Best Discretionary Fund Manager
Highly commended: TAM Asset Management

Best Model Portfolio Service
Highly commended: TAM Asset Management


Montage Wealth Management and Premier Asset Management were multiple winners at the 2019 Professional Adviser Awards, while 14 firms made the grade in this year's 'Best Financial Advisers To Work For' survey.

Chelmsford-based Montage won the prestigious Adviser Firm of the Year - UK award in addition to its regional category, Adviser Firm of the Year - Midlands & East Anglia and the Best Adviser Website accolade. For the second year running, Premier dominated the evening's multi-asset awards - winning the Rising Income and Positive Return categories as well as again being adjudged Multi-Asset Fund Group of the Year.

Topping our recent poll to find PA's Personality of the Year - which attracted hundreds of readers' votes in the space of a week - was Niche IFA director Ray Adams. Earlier in the evening, Adams had collected the Best Technology Provider award for his firm's CashCalc arm.

In total, the services and products of more than 200 advisers and other businesses were under consideration for the 2019 Professional Adviser Awards, which are now in their 14th year and seek to reward excellence both within the financial advice community and among the broader financial services sector.

Professional Adviser editor Julian Marr said: "Last September, PA once more issued the call for adviser businesses in the UK to showcase their knowledge, skills and commitment to client care by entering our 2019 Awards.

"We are delighted so many firms answered that call - clearly taking a great deal of time and care to address both the issues in the case study - kindly created this year by CISI head of financial planning Jacqueline Lockie - and our own probing questions on their businesses' numbers and risk-management processes.

"They gave Professional Adviser's panel of expert judges a tough enough time picking our eight regional Adviser Firms of the Year - let alone the ultimate winner, Montage Wealth Management.

"Those firms fully deserve their awards - as of course does everyone else honoured this year, including Paraplanner of the Year Grant Callaghan, the platforms, support services, multi-asset investment specialists and other businesses that strive to make advisers' lives run a little more smoothly as well as the 14 firms that made the grade in PA's third annual Best Financial Advisers To Work For survey."

Chaired by Marr, the judging panel also included Bella Caridade-Ferreira (CEO, Fundscape), Patrick Connolly (certified financial planner, Chase de Vere), Dennis Hall (CEO, Yellowtail Financial Planning), Cathi Harrison (founder, Para-Sols), Gillian Hepburn (co-founder, DISCUS), Heather Hopkins (managing director, NextWealth), Richard Hoskins (co-founder, Kin Capital), Andy Kirby (director, Adviser Home), Brendan Llewellyn (owner, Marketing Edge), Jacqueline Lockie (head of financial planning, CISI), Kerry Nelson (managing director, Nexus IFA), Rory Percival (principal, Rory Percival Training and Consultancy), Terry Huddart (market analysis manager, the lang cat), Roderic Rennison (director, Rennison Consulting), Lee Robertson (managing director, Octo Members), Jack Rose (head of tax-efficient products at LightTower Partners), Tim Sargisson (chief executive, Sandringham Partners) and Clive Waller (managing director, CWC Research).

The panel for the multi-asset awards meanwhile comprised lead judge Paul Ilott (managing director, Scopic Research) as well as Pan Andreas (head of insight and consulting, Defaqto), Dan Kemp (CIO, Morningstar Investment Management), Rory Maguire (managing director, Fundhouse), Richard Romer-Lee (managing director, Square Mile) and Tony Yousefian (consultant, FundCalibre).

"Tonight's awards would not have been possible without the time, insights and efforts of our two top-quality panels of judges," said Marr. Sincere thanks to all of them and many congratulations to all this year's winners. As for everyone who entered the Professional Adviser Awards but were not placed this year, thank you so much for your time and effort and please do try again this autumn."

Full 2019 roll of honour

PA Personality of the Year
Ray Adams, director, Niche IFA

Adviser Firm of the Year - UK
Winner: Montage Wealth Management

Adviser Firm of the Year - London
Winner: Foster Denovo

Highly commended: John Lamb

Adviser Firm of the Year - Midlands & East Anglia
Winner: Montage Wealth Management

Adviser Firm of the Year - North East
Winner: Berry & Oak

Adviser Firm of the Year - North West
Winner: Foresight Wealth Strategists

Adviser Firm of the Year - Scotland & NI
Winner: Cornerstone Asset Management

Adviser Firm of the Year - South East
Winner: Ascot Wealth Management

Adviser Firm of the Year - South West
Winner: Old Mill Financial Planning
Highly commended: Clifton Wealth

Adviser Firm of the Year - Wales
Winner: Magenta Financial Planning

Best Financial Advisers To Work For
This year, the following 14 companies were adjudged to have made the grade:

Active Chartered Financial Planners

Albert Goodman Financial Planning

Cooper Parry Wealth

Financial Management Bureau

Fiscal Engineers

HFMC Wealth

Informed Financial Planning

Joslin Rhodes Lifestyle Financial Planning

Kymin Financial Services

Niche IFA

NLP Financial Management

Quilter Private Client Advisers

Sandringham Financial Partners

Wills & Trusts Chartered Financial Planners

Paraplanner of the Year
Winner: Grant Callaghan, Para-Sols

Highly commended: Christian Olesen, Yellowtail

Tax-efficient Adviser of the Year
Winner: Mazars Financial Planning

Best Network
Winner: Tenet Group

Highly commended: Beaufort Group

Best Support Services for Advisers
Winner: SimplyBiz Group

Highly commended: Yardstick Agency

Best Technology Provider
Winner: CashCalc

Best Adviser Website
Winner: Montage Wealth Management

Highly commended: Boosst

Highly commended: Redbourne Wealth Management

Highly commended: Best Client Engagement (Advisers)
Winner: Financial Management Bureau

Highly commended: Berry & Oak

Highly commended: Magenta Financial Planning

Best Client Engagement (Providers)
Winner: Canada Life Investments

Best Platform for Advisers (AUA over £20bn)
Winner: Transact

Highly commended: AJ Bell

Best Platform for Advisers (AUA under £20bn)
Winner: Parmenion

Highly commended: Nucleus Financial

Best Platform for D2C
Winner: Hargreaves Lansdown

Highly commended: AJ Bell Youinvest

Best Platform for Discretionary Management
Winner: Winner: Raymond James Investment Services

Highly commended: Standard Life Wrap

Best Discretionary Fund Manager
Winner: PortfolioMetrix

Highly commended: TAM Asset Management

Best Model Portfolio Service
Winner: FE

Highly commended: TAM Asset Management

Best Ratings/Research Service for Advisers
Winner: Morningstar UK

Highly commended: FE

Best Risk-Profiling Service for Advisers
Winner: Oxford Risk

Highly commended: FinaMetrica

Multi-Asset Fund Group of the Year
Winner: Premier Asset Management

Best Multi-Asset Fund: Rising Income
Winner: Premier Multi-Asset Distribution

Best Multi-Asset Fund: High Income
Winner: Artemis Monthly Distribution

Best Multi-Asset Fund: Long-Term Growth
Winner: MI Hawksmoor Vanbrugh Fund

Best Multi-Asset Fund: Positive Return
Winner: Premier Defensive Growth

Best Multi-Asset Fund Range: Volatility Managed
Winner: Legal & General Multi-Index Funds

Many congratulations to all this year's winners from everyone at Professional Adviser

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