Tuesday, 13 October 2026 | Sandton Convention Centre

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Registration fee:
FIA Members: R1 185.00*
Non-Members: R1 400.00*

*VAT Included

Level 1 Partners

About

In a profession built on long-term relationships, your most durable competitive advantage was never a product, a platform, or a rate. It has always been trust, quietly compounded over years of showing up, telling the truth, and putting your clients' interests first.

The FIA Advice Summit 2026 is built around that truth. Under the theme Provenance: Nothing Compounds Like Trust, this year's summit brings together South Africa's leading financial advisors, regulators, economists and industry voices for a full day of conversation about what the advice profession is, where it stands, and what it is capable of becoming.

The programme moves across the terrain that defines the profession in 2026: The political and economic crossroads South Africa faces, the arrival of COFI and what it demands of every practice, the mounting reality of climate risk and what it means for long-term financial planning, the challenge of NHI and a healthcare system under pressure, and the rise of artificial intelligence - both the tools it offers advisors and the irreplaceable human qualities it can never replace.

The FIA Advice Summit is the profession's day to take stock. To measure the distance travelled, to be honest about the road ahead, and to remember that in this industry, provenance is not a marketing concept. It is your proof of work.

Benefits of Attending

A day that earns its place in your calendar
One focused programme. No filler. Every session built around the decisions you are actually navigating with clients right now - from COFI to climate risk to AI in your practice.

01

Networking
The FIA Advice Summit brings together the profession's most serious practitioners, regulators and industry leaders. The conversations that happen between sessions are as valuable as the ones on stage.

02

Immediately applicable
Every session is designed to be immediately applicable whether that is a clearer position on COFI compliance, a framework for talking to clients about climate risk, or a practical understanding of where AI genuinely helps your practice and where it does not.

03

Level 2 Partners

Agenda

  • Ronald King
    FIA President & Head of Legal & Regulatory Affairs PSG Wealth 

    • AI in workflows: how leading advisors are using tools for meeting notes, client summaries and CRM management to recover hours every week

    • Scaling advice without losing personalisation: the practitioners who are growing their books without growing their headcount

    • Reducing admin drag per client: real numbers from real practices on what AI adoption has changed in day-to-day operations

    Pierre Geyer
    Executive Head: Broker Distribution - Bryte

    Marsh 

    Momentum Insure 

    Facilitated by Peter Olyott
    FIA Director & CEO Willis Towers Watson

    • History suggests a Godzilla El Niño could be on South Africa's doorstep: What the science says and why this cycle matters more than previous ones

    • Risks of higher-than-normal summer temperatures and excessive winter rainfall and what this means for property, agriculture, infrastructure and your clients' assets

    • The long-term implications of climate volatility for financial planning and why advisors cannot afford to treat natural disasters as isolated events

    • How advisors can have the climate risk conversation with clients without creating panic and what a climate-resilient financial plan actually looks like

    OMI 

    Muzi Dladia
    Executive Manager: Stakeholder Management - Sasria 

     Facilitated by Linah Mabena
    FIA Director & CEO Standard Bank Insurance Brokers 

    • How correlated loss events in the same calendar year are fundamentally changing how insurers price and model risk

    • The hardening of insurance pricing: What is driving it, how long it will last, and what advisors need to be telling clients now

    • Recalibrating risk models in real time and how underwriters are incorporating climate data that did not exist a decade ago

    • AI application in underwriting: How machine learning is changing claims prediction, fraud detection and risk assessment across the industry

    Discovery 

    Renasa 

    Santam 

    Facilitated by Henriette Senekal
    FIA Director & Chief Executive: PSG Short Term Administration 

  • Dr. Kershen Pillay
    Chief Executive Officer - Gifs 

    • NHI remains a structural uncertainty: What advisors should and should not be telling clients about its timeline and likely implementation shape

    • Digitally managed, network-based, risk-tiered healthcare systems are under sustained affordability pressure: Is there a viable solution that preserves quality of care?

