CFP® designation held by Advisor of the Year Award Finalists

October 19, 2001, Toronto - Certified Financial Planner® (CFP® ) professionals dominated the Advisor of the Year Awards again this year. Six of the seven finalists for three regional awards were individuals who hold the CFP designation and the seventh was nominated in partnership with a CFP practitioner.

The winners announced yesterday at the Advisor of The Year Awards Gala in Toronto are: Bernie Geiss of Berkshire Securities Inc. in North Vancouver from British Columbia/Territories region; Ralph Zielsdorf of The Zielsdorf Group in Calgary from the Prairies region; and Maria Mateyk and Dolores Hallett of Assante in Waterloo from Central Canada region.

"Congratulations to all the finalists," says Financial Planners Standards Council (FPSC) President Don Johnston. "They are living, breathing representation of the tremendous commitment to professionalism of individuals who voluntarily pursue and attain the CFP designation."

The biographies of the finalists are published on the FPSC website at www.cfp-ca.org.

The Advisor of the Year Awards honour Canada's most outstanding financial advisors for professionalism and dedication in serving the needs of their clients. A panel of 17 industry leaders from across Canada selected two finalists from each of the three regions - British Columbia/Territories, Prairies and Central Canada.

Financial Planners Standards Council is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to benefiting and protecting the Canadian consumer by establishing and enforcing education, examination, experience and ethics requirements for financial planners who choose to earn the CFP designation. FPSC is the Canadian licensor of the internationally recognized CFP certification marks used by 62,000 planners in 15 countries around the world. There are more than 13,000 planners licensed to use these marks in Canada.