Meet one of the three finalists in the FPI Planner of the Year Award 2022

Tom Brukman

At a gala event held in Johannesburg last night, Director of Chartered Wealth Solutions Western Cape and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® Tom Brukman, was acknowledged as one of three finalists in the 2022 FPI Financial Planner of the Year Award.

He describes the process as ‘intense’ and encourages those entering the industry to acquire professional qualifications.

Since 2000, the Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa (FPI) has presented an award for the country’s top CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, recognising “a stellar professional who exhibits revolutionary ideas, consummate skill and unimpeachable ethics when dealing with clients.”

The process of reaching the finals was “intense”, says Brukman, who specialises in retirement planning for Chartered Wealth Solutions. To reach the top three, each participant must submit a detailed financial plan and supporting documents. This is followed by a site visit and two 2.5-hour panel interviews, throughout which the judges scrutinise every aspect of each financial planner’s skills, knowledge, ethical standards, and professionalism.

Ultimately, the winner of the competition serves as a professional brand ambassador for the FPI and the certified financial planner (CFP) designation; making it to the top three therefore requires that the finalists demonstrate excellence in every aspect of their profession.

As such, says Brukman, progressing through to the finals has been an invaluable chance to interrogate what he does and how he does it, to discover which areas could potentially be improved upon. “It’s been a big test of myself, but also my business, here in Cape Town – to really understand it and dive deeply into all aspects of it,” he says. “It’s a great benchmarking and learning competition.”

At the same time, making it to the final stage is an affirmation of success: “It’s great to know that you’re conducting different aspects of your business in line with the top ethical and practice standards in the industry, nationally – and for our clients to know that the standards at Chartered Wealth, the level of service and professionalism they’re getting, are at the top end of what the industry offers.”

From investment banking to private practice

Brukman started out in investment banking before changing track to become a retirement specialist for Chartered Wealth – a move that required him to start right at the bottom, learning the ropes of a new industry and studying to get the qualifications he needed.

What drove him to make this change? “I worked in a corporate environment, and what wore away at me was that people came second; the bottom line came first. Targets, goals, budgets, etc., were all focused around benefitting the business, rather than the clients,” he says. “I wanted something more people-centric – I have always been curious about people and had friendships with people of different ages.”

Brukman set out to investigate his options, drawing on his network to meet a wide range of people within the financial services industry. This led him to Kim Potgieter, Director and Head of Life Planning of Chartered Wealth. Brukman was impressed with the company’s focus on people over the bottom line, and decided to make the leap. “Entering a private practice gave me space to work within my personal value system, which working in a corporate environment didn’t,” he says.

Chartered Wealth’s holistic approach to retirement planning also made the company a good fit for Brukman, in that it allowed him to put his deep interest in people to work. The firm looks to retirement as “a new beginning,” focusing not only on building financial security but on investing this period with meaning; a space of freedom to pursue new goals.

“Kim [Potgieter] very quickly realised that there is far more to the transition that faces people approaching retirement. Money and investments are just one side to it – these are very important, but there’s so much more to it. She travelled internationally and brought back systems, learnings, work exercises; found experts in fields of communication and coaching to help company employees to have conversations that add value – conversations about this next step, how to start thinking about it differently and finding meaning beyond, ‘is my money invested in the right strategy?’”.

“The idea of retirement is changing so much,” says Brukman. “People aren’t necessarily retiring – they’re not stopping working or slowing down if they don’t want to. Instead, they are doing something new and unknown. This brings uncertainty and the normal human emotions – anxiety, fear and needing to know if they’re going to be ok.”

“The top two concerns of our clients are ‘what do I want to do, and do I have enough for what I want to do? If not, how could I have enough?’. They don’t want to lose their independence. The reassurance of knowing they’re secure and their plan is secure is very important.”

This philosophy, says Brukman, has been a game changer, providing a central tenet that the company works continuously to refine and improve upon, to achieve better results in guiding clients towards a meaningful retirement, and supporting them through this change; making the experience better and of deeper value.

Planning for a meaningful retirement

What advice does Brukman have for anyone planning their retirement? As every financial advisor will tell you, the most important thing is to start now, if you haven’t already – not only with regard to planning your finances, but also in considering what you’d like to do with this next phase of life.

“The most successful and adaptable retirees are people who start to prepare quite a bit before that transition happens,” says Brukman. “If I see someone who is three months shy of retirement, there’s so much going through their minds.”

Next, get professional advice. “Put in the time and effort to speak to a professional, who, as much as possible, is independent and who has the qualifications that come with a set of standards and professionalism, and who suits you,” says Brukman. “Go out and meet these people, and see who you connect with, whose philosophy you connect with, and get to understand the services and value they can add.”

Finally, use knowledge to build your confidence. “It’s never too soon or too late – start enabling yourself and taking agency to understand your situation, and what changes you can make, if need be… so that you know all your options and understand the consequences of decisions that you make, as much as possible,” he says. “Build your sense of confidence and security regarding that future.”

Advice for prospective financial planners

For anyone thinking of joining this field, Brukman similarly advises taking the time to understand the different sides of the industry, and the varied ways one can work within it. “See what suits you. Speak to people – it’s a very friendly industry, people are open to sharing their experiences,” he says.

Brukman warns that it’s not “a get-rich-quick profession, it’s a get comfortable in the longer-term profession. And, like every industry, you’ve got to put in the work, get the qualifications.”

“At the end of the day, it’s about people. You’re going to spend your time sitting in front of someone, helping them through whatever they’re going through.”