FMA: Regulator on the road: Reflecting on professionalism

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Tuesday, March 1st 2011, 4:03PM 1 Comment

by FMA

Regulation alone doesn't make people professional. It has to come from within.   That's a message we've been emphasising a lot to the adviser industry in recent months as we explain how principles based regulation will work in practice. I witnessed a fabulous example of professional instinct on Friday when I took a call from 'Mary', a Christchurch adviser getting ready to apply for an AFA licence. I've called her Mary to protect her privacy. Mary explained that physically she was OK but that her CBD office was trashed. Her client files were in there. Her nearly completed Set C file and ABS were in there. She was in the midst of her Set D study and still needs to arrange for two of the required three testimonials. Mary doesn't want to go back into her office and doesn't yet know when or if she'll be allowed to. As we talked she also said she was dealing with illness in her family. Understandably Mary hadn't had the luxury of reading blogs or online news since Tuesday so had no idea that the Securities Commission, ETITO and the professional bodies had all signalled help and flexibility. Mary was worried about meeting the regulatory deadlines. But she said she was even more worried about how she would be able to help her clients, many of whom would be especially in need of her help right now. I thought about Mary a lot over the weekend, amazed at how her clients' wellbeing was top of mind for her when she was facing such huge personal challenges. I look forward to being able to do something tangible for Mary in coming weeks to ease the pressure of regulatory deadlines. Mary wasn't the only adviser affected by the quake who called or emailed us on Friday. There will be many more 'Marys' in uniquely challenging situations and I'm confident that we'll be able to help them too.   I'm also confident we'll see many more displays of professionalism in coming weeks as the adviser community rallies to help their Christchurch peers and their clients. Mel Hewitson

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