The Godfather completes the Trilogy - Celebrating Making Money Matter on World Financial Planning Day
Rodger Spiller honoured with a third inaugural national award — Ethical Financial Planner of the Year 2025
As we celebrate World Financial Planning Day on 8 October, alongside World Investor Week and Ethical Investment Week from 6 to 12 October, it feels especially fitting to share that I have been awarded ‘Best Ethical Financial Adviser 2025’ by Mindful Money - completing a trilogy of inaugural national awards related to Making Money Matter.
When a journalist recently described me as “the Godfather of Ethical Investing,” it made me smile - because while money has always mattered, the real question has always been: does it matter for good or for harm? Are your investments part of the problem or the solution?
Through Money Matters, I’ve committed my career to helping people align their finances with their values - to grow wealth that sustains not just themselves, but future generations and the planet we share. On this World Financial Planning Day, I’m celebrating everyone who believes that prosperity and purpose can (and should) go hand in hand. Together, we’re making money matter. The three-minute video below is of me receiving this award in July.
It has been a great honour to be recognised as best adviser when the Good Returns Financial Planner of the Year award was first introduced, then Mindful Money Best Ethical Adviser (business) when that award was first introduced and now as Mindful Money Best Ethical Adviser (individual) for the new focus of this award. In subsequent years, the judges for both of the first two awards decided to recognise other advisers to promote a diverse range of talent in the industry.
The Mindful Money award judges' commendation for the 2025 award included a reference to my dedication to integrating my advice through Money Matters with my academic research. That research was first recognised back in 1983. While studying Accounting at the University of Auckland, I won the Senior Accounting Prize for my research on Corporate Social Responsibility — long before CSR, ESG, or ethical investing were common terms in business or finance. That early research led to my Master of Commerce (1990, First Class Honours), with a thesis on ethical investment, and later to my Doctorate (1999), focused on business ethics, ethical investment, and responsible business leadership. I’m thrilled that my article ‘Ethical Business and Investment: A Model for Business and Society’, published in the Journal of Business Ethics (2000), based on my PhD, continues to be widely cited.
It is also an honour to publish with Professor Chellie Spiller. Our latest article, ‘Consciousness - Centered Stewardship: An Indigenous Standpoint’, co-authored with Dr Amber Nicholson, was published in a special Earth Day issue of the highly respected Humanistic Management Journal. The article explores how Māori philosophy - especially kaitiakitanga - can reshape investment approaches, leadership, and sustainability practices. This is discussed in my blog, ‘Investors as Kaitiaki: Meeting the Earth Day Challenge’. It is exciting to see how Chellie’s inspiring research and leadership development are in strong demand, including with investment advisory firms from Melbourne to Geneva.
World Financial Planning Day
The Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. (FPSB) and its global network across 28 territories host the 9th World Financial Planning Day on 8 October 2025. The annual event demonstrates how financial planning, and working with a financial planner who has committed to competency and ethical standards, helps people worldwide achieve greater financial well-being.
“World Financial Planning Day shines a spotlight on how financial planning can transform lives. With more than 230,000 CFP professionals worldwide, we’re proud to join our global community to raise awareness of the importance of financial planning during this annual celebration, held alongside IOSCO’s World Investor Week,” said FPSB CEO Dante De Gori, CFP. “Through World Financial Planning Day, we want individuals everywhere to discover the powerful role financial planning can play in reaching life goals and shaping a more confident future.”
World Financial Planning Day sheds light on the benefits of proactive financial planning. According to the ‘FPSB Value of Financial Planning Report’, the top five benefits of working with a financial planner reported by clients are:
Improved financial wellbeing and peace of mind
Better financial decision-making confidence
Help to explain and simplify financial matters
Saves time and effort organising finances
Feel more satisfied with their wealth
People who work with a CFP professional say they are better off and that they:
Experience a higher quality of life: Feel better about their health, connection, purpose and life satisfaction;
Have greater financial confidence: Feel more confident about their financial security and ability to achieve their personal financial goals;
Are more satisfied with their financial situation: Feel better about their spending capability, personal financial risk management, and overall wealth;
Enjoy a better experience with the financial planning process: Feel more optimistic about meeting their financial needs and achieving financial gains.
