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Remembering Fred Dodds The financial planning community has lost a true legend. Philip Macalister pays tribute.
F
red Dodds passed away on Monday, November 9. Not many people knew Fred was battling cancer. But that is what Fred was like. One of the many loveable things about Fred was his humour. Decades ago he was involved in industry debates and I still remember them because of Fred. More recently when he accepted his Financial Advice New Zealand Outstanding Contribution to the Industry award he gave a wonderful, off the cuff, hilarious speech. As a Dad, I loved to see how he publicly showed true affection for his daughter, Toni. I know he was very proud that Toni worked in the same industry as him and, like Fred, she is determined to help lift professional standards. 14 | ASSET NOVEMBER 2020
Fred was passionate about financial planning and understood the many issues. Often he would hit me up with some questions seeking my thoughts. One of the more recent was returning on a bus from some conference dinner in Christchurch. He asked me about the IFA and PAA getting together. Little did I know at the time things were progressing on what was to be Financial Advice New Zealand. It was a good discussion we had. Looking back Fred had the bit between his teeth on this one and he, along with others, succeeded. Fred joined the industry in 1977 working for the likes of Prudential and Tower. As an adviser manager Fred recruited, trained and supervised many successful
advisers over the years – he was highly respected within the profession. Besides his roles within companies, Fred made massive contributions to the various adviser organisations over the years; including the Life Underwriters Association, International Association for Financial Planning, Insurance and Investment Advisers Association, Financial Planning Association and Institute of Financial Advisers. His commitment to these organisations demonstrates his passion to give back to the industry. This was also summed up in his nominations for the outstanding contribution to the industry award: "It is his passion that sets him apart from the crowd." "His passion for the profession,
