As part of the New Model Adviser conference held on 12 and 13 January in London, the winners of the 2012 regional adviser firms of the year awards were announced.

Congratulations go to all eight regional firms, of which seven were represented by IFP members and six were Accredited Financial Planning Firms^TM.

The prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award was deservedly won by Paul Etheridge FIFP, CFP^CM, the IFP’s founder and member number one – himself a member of an Accredited Financial Planning Firm, who beat off stiff competition from the likes of IFP chief executive Nick Cann.

Among the winners were Paradigm Norton, winners of the South West regional award on six separate occasions. Heron House Financial Management has notched up five successes for the Wales regional award in recent years.

Also notable were Dunham Financial Services who have claimed the East of England award four times, three of these in consecutive years since 2010. John Lamb also retained its Greater London title won last year. Other winners were; Scotland and Northern Ireland: Navigator Financial Planning; North of England: Eldon Financial Planning and Midlands: Central Financial Planning.

The IFP’s Nick Cann said: “It’s great to see IFP members and, in particular, many Accredited Financial Planning Firms dominating, gaining well deserved external recognition for high standards of service and business practice.”