I did not expect to become emotional. For most of my professional life, I have been comfortable standing in front of people. I have presented to clients, addressed conferences, chaired meetings and spoken about financial planning with the conviction that comes from believing deeply in what we do.
Yet on the evening, when Ascor Independent Wealth Managers was announced as the FPI Approved Professional Practice® of the Year [2025/26], I found myself unable, for a few seconds, to do what I normally do.
I could not simply stand up, smile and accept the moment as another professional milestone.
Instead, I looked around our table. I saw Martin de Kock. I saw Werner Pienaar. I saw Sarita du Plessis. And in that moment, more than 21 years of memories came flooding back. I was not thinking first about the trophy, the stage or even the applause. I remembered the journey and the people who had made it possible.
This reflection appears in the 100th edition of Blue Chip, a publication read by people who understand the significance of professional financial planning: CFP® professionals, FPI Approved Professional Practice® firms, educators, corporate partners and leaders in our industry. It feels appropriate to write not merely about winning an award, but about what the award made me remember.
Over 21 years ago, Martin and I sat around a very different table. There was no national recognition then. There were no awards. There was no certainty that the vision we had would become anything more than a deeply held conviction. But we believed South Africans deserved independent financial planning delivered with professionalism, technical excellence and genuine care.
That conviction became our mission statement: “Ascor aims to be recognised as the leading independent wealth management group in South Africa.”
At first glance, that sentence may sound ambitious. Looking back now, it was always about responsibility. Recognition cannot be demanded. It cannot be claimed because it appears in a brochure, on a website or in a strategic plan. Recognition is earned quietly, through the daily discipline of doing the right things well. One client conversation at a time. One financial plan at a time. One difficult decision at a time. One promise kept at a time.
In 2012, when the FPI introduced the FPI Approved Professional Practice® certification, Ascor became the first practice in South Africa to receive this recognition. We saw it, not as a badge, but as a public commitment to the kind of practice we had envisioned. That commitment was demanding then, and remains so today.
The FPI Approved Professional Practice® standard requires far more than technical knowledge. It asks whether financial planning is truly the core business of the practice; whether there is a documented, holistic financial planning process; if the practice reflects fiduciary responsibility, quality assurance, ethical conduct, professional development, mentorship, commitment to pro bono work and consumer education. It also requires a process of evaluation that looks beyond intention and tests whether these standards are visible in practice.
That is why I have come to think of FPI Approved Professional Practice® firms as incubators of excellence. They do not only produce financial plans; they develop professionals, build cultures, mentor the next generation, raise standards and help transform public trust in advice.
Today, there are only 23 FPI Approved Professional Practice® firms in South Africa. That number should make us proud, because it reflects a high standard. But it should also challenge us. If financial planning is to continue its journey from industry to profession, more practices should aspire to this recognition, not for prestige, but because clients deserve to be served by firms that submit themselves to higher standards.
Professionalism is intentional
Winning the FPI Approved Professional Practice® of the Year award did not suddenly make Ascor excellent. It affirmed a journey that began many years ago and reminded me that excellence is not a destination, it is a discipline.
It is easy from outside to see the polished version of a professional practice. The website, client presentations, awards, photographs and carefully prepared reports. What is less visible is the work behind the work: the training, debates, governance, compliance, investment committee discussions, client service disciplines, administration and the countless small decisions that determine whether a practice is merely functional or truly professional.
As I sat at that table, I understood again that businesses do not win awards. People do.
I thought of Martin, my friend and co-founder, who shared the original dream when it was still fragile. Building a business over more than two decades requires trust, resilience, patience and a willingness to keep choosing the long road.
I thought of Werner, whose leadership represents the next chapter of Ascor’s journey. A professional practice cannot be built only around its founders. If it is to endure, it must develop people who can carry the vision forward with their own conviction and competence.
I thought of Sarita, whose contribution reminds me that excellence requires structure. A vision without systems remains a slogan. Values must become processes. Processes must become habits. Habits must become culture.
And I thought of our entire team: our wealth managers, financial planners, service advisors, client portfolio managers, administrative colleagues and everyone who contributes to the client experience. Many of them will never stand on a stage to receive an award but without them there would be no award.
Professional practices are not built by extraordinary people chasing occasional moments of greatness. They are built by people who choose extraordinary standards in ordinary moments, repeatedly, consistently and often quietly. Perhaps that is why I became emotional. Not because we had won but because, for one unforgettable moment, I realised how blessed I had been to walk this road with people who believed in the same purpose.
The award bears Ascor’s name, but it belongs far more widely. It belongs to every member of our team who has lived our values, every client who trusted us long before any award was attached to our name and it belongs to the mentors, colleagues and professional bodies that helped shape our thinking. In a broader sense, it belongs to the profession itself.
Financial planning in South Africa has matured significantly over the past two decades. We have moved from a product-led industry towards a profession built around trusted advice, integrated planning and long-term client relationships. The FPI plays a vital role in that transformation by encouraging standards that ask practices not merely to comply, but to aspire to. That aspiration matters.
Because when one practice raises its standards, others are encouraged to do the same. Clients benefit. Young professionals benefit. Public confidence benefits. The profession benefits.
As Blue Chip reaches its 100th edition, perhaps this is the right moment for every practice to ask a simple question: what are we really building?
Are we building businesses that depend on personalities or professional practices that will outlast us? Are we merely servicing clients or are we helping to shape the future of financial planning in South Africa? Are we satisfied with success or are we willing to pursue significance? Awards are meaningful and I will always be deeply grateful for this recognition. But awards are not the destination.
The next morning, clients still need advice, teams still need leadership, young professionals still need mentorship and standards still need to be upheld. The rent on excellence is still due.
Winning the FPI Approved Professional Practice® of the Year award did not change who we are. It reminded us of who we have always aspired to become. And for that, I remain profoundly grateful. Because in the end, the greatest achievement is not the award itself. It is becoming the kind of practice worthy of receiving it.
