The FPI Financial Planner of the Year finalists

The winner of the 2025 FPI Financial Planner of the Year will be announced on 3 November at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. The three finalists who will be competing for this distinguished award are: Brendan Dunn CFP^®, Theoniel Mcdonald CFP^® and Nicola Langridge CFP^®.

Established in 2000, the FPOTY award is highly coveted and recognises outstanding achievement in the field and practice of financial planning. The recipient of the award will receive the FPI Financial Planner of the Year trophy, an official certificate, and will also be appointed as one of the FPI’s professional brand ambassadors.

The competition is designed to honour the country’s leading CFP^® professional and is, by nature, rigorous and demanding. All nominees were required to satisfy a comprehensive set of criteria, and subsequently, to demonstrate their expertise and talent through innovative ideas, superior skills, and uncompromising ethical standards in client engagements.

Meet the finalists

Brendan Dunn obtained a BCom Honours degree in Accounting Sciences from the University of Pretoria and completed his articles at TGVN Auditors, registering as a Chartered Accountant (CA(SA)) in 2016. In 2016, he joined Verso Wealth as a paraplanner, obtaining his Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning through the University of the Free State and becoming a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^® professional.  He served as a financial planner from 2018 until the end of 2020. He then worked in Asset Management with Galileo Asset Managers before joining Hewett Wealth in 2023 as a Financial Advisor and is now an Executive Head. Brendan is passionate about Financial Education.

Theoniel McDonald has over 20 years of experience in the financial services profession, with a passion for business and financial planning. This passion led him to complete a Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning and an MBA. With strong entrepreneurial skills, a solid business background, and exceptional problem-solving abilities, Theoniel provides comprehensive financial planning services to his clients, primarily business owners and professionals. He understands the importance of a client-centric approach and constantly improving and professionalising his advisory practice

Nicola Langridge joined Private Client Holdings in 2016, making her way into wealth management from a solid grounding in unit trust operations with a local asset manager. She has a Bachelor of Business Science with Honours in Finance from UCT, a Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning from UFS, and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^® professional.

Nicola believes in giving comprehensive and professional financial advice. She has a special interest in empowering women to take charge of their financial affairs, and is committed to a goals-based Family Office approach to structuring finances to ensure financial security and growth in the long term.

She has travelled extensively but is now settled in her birthplace, Cape Town, with her husband and two children. The family spends their free time on the beach and in the ocean.