Asteron Life has announced the recipients of its 2024 Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) Grant Programme, focused on supporting independent financial advisers (IFAs) in New Zealand.
The grants, announced in August, aim to help advisers innovate in their customer service delivery and improve their business operations.
The MDRT is a global organisation of leading professionals in the life insurance and financial services industries, boasting 95,000 members from more than 700 companies across 80 countries. The association focuses on professional growth, ethics, and customer service excellence, with membership widely regarded as a prestigious achievement in the industry.
Advisers who attended the MDRT Annual Meeting in Vancouver this year were invited to apply for one of four grants valued at $5,000 each.
The grant programme encouraged advisers to submit proposals for projects that will enhance their business practices.
Kevin Turnock (pictured), Asteron Life’s national manager of advice and professional standards, said roughly half of the 31 New Zealand advisers who attended the event submitted applications.
He said participating in the MDRT Annual Meeting provided exposure to global best practices, which can raise the standard of service across the IFA community.
“Attending the MDRT Annual Meeting is a wonderful way to provide exposure to the latest international thinking on best practice customer service and help raise the bar of professionalism in the IFA channel,” he said.
A joint panel from Asteron Life and MDRT New Zealand reviewed the proposals, which ranged from adopting AI in business processes to developing marketing strategies and improving work-life balance.
Turnock said the applications reflected strong potential for positive impacts on both the advisers’ businesses and their client relationships.
“Regardless of grant application outcomes, the feedback we’ve received is advisers found the application process invaluable in transforming their ideas from concept to reality,” he said.
The four recipients of the 2024 Asteron Life MDRT Grants are:
Rick Willis, former MDRT New Zealand country chair, said that each winning proposal demonstrated significant potential for business transformation and client service improvement.
“The winners presented well-articulated, costed plans that included progressive milestones aiming for significant growth and positive customer outcomes,” he said.
He added that they also showed a commitment to seeking external expertise where needed to execute their ideas effectively.
Travis Hamilton of Plan B Financial Services highlighted the benefits of participating in the grant programme, saying it allowed him to reflect on his business strategy and consider how emerging technologies could help differentiate his services.
“Technology is transforming our industry. It was great to have the opportunity to think about how some of those bigger trends can be harnessed to help our business and clients,” he said, adding that the grant has accelerated his ability to implement AI solutions and streamline his business’s operations.
As a platinum sponsor of MDRT New Zealand, Asteron Life said it was committed to assisting advisers as they work to implement their plans.
Turnock congratulated the 2024 recipients and emphasised Asteron Life’s support for their efforts to strengthen the IFA sector in New Zealand.
“Congratulations to the 2024 grant recipients. Asteron Life looks forward to supporting these innovative projects and witnessing the positive impact on the IFA community,” he said.