    • Data, AI and predictive underwriting developments in medical insurance and what is changing under the hood and how it will affect advice

    • The advisor's role as a stabilising voice in an uncertain healthcare landscape: How to counsel clients without overpromising on outcomes that are still being determined

    Bonitas 

    Gary Feldman - Executive Head - Health Insurance - JigSaw 

    Momentum Health 

    Facilitated by Greg Setzkorn
    FIA Vice President & CEO Setzkorn, Harvey, Dodds and Associates 

    • As AI reshapes industries and information becomes increasingly commoditised, the real challenge is no longer access to knowledge: It is knowing what to trust, what to ignore, and how to make better decisions in a world saturated with noise

    • Explore the evolving relationship between technology and human judgement, unpacking why curiosity, adaptability, critical thinking and human connection will become even more valuable as AI matures

    • What this means for financial advisors specifically: Where AI assists, where it falls short, and what irreplaceable human qualities define the advisor of the future

    • In a world where anyone can access financial information instantly, what is the true provenance of advice and why does it matter more now than ever?

    Carl Coetzee
    Executive Head: Distribution - Auto & General 

    Easy Equities 

    Hollard 

    PG Glass 

    Facilitated by  
    Theoniel McDonald
    FIA Director & Head of Financial Planning Wealth & Associates 

    • An update on the key themes emerging from Ombud complaints and determinations

    • What the complaint trends tell us about where the advice process is most at risk

    • Practical guidance on record-keeping, disclosure and client communication

    Farzana Badat
    Deputy Commissioner at the FSCA  

    Facilitated by Ronald King
    FIA President & Head of Legal & Regulatory Affairs PSG Wealth)  

    • Is COFI simply FAIS with a new name, or does it fundamentally change what is expected of a financial advisor?

    • What practical steps should financial advisors be focusing on within their practices right now, ahead of implementation

    • What a good COFI-compliant client file looks like in practice and how to close the gap between current records and the new standard

    FSCA 

    Chantal Manson
    Head of Legal Regulatory - Liberty 

    Barend van der Westhuizen
    Head of External Distribution - PPS  

    Facilitated by Ronald King
    FIA President & Head of Legal & Regulatory Affairs PSG Wealth & Sam Williams – FIA Head of Legal & Regulatory Affairs

    • Philosophy and values are not soft concepts: They are the architecture of every high-performing team and the foundation every championship culture is built on

    • Building trust in a multi-faceted team: The lessons from elite sport that translate directly into how advisor practices grow, retain talent and serve clients under pressure

    • What it takes to compound excellence over time: The habits, disciplines and standards that separate those who sustain performance from those who peak and plateau

    Philip Snyman
    South African Sevens Rugby Coach

  • Lizelle van der Merwe
    CEO - FIA

*Agenda is subject to change at the discretion of the event organisers.

Level 3 Partners and Associate Sponsors

  • Executive Head: Distribution
    Auto & General (Telesure Investment Holdings)

    Carl is the Executive Head of Distribution at Auto & General Insurance, responsible for leading the broker, dealer, affinity, and strategic partnership channels. He has built his career around growing businesses through strong partnerships, customer-centric thinking, and high-performing teams. Carl is passionate about expanding market opportunities, developing people, and ensuring Auto & General remains a partner of choice across the South African insurance landscape.

  • Head of Legal Regulatory
    Liberty

    Chantal has been with the Liberty Group, a leading financial services company which is part of the Standard Bank Group, for over 19 years and heads up the Legal Regulatory team within the Legal Department, where she primarily focuses on emerging regulations in the financial services sector. Prior to this she was practicing as an attorney. Chantal is a member of the National Steering Committee of the Pension Lawyers Association, and previously was the National President. In 2024 Chantal was appointed as the Vice-chair of the International Pension & Employee Benefits Lawyers Association (IPEBLA). She is also a member of the Institute of Retirement Funds Africa (IRFA) Legal and Technical Committee. Chantal is an admitted attorney, notary public and conveyancer. Her qualifications include an LLM, LLB, post graduate certificates in Compliance Management, Anti-Money Laundering, Risk Management, Financial Markets, Principles of Management, Governance & Ethics from Wits Business School, and FinTech and Enhanced AI Decision Making from GIBS.

Speakers

Full line-up to be revealed

  • Head of External Distribution
    Professional Provident Society (PPS)

    Barend is Head of External Distribution at PPS, where he leads engagement with financial advisers and distribution partners across South Africa. As part of the PPS leadership team, he helps strengthen adviser partnerships and support long-term value creation through the ethos of mutuality and shared success. With a career spanning financial services, banking, insurance, taxation and wealth management, Barend has held senior leadership and specialist roles across the industry. Drawing on this experience, he contributes to discussions on financial planning, intergenerational wealth transfer, adviser value and the evolving role of technology in advice, with a strong focus on delivering meaningful outcomes for clients.

