by Susan Edmunds
The associations are holding their joint conference in Auckland, which finishes today.
Each delegate has been given a handout asking them to “help shape the future of your profession”.
They are asked how they think the current regulatory regime is working, what parts of the AFA code should apply to insurance and mortgage advisers if the RFA/AFA distinction is removed, how significant commission income is to their business revenue, if they could change one aspect of regulation, what it would be and whether they are an RFA or AFA.
A summary of responses will be delivered to members by the end of June.
Meanwhile, a panel session made up of presentations from Code Committee chair David Ireland. John Botica, of the FMA and Ian Southall, of MBIE, discussed the possible changes to the Financial Advisers Act.
Ireland said a key issue to be considered was that so long as the code of professional conduct, which covers things such as ethical obligations and qualification requirements, only applied to AFAs, a small subset of the adviser industry, it could not be effective in achieving its objectives of promoting confidence and integrity.
“At the moment there’s one set of rules for us and one for them, which is inherently problematic.”
Botica said regulation would seem like a source of pressure for advice but it was a fraction of a wider picture. “The bigger challenge is to reinvent the adviser profession for the 21st century.”
Other challenges included technological change and the different approach that would be required to deal with generation X and Y clients. “The gen ys recognise what experts have to offer but they are very willing to question that expertise as well. They’re just as likely to seek your advice as their parents but they’re more likely to reject it and go somewhere else.”
Southall said the Ministry wanted to determine whether the regulation as it stands worked for consumers and the industry. “The objective will be to provide some advice to the Minister at the end of the year on potential options. At this stage we can hand on heart say we haven’t got any firm views of what those options might look like.”
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