No choice but to get a DIMs licence: Regan

AMP been granted a DIMS licence and says it was essential to go down this route, although it is unlikely to make any extra profit from offering the service to advisers.

Tuesday, March 24th 2015, 7:54AM

AMP managing director Jack Regan says getting a DIMs licence was "essential to its partnership with advisers."

With the licence appointed AFAs will be able to provide class DIMS on AMP's Wealthview platform. While there has been some concern that DIMS will restrict the number of options available to clients Regan disagrees.

He says, considering the size of the New Zealand market, there are sufficient options available to investors. "I think there is a rich offering (for investors)," he says.

Regan says the Financial Markets Authority is conducting a "pretty thorough process" in assessing DIMs applications, and he supports what it is doing. However, he questions whether the original financial adviser regime which was implemented was the right one and if it was implemented differently the DIMS regime would not have been required. Regan is clear something had to be done because market confidence was undermined by the behaviour of some financial advisers.

For AMP offering the DIMS service is something it had to do for its advisers, although it is unlikely to add anything to the company's bottom line.

"This is not really a margin gain for us."

The licence will cover advisers and services provided on the Wealthview platform and means Advisers will not need to apply for their own personalised DIMS licence, Regan says.

“This is a significant achievement for the business as it has seen us successfully reach the first major milestone under the new Financial Markets Conduct Act (FMCA) which came into effect on December 1."

“Obtaining a DIMS licence is a significant driver in our supporting role of advisers – not only the advisers we already support but also independent advisers who require significant levels of industry support in this increased regulatory environment,” Regan says.

“To support the implementation of the FMCA requirements, and implementation of our DIMS licence, we have made a number of senior appointments across the business. These appointments provide an uplift in capability, and will enable us to provide a world-class proposition to our customers and Advisers,” concludes Regan.

Between now and 31 August the business will continue working with the FMA to further finalise details regarding implementation. We will also work with our Advisers across the AMP Financial Adviser Network (AFAN), AdviceFirst and Spicers to ensure a smooth transition for customers.

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