In this study, the barriers or myths that prevent people from seeking the help of a financial planner were explored and the findings provide evidence to break down these misperceptions. Clients said that the benefits of financial planning services outweigh the costs, and that these benefits are present regardless of wealth or age.
Dante De Gori concludes: “If you’re wondering how financial planning might benefit your life, I encourage you to connect with a financial planning professional and explore how advice can help you build a roadmap to secure your financial future and achieve your goals and dreams”.
The FPSB is dedicated to establishing financial planning as a globally recognised profession and promoting global standards, certification and professional growth. They envision a future where financial planning is universally acknowledged and their Certified Financial Planner (CFP) certification is synonymous with excellence in the field.
I am a CFP and played a key role in bringing the CFP designation to New Zealand. As Chairman of the New Zealand Association of Investment Advisers and Financial Planners (IAFP), I represented New Zealand in the USA in meetings with the FPSB. Financial Advice New Zealand is now the NZ affiliate of the FPSB and is uniting with a network of international professional adviser bodies to celebrate and promote the value of quality financial advice.
The video below introduces World Financial Planning Day. It includes a message from IOSCO Secretary General Rodrigo Buenaventura in support of World Financial Planning Day:
“In today’s world, the role of financial planners is vital in helping individuals navigate the complexities of modern finance, assess risks, and, more importantly, improve their long-term financial well-being.”
It then features CFP professionals from throughout the world, highlighting how financial planning can help make informed, more robust investors around the world.
World Investor Week
World Financial Planning Day was launched in 2017 as part of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) ‘World Investor Week’. IOSCO is the international body that brings together the world's securities regulators and is recognised as the global standard setter for the securities sector. IOSCO develops, implements and promotes adherence to internationally recognised standards for securities regulation. When I was a member of the New Zealand Securities Commission, back in 2004, I was honoured to contribute, from involvement in financial literacy initiatives to helping draft the original ‘Corporate Governance in New Zealand Principles and Guidelines’ (I discuss this in my blog ‘Ethical Ambition and the NZX’).
Last year, the theme for World Investor Week was sustainable finance. I wrote a blog about this: ‘World Investment Week Sees Regulators Highlight Sustainable Finance’. Whilst sustainable and ethical finance are not explicitly included as topics for this year, the Financial Markets Authority (FMA), which replaced the Securities Commission in 2011, is currently seeking feedback on updated draft guidance for financial products with ethical characteristics. The FMA’s Press Release states that the updated guidance will help issuers consider how they present their products in disclosures and advertising on ethical claims.
FMA Executive Director of Response and Enforcement, Louise Unger, said: “Our research has shown that ethical investment opportunities are increasingly important for investors. However, investors don’t always investigate the underlying details of their investments, and understandably place a lot of trust in issuers to deliver the advertised benefits of ethical investment products.
“Ethical investment disclosures are a priority for us, as outlined in our Financial Conduct Report. We want to encourage issuers to provide clear, concise, and effective disclosure when they incorporate values-based or ethical factors into their financial products, which means including all material information and ensuring they avoid being misleading or deceptive,” said Louise Unger.
“We also want investors to be able to rely on the claims made by issuers and make well-informed decisions about their investments. There is a risk that confusing, unclear, and inconsistent disclosure and advertising for ethical investment leads to uninformed investor decision-making and damages trust and confidence in ethical products.”
This year’s World Investor Week main themes include Digital Finance and Crypto Assets, the impact of new Technologies and AI, prevention from Fraud & Scam and the Basics of Investing. It is encouraging to see the FMA participating in World Investor Week. Each day this week, it is spotlighting a key topic to help you Smarten up your investing:
The FMA has created an online ‘Spot the Scam & Smart Investing Scorecard’ in which you can complete a self-assessment to see your Smart Investor Score: “Test your ability to spot investment scams and check your personal scam-safety habits! Review realistic scenarios, decide if they're safe or scams, and complete a self-assessment to see your Smart Investor Score. At the end, you'll receive a personalised result based on your score”.
