics and sustainable professional growth.
How does Vision 2030 address the rise of AI‑driven advice models and digital financial tools?
Vision 2030 treats digital change as an opportunity to improve access, efficiency and insight, while protecting trust through ethical governance and strong controls. The innovation pillar in the FPISA framework commits to an FPtech roadmap (including AI-driven CPD, learning and member support), analytics dashboards and cyber-resilience as part of enterprise risk management. Our relationship with credible fintech providers also becomes very important in this journey.
How will Vision 2030 reshape the education and CPD pathways for financial planners?
Education becomes more progressive, digitally enabled and pipeline focused. Vision 2030 includes fully digitalising and realigning the CFP® Mentorship Programme, strengthening structured knowledge transfer and lifelong learning. CPD is positioned as a single, curated learning environment with ethical case studies and regulatory updates tailored to professional level, helping members remain confident and current in a changing world.
How is the FPI partnering with universities, training providers or industry bodies to deliver on this agenda?
Partnerships are a core delivery mechanism under Vision 2030 – deepening collaboration with corporates, universities, government and professional networks with clear outcomes including institutional partnerships and visible tertiary engagements.
On the education side, the strategy commits to coordinating partnerships across universities and training providers with strategic collaborations aimed at strengthening articulation routes and academic quality.
The FPI works closely with other industry bodies through its Stakeholder Engagement Plan. We firmly believe that strategic collaboration with associations such as the Association of Black Securities and Investment Professionals (ABSIP), Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (ASISA), Institute of Retirement Funds Africa (IRFA) and the Financial Intermediaries Association (FIA), as well as professional bodies including the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), Actuarial Society of South Africa (ASSA), Compliance Institute SA (CISA) and Insurance Institute of South Africa (IISA), to name a few, is essential to advancing the profession.These relationships remain a priority and will continue to be strengthened through the partnerships pillar of Vision 2030.
As CEO of the FPI, what part of Vision 2030 resonates most strongly with your own leadership philosophy?
For me, Vision 2030’s strongest resonance is its insistence that we can grow the profession without compromising ethics and that a professional body must build capability, belonging and trust at the same time. It is a strategy anchored in values (integrity, innovation, competence, empathy and trust) and in a clear public purpose: building better futures through trusted professional financial planning and advice.
How can industry stakeholders actively contribute to making Vision 2030 a reality?
Industry stakeholders can contribute by partnering with the FPI on skills development, consumer education and professionalisation; which includes integrating FPI certification into corporate skills development initiatives and supporting verifiable, accredited programmes aligned to FS300/FS803 transformation objectives. Corporate partners can co-create joint projects on diversity and inclusion, consumer education and workforce professionalisation, strengthening trust and access together.
What lies ahead for the FPI?
The next phase is execution: implementing FPISA through annual operating plans and transparent reporting, while strengthening professional standards, partnerships, innovation and advocacy in measurable ways.
Priority initiatives include scaling consumer education through the FPIMyMoney123 toolkit, deepening partnerships, modernising digital enablement through the FPtech roadmap and strengthening education and pipeline development so that a trusted, inclusive and future-ready profession is not just a vision but a lived reality.
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