New Zealand's best in financial services recognised

The finalists for the FSC Awards 2026 have been revealed, recognising the people, teams and organisations raising the bar across New Zealand's financial services sector. 

From helping more New Zealanders build financial confidence to driving innovation and creating better outcomes for customers, this year's finalists reflect the depth of talent and leadership across our industry.

"The FSC Awards are about celebrating the people and organisations making a real difference for New Zealanders," said FSC CEO Kirk Hope.

"Every finalist has challenged themselves to do things better, whether that's through innovation, leadership, customer outcomes or community impact. Together, they showcase a sector that's continually evolving and committed to helping New Zealanders build stronger financial futures."

Congratulations to all finalists, and thank you to everyone who entered this year's awards. The quality of submissions made for an incredibly competitive judging process.

The winners will be announced at the FSC Awards Dinner on 13 August, held as part of FSC26 Amplify.

Secure your ticket today and join us in celebrating the best of New Zealand’s financial services sector. Ticket sales close on Wednesday 29 July 2026.

The event will feature a keynote address from Hon Cameron Brewer, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. 

The FSC Awards Dinner is proudly sponsored by PwC New Zealand. 

FSC Awards 2025 Finalist List

Contribution to Community Award – sponsored by PwC New Zealand 

• Booster Foundation: Partnered with Ngā Tanagata Microfinance (NTM) in the year 2022 to build a free online education and support programme ‘My Money Kete’ (MMK) provides free, accessible financial education, mentoring, tools and community support designed to help people build long-term financial resilience.
  MMK targets beneficiaries and low-income New Zealanders who have already begun a journey towards improved financial resilience and offers them the opportunity to build and maintain healthy financial behaviours.

• nib New Zealand: nib New Zealand is recognised as a finalist for its commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of Pacific RSE workers, a vital yet often underserved workforce in New Zealand’s horticulture and viticulture sectors. Since 2022, nib has worked with employers and government partners to remove barriers to healthcare through translated resources, improved access to care, and targeted health initiatives. By addressing health literacy, encouraging early intervention, and supporting better long-term health outcomes, the programme is making a meaningful difference to workers, their families, and the communities that rely on them.

• Raizor - Insurance for Good: Since launching in 2020, Insurance for Good has raised more than $568,000 for charities, with $350,000 donated in the past two years alone. The programme reimagines charitable giving by turning an everyday business expense into a sustainable source of funding for community organisations. Supporting around 90 charities across New Zealand, from major national organisations to grassroots causes, Raizor has demonstrated how innovation, collaboration, and commercial thinking can drive meaningful social impact and create a more sustainable future for community fundraising.

Emerging Trailblazer Award – sponsored by Swiss Re 

• Amy Cavanaugh: Head of Transformation, Public Trust
• Michelle Doyle: Head of Solutions, Fidelity Life
• Monique Ravening: Head of New Business and Underwriting, Chubb Life Insurance New Zealand Limited
• Raffi Rassam: Claims Operations Manager - Strategy and Stakeholder Engagement, Fidelity Life
• Vincent Colombié: Head of Conduct, Risk & Assurance, Fidelity Life

Excellence in ESG Award – sponsored by PwC New Zealand 

• AIA New Zealand: AIA NZ is committed to reducing its environmental footprint and embedding sustainability across its operations. Through initiatives including the redevelopment of AIA House into a lower-emissions workplace, reduced paper and postage use, and increased digital transformation, AIA NZ has delivered practical, measurable progress towards its net zero ambitions while demonstrating leadership in sustainability within the financial services sector. 
• Public Trust: Public Trust’s purpose is to empower New Zealanders to build and protect their legacies. Their approach to sustainability focuses on culture of care, enabling good governance, and supporting New Zealanders' financial wellbeing. Through their Corporate Trustee Services (CTS), they extend this impact across the financial services sector. 
• Sharesies: Sharesies goal is that far more parents kick start their kid's retirement/first home savings journey by encouraging parents to sign their kids up to KiwiSaver and start contributing to their KiwiSaver accounts. Sharesies has announced that it will contribute $0.25 for every $1 that parents (or other well meaning adults) contribute to their kid's KiwiSaver accounts between July 2026 and June 2027, up to $100 from Sharesies. Their vision is to be at the heart of wealth for every person, every family, and every business. Encouraging kids to start investing early is a great way to reduce wealth gaps regardless of their backgrounds and extremely well aligned with our purpose. 

Innovation of the Year Award – sponsored by PwC New Zealand 

• Fidelity Life: Fidelity Life's 3D Tool is global-first, data driven innovation, designed to improve how life insurers manage long term disability claims assessed as non-recoverable or permanent - cases that would typically remain open and passively managed until benefit expiry. 

• Partners Life: Quote for Alteration (QFA) platform - a fully digital tool created to revolutionise how advisers handle changes to in force insurance policies. Unlike traditional insurer processes, which rely on manual validation and multi-step workflows, QFA delivers real-time rule validation and end-to-end submission in a single system, reducing turnaround times from days to minutes.  

• Public Trust: Public Trust’s new digital system for KiwiSaver early withdrawal applications, launched in December 2025, represents a significant step-change in how financial hardship and serious illness withdrawals are managed in New Zealand. This industry-first innovation replaces a heavily manual, fragmented, and often slow process with a streamlined, end-to-end digital experience. 

• Simfuni: Simfuni’s Claims Workbench is a modern claims operations platform designed to help life insurers manage claims in a more connected, configurable, and operationally intelligent way. The Claims Workbench platform was developed in response to a growing challenge facing the life insurance industry: many insurers are still relying on fragmented legacy technology stacks that struggle to meet modern expectations from operators, policyholders, and regulators. 

Excellence in Wellbeing & Inclusion Award – sponsored by Swiss Re 

• AIA New Zealand: Accessibility is a key segment of AIA's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) strategy, alongside Māori and Pasifika, LGBTTQIAP+, Gender, and Age. It supports their ambition to reflect the communities they serve, foster a culture of belonging, and empower their people to reach their full potential. A standout achievement is AIA’s employee-led Accessibility Network and its market-leading Neurodiversity Toolkit, developed in partnership with disability and neurodiversity organisations and shared publicly to benefit employers across New Zealand.
  
• Southern Cross Medical Care Society: gatHER, Southern Cross' women's network, was founded in March 2025 under that wider DE&I umbrella. It was created as more than a women’s network. It was designed as a platform for connection, confidence, support and growth - a space where inclusion is experienced, not simply described. 

 Team of the Year Award – sponsored by PwC New Zealand 

• Asteron Life - Claims Team
• Fidelity Life - Claims Team
• Partners Life - Medical Claims Team
• Simfuni - Transformation Team
• Westpac - Financial Inclusion and Wellbeing Team

Chair’s Award for Service to the Industry and Workplace Savings Award

The FSC Chair’s Award and Workplace Savings Award recognise exceptional leadership and lasting contributions to New Zealand’s financial services sector. In keeping with the prestige of these awards, recipients will be announced on the night of the FSC Awards Dinner.

ENDS 

Notes:

• View the full conference programme here.
• For media passes to the Conference or to attend the FSC Awards Dinner, please contact media@fsc.org.nz
• Purchase tickets to attend the FSC26 Conference: Amplify and FSC Awards Dinner here.