The ebb and flow of more caught than taught

Congratulations, Rudolph! Please tell us about yourself.

I am extremely fortunate to call financial services and financial planning my first, my only and hopefully my last career. Starting and finishing my schooling career in Stellenbosch, I had the privilege of studying at the University of Stellenbosch too. I started with a general Bachelor of Commerce in my first year, but there was a nudge towards financial planning in my second year and I am very grateful for that opportunity.

After graduation, I stood at a crossroads between further studies to pursue a career in education or trying to carve a pathway in financial planning and the biggest deciding factor was remuneration. Thankfully, a salaried position within financial services became available to me and it steered me away from teaching – but it has been wonderful to use my passion for teaching within financial planning. It wasn’t long before financial planning changed from a short-term job into a long-term calling to make a difference in the lives of my clients.

My entrance into financial services in 2013 seems like both yesterday and a lifetime ago. The last 11 years have been filled with immense growth, the cultivation of incredible personal and professional relationships and the achievement of deeply significant and special milestones. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that at the age of 33, I would be recognised at this level in a profession as important and impactful as financial planning.

What does winning the award mean to you?

Winning the Financial Planner of the Year Award is an immense honour. It has given me a great sense of peace that I am on the right track and has strengthened my resolve to push myself further to become the best version of myself. This, I believe, will help me to remain relevant and impactful in the lives of my clients. Being a younger Financial Planner of the Year Award winner will hopefully allow me to inspire the next generation to make financial planning their long-term career too. And maybe, just maybe, I would be able to encourage some of our more experienced financial planning peers to fall back in love with their careers – because what we get to do daily is truly special.

What was your motivation for entering the award?

I had two main motivators for entering the Financial Planner of the Year Award competition: to combat my insecurities and pursue excellence, both with the intention of having a greater impact in the lives of clients.

Over the last decade, I had the opportunity to enhance my technical abilities through further studies as well as my human abilities through intentional training, but I still had to fight that little inner voice of self-doubt (commonly known as imposter syndrome) that told me I wasn’t good enough and that I still had a long way to go. I have tried to make peace with the fact that my list of self-improvements would never be completed and that I have by no means made it or arrived (whatever it means to arrive).

Having three different sets of external parties consider the quality of work that you produced and the individual person you are and then having them consider it of a good enough standard has been extremely humbling.

What has been the highlight of your career (apart from winning the award)?

Two highlights come to mind. The first is being in a position of utmost trust in the lives of clients and having the privilege of making a tangible difference in their lives. And then having the flexibility to be intricately involved in the lives of my kids. I hope to never take the autonomy over my time for granted, because it has allowed me to be present at every single academic and sports-related after-school event. I mean, it would be disingenuous of me to advocate for a life of meaning and purpose for my clients, while neglecting it in my own life.

I see it in the lives of my kids, that more is caught than taught, and I would hazard a guess that the same is true in adult relationships, which would make us either good or great role models for our clients.

Being a younger winner will hopefully allow me to inspire the next generation to make financial planning their long-term career too.

What do you consider the most important trait of an accomplished financial planner?

I would not have made it this far in the financial planning profession if it wasn’t for my ability to connect with people at a deeply human level and believe me – this was much more difficult than adding to my technical abilities. Becoming a more connected human being through demonstrating the ability to not just listen to another person, but to truly hear what they are saying, or sometimes not saying, has been an extremely tough learning curve. It has, however, borne such wonderful relational fruit in my life, not just professionally, but also personally. And the personal trait that is brought to life when there is a great sense of connection between two people is trust and safety. If you can provide a safe space to another person by radiating trust, you will set yourself up for incredible success.

What changes would you like to see in the profession?

When I joined the financial planning profession in 2013, I was by far the youngest person in most rooms I entered while attending professional events. It could also have been that I just looked like I was the youngest, but I speculate it is more the former than the latter. From my vantage point, there has been a wonderful and positive shift in the average age of the attendees in those rooms. The average age has not just changed by accident or is not only driven by the need for more hands to do the work; I have experienced intentionality to attract and retain younger professional planners.

Winning the Financial Planner of the Year Award is an immense honour.

As this year’s FPI ambassador, how will you use the platform to motivate change?

I will be extremely satisfied with the outcome of my tenure as the 2024/25 FPI Financial Planner of the Year if I can look back over the year and know that I was able to make a difference in the lives of the following two groups of people:

South Africans. Bringing a greater awareness of the tension between the technical and personal sides of money. As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional, I believe that clients expect us to deliver on the technical aspects of financial planning like asset management, financial management, risk management and the like. The real need that I expect we will be confronted with will be to bring greater clarity to clients coupled with a sense of peace and certainty to their current and future financial position.

Professional peers. I have never been more sure of the fact that I am where I am today, and have achieved what I thought would be impossible, because of the professional community that I am so lucky to be a part of. The imagery of an incoming tide lifting all the boats in the harbour is so apt for how I believe our professional community can help better one another. My aim is to, in some small way, be involved in helping the financial planning community become more inclusive, vibrant and greater in number.

Please share a message of motivation for those who are considering entering the awards.

If you’ve entertained the idea of taking part in the 2025/26 FPI Financial Planner of the Year Award competition for even a moment, do it. Worst-case scenario, you will learn something, you will grow and be stretched. Best-case scenario, you can use the platform as the next ambassador for financial planning in South Africa to make an even greater difference in the lives of the profession and the lives of more clients.

WealthUp is an authorised Financial Services Provider 43925