STEP is delighted to announce a record 37 new award winners in its Worldwide Excellence Awards.

First launched in 2016, the Awards run twice a year to celebrate the highest achievement in STEP qualifications globally, and the latest winners are the top achievers across STEP’s exams for the period January – July 2018.

Some of our other winners are familiar names to us at STEP, with Helen Allen, Kin Wah Fung, Chloe Fitzgerald, Christian Hay TEP, Jasmine Ming Tak Lai, Sarah Simpson and Sarah Anne Stewart all having achieved top marks in previous exams.

STEP’s Employer Partners were also well represented, with Harper Macleod fielding two winners, and Mills & Reeve and Foot Anstey one each.

‘We have great admiration for our winners, and congratulate them all,’ said Nigel Race, STEP’s Director of Professional Development, ‘These are impressive results and reflect the significant effort and skill they have applied to their studies.’

The top students come from all over the world, including Jersey, Guernsey, Cyprus, France, Monaco, Hong Kong and Singapore. The UK was also well represented, with winners from Belfast, Bristol, Cambridge, Cirencester, Frodsham, Glasgow, Hexham, Leeds and London. Many have provided testimonials:

Katherine Anne Willmott TEP of Foot Anstey, Exeter, the highest scoring graduate of the STEP Diploma in Trusts and Estates (England and Wales), said, ‘I decided to begin the STEP diploma because the ‘TEP’ designation is such a recognised quality mark in this area of law. I felt that becoming a full STEP member would be one of the best ways to improve my technical knowledge, and demonstrate this knowledge to colleagues and clients.’

Helen Allen of GMcG Group in Belfast, the highest scoring graduate of the STEP Diploma in Trusts and Estates (Northern Ireland), said, ‘Having worked as a Chartered Tax Adviser for over 20 years, the STEP exams provided the ideal opportunity to consolidate and further develop my knowledge of trusts and estates.’

Leong Guan Lim from UBS AG, Singapore, who achieved the highest mark in the STEP Certificate in International Trust Management said, ‘My career thus far has been built on the foundations of expertise in investments and capital markets. With a change of focus towards wealth planning, I felt it was critical to build up the body of knowledge and expertise in trusts and planning … Even with very little background in this new area, I found the subject matter fascinating and felt myself being drawn in very naturally. The course materials were helpful, and the teaching was exemplary!’

• Full list of winners

The top scoring students for the period 1 July – 31 December 2018 will be announced in June 2019.

About STEP qualifications
STEP runs a number of qualifications for those who advise on family inheritance and succession planning, including Certificates, Advanced Certificates and Diplomas with our primary education partner CLT International. Students need to gain a specific number of credits via examination, essays or prior experience in order to become an Affiliate Member, an Associate Member or a ‘TEP’ – the designation granted to a Full Member of STEP.

Ends

For further information please contact Joanna Pegum, Tel: +44 (0)20 3752 3771, Email:[email protected].

STEP is the global professional association for practitioners who specialise in family inheritance and succession planning. STEP works to improve public understanding of the issues families face in this area and promotes education and high professional standards among its members. STEP members help families plan for their futures, from drafting wills to issues surrounding international families, protection of the vulnerable, family businesses and philanthropic giving. Full STEP members, known as TEPs, are internationally recognised as experts in their field, with proven qualifications and experience.

Find out more at www.step.org.