Brendan Dunn, a Certified Financial Planner® professional and chartered accountant, has been named the 2026 FPI Financial Planner of the Year.
Dunn, who is executive head: Johannesburg at Hewett Wealth, received the award at the FPI’s annual awards ceremony and gala dinner at the Century City Conference Centre in Cape Town on Wednesday night.
The award was presented by the 2025 Financial Planner of the Year, Nicola Langridge CFP®, a wealth manager at Private Client Holdings, and Lelané Bezuidenhout CFP®, the chief executive of the Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa.
Click here to watch an interview with Brendan Dunn.
The other finalists were Russell Ho CFP®, a planner at Succession Financial Planning in Gqeberha, and Gareth Collier CFP®, founder and director of Firecrest Group in Cape Town.
The award recognises excellence, innovation, and leadership in the financial-planning profession. The finalists were selected through an assessment of their financial planning, professional conduct, client focus, and commitment to professional standards.
Returning to go ‘one step further’
Dunn entered the financial-planning profession at Verso Wealth in 2016 and has worked as a paraplanner, financial planner and in a portfolio-management support role in asset management.
He joined Hewett Wealth as a financial adviser in 2023 and subsequently progressed to his current executive position.
His victory follows his selection as a finalist for the 2025 Financial Planner of the Year Award, making this his second consecutive appearance in the final three.
In a recorded message shown before the winner was announced, Dunn said his experience in the 2025 competition had left him with one question: “Did I have what it took to win the competition? Could I go one step further?”
He entered again to apply what he had learnt during his first attempt, including lessons from his mistakes, areas for improvement and the parts of his approach that had worked.
Dunn said the process had given him a clearer understanding of his strengths and blind spots as a financial planner and leader. It had also sharpened his approach to financial planning, the structure of his business and the standards he expected of himself.
He encouraged other CFP® professionals to enter the competition as a professional-development exercise rather than focusing only on the result.
“The value isn’t only winning; it’s in what the process demands of you and how you will learn and grow,” he said.
Dunn said entering could help professionals improve their financial plans, business processes, client service, and understanding of financial planning.
Before the result was announced, he described winning Financial Planner of the Year as something he had dreamt about for more than a decade and “the greatest honour of my career”.
Alexander Forbes recognised for commitment to professionalisation
Alexander Forbes Financial Planning Consultants received the other principal honour of the evening, the 2026 FPI Corporate Partner of the Year Award.
The award recognises a corporate partner that demonstrates exceptional commitment to advancing professional financial planning through collaboration with the FPI, support for ethical and professional standards, investment in professional development, and meaningful engagement with the corporate partnership.
PPS and Momentum were the other finalists.
Other individual award winners
Financial journalist Laura du Preez CFP® received the Harry Brews’ Award, which recognises a lifelong and significant contribution to the financial-planning profession.
Du Preez is editor of Smart About Money, an initiative of the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa and previously served for many years as editor of Personal Finance.
Petronella Nkobe CFP®, an investment specialist at Coronation Fund Managers, received the Diversity and Inclusion Award, which celebrates individuals who make a meaningful contribution to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion within the financial-planning profession.
Stephan de Wet CFP®, chief financial officer of MH Universe, received the It Starts with Me Award. Launched in 2015, the award honours the professional who actively promotes the CFP® designation and encourages high standards of professional conduct.
Johan Smith CFP®, a specialist investment consultant at Momentum Investments, received the Financial Plan Assessment Award, which recognises excellence in preparing a comprehensive, client-focused financial plan as part of the CFP® certification process.
Nelson Mandela University team wins student competition
The Capital Compass team from Nelson Mandela University won the 2026 Student Financial Plan Competition.
UJ Wealth Architects from the University of Johannesburg placed second, while NextGen Advisory, also from Nelson Mandela University, finished third.
This was the fourth year the FPI hosted the competition at universities across South Africa.
The competition gives students an opportunity to apply their financial-planning knowledge in a practical setting and demonstrate their ability to develop and present a financial plan.