The questions include:
“Trusted financial sources”? Well, apart from me (naturally), a good place to start looking is for someone who, like me, is an independent Certified Financial Planner member of Financial Advice New Zealand and holds the “Trusted Adviser” mark:
The Trusted Adviser mark is awarded to Financial Advice New Zealand members who have committed to qualifications and continuing professional development at a level higher than that required by New Zealand law and code. It demonstrates that an adviser’s level of qualifications, experience and ethics has been recognised by a professional body. Financial Advice New Zealand is a professional membership organisation that strives to help New Zealanders, and New Zealand as a whole, be financially better off.
Ethical Investment Week
Ethical Investment Week is an initiative of the Ethical Advisers Co-op, which has a membership of over 40 advisers, all of whom operate within ethically focused Financial Planning practices around Australasia, collectively managing over $3.13 billion of ethical investors’ money.
Ethical Investment Week highlights the objectives and benefits of ethical investments and advice. For the 12th annual Ethical Investment Week, 6 to 12 October 2025, the focus is on the strong connection between Ethical Investing and Growing Generational Wealth.
Globally, around USD 83 trillion will be transferred over the next 25 years. The US alone accounts for USD 29 trillion. Women and younger investors (Gen Z and Millennials) are increasingly directing these funds — and they overwhelmingly prefer ethical, sustainable investment strategies.
People over 55 hold 60% of New Zealand’s $2.29 trillion wealth. $1.11 trillion will be transferred in the next 20 years. 75% of New Zealanders expect their investments to be managed ethically and responsibly.
Research from the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing shows that:
88% of global investors are interested in sustainable investing
99% of Gen Z and 97% of Millennials express strong interest
59% plan to increase sustainable allocations in the coming year
80% would choose an adviser or platform based on sustainable offerings (96% of Gen Z; 92% of Millennials)
The Co-op proposes three steps to make Ethical Investing part of your Legacy:
1. Choose an Adviser Who Understands Your Values
Work with a financial adviser who specialises in ethical investing. They’ll work to understand your values and help ensure your portfolio reflects what matters most to you.
2. Formalise Your Wishes
Include your ethical investment intentions in your will, trust, and estate plan. This could mean directing funds to be managed sustainably or setting up structures that ensure the wealth you leave via this legacy is invested ethically and will continue to reflect your values long after you’re gone.
3. Educate others and the next generation
Talk to others, including your people in your life, about investing in line with their ethics. Share your story about why and how you invest ethically helps others see the impact their choices can make. Provide them with resources and guidance on ethical investing so they can make informed decisions – your ethical adviser can help with this.
I’m proud to be part of the Ethical Advisers Co-op and value the involvement with Australian colleagues. Money Matters involvement included providing the theme for an Ethical Investment Week: ‘wayfinding for ethical investment’. Integrating Chellie’s wayfinding research and my ethical investment research, we provided a seminar that was a journey of discovery for ethical investors. Read about and watch that here: ‘Wayfinding for Ethical Investment Seminar’.
Ethical Investment Week 2025 focuses on helping you as an individual investor explore how you can grow wealth that truly matters – financial, social, cultural, environmental and spiritual – enriching generations to come. As part of Ethical Investment Week, members of the Ethical Advisers’ Co-op are presenting a range of resources. Visit the site for more information.
Concluding Reflections
For anyone who still wonders whether how you invest your money matters, the example of Nelson Mandela offers a powerful answer. His story has inspired me since the 1970s — a time when ethical investing was often dismissed as idealistic, even radical. But I saw then, as I do now, that money truly matters.
Years later, Nelson Mandela spoke about the role ethical investors throughout the world had played in helping end apartheid and secure his release. Among them were New Zealanders – people I spoke about in my Ethical Investment Week interview - who stood up and used their shareholder voices to ask the hard questions and challenge injustice. In one notable case, a group of determined shareholders, led by a few courageous middle-aged women, questioned a major New Zealand insurance company investing in South Africa. Their stand helped awaken public awareness that making money from apartheid wasn’t okay.
I’m proud to continue playing my part in this ongoing ethical investment movement - showing investors, fund managers, and businesses how they can aim higher: to make good money and make a difference.
I’ll leave the last word to Harvard Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter, whose insight has long guided my work as an ethical investment researcher and adviser:
“Money should never be separated from mission. It is an instrument, not an end. Detached from values, it may indeed be the root of all evil. Linked effectively to social purpose, it can be the root of opportunity.”
- Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business Review, 1991