by Rob Hosking
These provisions included the requirement that all advisers belong to Approved Professional Body (APBs) and meet certain educational and disclosure standards.
PAA chief executive Dave McMillan says the bill has "few surprises…but there's still some things that don't make a lot of sense and hopefully will be sorted out at the select committee stages."
Part of the bill assesses the likely impact of the changes on the industry and these may be a little far fetched, he says.
"I would hesitate to use the word 'naive' but there's a small amount of wishful thinking, at least, about what the outcomes might be.
"They suggest there will be greater competition on fees, and a greater uptake of people using financial advisers.
"That just doesn't match up with the reality of what is being proposed. You're increasing the barriers to entry, because all these new requirements are going to add costs.
On top of that you're going to have fewer advisers anyway, because some existing advisers will leave the industry."
Instead of there being greater competition between advisers, he says, there will be competition between suppliers to provide the most attractive remuneration for advisers.
There is a counter-argument to this – that the new regime will attract younger and higher qualified people to the industry: "Well it might happen, but you wouldn't want to bet your house on it."
Rob Hosking is a Wellington-based freelance writer specialising in political, economic and IT related issues.
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