The John Ellis Award

• The John Ellis Award is made to an individual who has shown a significant contribution to the professional development of the financial services sector. 
• The individual need not be a member of the PFS.  They may have been active in the PFS Regions or have made a contribution in other spheres for instance – promoting financial education in schools, colleges or universities, working with and developing young people in the business or building schemes to promote generic advice to consumers. 
• Their activities will be beyond those of their day job and will have had an impact on the wider advice community. 
• The award will not be used for commercial gain and is not necessarily made on an annual basis.
• The John Ellis Award was created with the intention to be made only on an ‘as merited’ basis to mark outstanding achievement and service by an individual.

A judging panel will conduct a preliminary analysis of the entries and shortlist three candidates  to go forward to the PFS Board to determine the winner. 

John Ellis was one of the most influential figures in the development of the financial services market during the 1980’s and campaigned vigorously for professionalism until his retirement from his position as CII Director of Public Affairs in November 2007.

John began his involvement with the financial services sector at the Department of Trade before moving to the Life Assurance and Unit Trust Regulatory Authority (LAUTRO) in the early days of regulation. He then joined the Life Insurance Association (LIA) and was instrumental in forging links between the LIA and the CII.

He campaigned for compulsory examinations for financial advisers, which was achieved in the mid-1990’s. Perhaps, one of John’s main achievements was to provide valuable momentum to the merger between the LIA and SOFA in 2004 which led to the creation of the Personal Finance Society in 2005.  

How you should nominate:

If you know someone who has made a significant contribution to the professionalism of the financial advisory sector in the UK please complete the nomination form by clicking on the nominate button below.

 * Nominators please note:  

• It is imperative that you provide full background information
• The PFS Awards Judging Panels will not enter into correspondence with nominators and can only assess candidates via the information received via the official application form. 
• The PFS will not research individual nominee’s backgrounds or be expected to be familiar with a particular entry. 
• If inadequate and/or insufficient background information is submitted the entry will be deemed void.

One winner will be announced at the PFS Annual Conference. The winner will receive a personalised trophy and 2012 professionalism pass.