The world of financial legislation seems to be a constantly changing landscape. This year, on 15 March, the Financial Advisers Act 2008 was officially repealed, and a new regime began.
From that date, all financial advisers (e.g., mortgage brokers, investment advisers, pension transfer specialists) needed to have a transitional licence to be able to provide financial advice. They have a maximum of two years (i.e., until March 2023) to apply for and be granted a full licence under the new regulations.
We are pleased to confirm that GBPensions was one of the first – and, at the time of writing, remains one of the few – organisations to obtain a full Financial Advice Provider (FAP) licence which can be viewed on the Financial Service Providers Register.
(In the same week we were granted our full FAP licence, it was gratifying to learn during our AML/CFT audit, that GBPensions’ filing and processes were the best that the auditor had ever seen!)
Why were these financial legislation changes necessary?
The FMA (Financial Markets Authority), the government agency which oversees New Zealand’s financial services and securities sector, says:
The Financial Services Legislation Amendment Act introduces changes to ensure the conduct and client-care obligations of financial service providers and the regulation of financial markets remain fit for purpose. It also addresses misuse of the financial service providers register by offshore entities. The changes are designed to:
- Remove regulatory boundaries, such as the current adviser classifications (AFA, RFA, and QFE), the distinction between “class advice” and “personalised advice”, and category 1 and 2 products
- Allow financial advice to be provided online as well as in person
- Set industry-wide standards for conduct and competence
If you wish to read more about the legislation, you can do so on the FMA website.
How do these new rules affect the service that GBPensions offers clients?
They don’t! The calibre of service and type of advice we offer remain unchanged.
You may have spotted one difference in our company literature, however. The term “Authorised Financial Adviser” has now been replaced with “Financial Adviser” because of the statement in the first bullet point, above. Namely, the previous three adviser types – Registered Financial Adviser (RFA), Authorised Financial Adviser (AFA), and QFE adviser have been removed. All advisers now need to meet the same standards and are subject to a Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services.