  • Chief Executive Officer
    The Graduate Institute of Financial Sciences (Gifs)

    A visionary leader redefining the future of financial services education. As CEO of the Graduate Institute of Financial Sciences (GIFS), he has built one of Africa’s most innovative learning institutions, equipping advisors with skills that endure beyond technology. His work champions access, dignity and ethical leadership, ensuring intermediaries remain trusted custodians of client relationships in a digital age. A passionate advocate for transformation and youth empowerment, Dr Pillay positions South Africa’s advisors as respected leaders whose record, depth and trust cannot be replicated by algorithms. He brings a powerful perspective on why provenance compounds, and why the human advisor remains irreplaceable.

  • Deputy Comissioner
    FSCA

  • Executive Head - Health Insurance
    JigSaw

    Gary is the Executive Head of Health Insurance at Jigsaw. After 15 years with Old Mutual in the provider space, he moved into consulting, where he has spent most of his career specialising in Employee Benefits, with a strong focus on healthcare consulting. He is a Stellenbosch University graduate with a BCom (Hons) degree and a lifelong career in the financial services industry. He has successfully led several national healthcare consulting businesses and served as Vice-Chairman of the Financial Intermediary Association (FIA) Healthcare Exco. His extensive industry knowledge and ability to understand both client and broker needs position him as a key asset to the JIGSAW Health and Risk Services business.

  • Chief Executive Officer
    FIA

    Lizelle is the Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Intermediaries Association of Southern Africa (FIA), where she leads the organisation’s advocacy and engagement efforts on behalf of brokers, financial advisers and discretionary investment managers with regulators, government and industry stakeholders. With nearly three decades of experience in the insurance industry, she also serves on the Financial Sector Transformation Council, Business for South Africa policy committees and the Executive Council of the World Federation of Insurance Intermediaries. Passionate about people, leadership and driving meaningful change, she is committed to challenging conventional thinking and fostering collaboration, underpinned by extensive qualifications in management, insurance, financial management and executive leadership.

  • Executive Manager: Stakeholder Management
    Sasria

    Muzi is an Executive at Sasria SOC Ltd and a doctoral candidate in Business Administration. With a passion for purpose-led leadership, he works at the crossroads of public impact, resilience, and strategic transformation. Known for his insight, integrity, and ability to connect deeply with people, Muzi brings a rare blend of intellect and heart to every platform. He speaks on leadership, governance, social equity, and the power of aligned values in a complex world.

  • Head Coach of the South African Sevens rugby team

    Philip Snyman is the Head Coach of the South African Sevens rugby team, the Blitzboks, and a former captain and Olympic bronze medallist who enjoyed one of the most successful careers in Sevens rugby. Renowned for his leadership, resilience and deep understanding of the game, he has seamlessly transitioned from player to coach, guiding the Blitzboks back to international success. His coaching philosophy is built on discipline, teamwork and high-performance culture, inspiring players to compete with the intensity and pride that have become synonymous with South African Sevens rugby.

  • Executive Head: Broker Distribution
    Bryte

    Pierre joined Bryte in January 2025 as Executive Head: Broker Distribution and is responsible for Personal and Commercial business development, ensuring profitable, sustainable growth, and establishing Bryte as a leading competitor in South Africa's non-life insurance sector. Pierre built a solid track record with over 30 years in the non-life insurance market, holding several leadership positions as Board Director, Chief Procurement Officer, Chief Operations Officer, Managing Director – Select Brokers and Underwriting Managers, Managing Executive and leadership experience in the non-life insurance industry. Pierre has many skills in areas such as Strategy Development and Partnership Development. He is a leader who executes well, delivers results, fosters a culture of empowerment, and cares deeply about people, creating shared value and organizational purpose.

  • FIA President and PSG Wealth - Head: Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs

    Ronald is the current President of the Financial Intermediaries Association of Southern Africa (FIA). He serves a dual role as the Head of Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs at PSG Wealth, acting as a prominent advocate for independent financial advisers and the just regulation of financial services in South Africa.