Financial Advice New Zealand has launched a range of competency resource documents for its AFA members.
The resource materials include clarification commentary from David Ireland, Chair of the Code Committee, a summary Podcast, and a series of Quick Guides.
Financial Advice New Zealand CEO, Katrina Shanks, says the initiative is a response to queries from the association’s AFA members around requirements in the competency Code Standards 14-18.
“After receiving quite a number of calls from AFA members who were unsure about their requirements under the Code and ‘where to next’, we approached David Ireland with member-driven questions for clarification,” she said.
“The resulting Quick Guides outline the competency requirements and alternatives, and recommended CPD specific to the type and level of qualification held by AFAs.”
AFA members can access five Quick Guides which cover various competency scenarios and aim to provide clarity and guidance for AFAs specific to their own situations.
Financial Advice NZ provided a summary of each Quick Guide as follows:
Quick Guide #1
For all AFAs: universal requirements under Code Standards 14-18
Quick Guide #2
AFA’s Bridging options to the NZ Certificate Level 5: for Members who have attained the prior National Certificate L5 or parts thereof.
Quick Guide #3
Competence compliance for AFA’s with a Graduate Diploma attained prior to 30 June 2011.
Quick Guide #4
Competence compliance for AFA’s with a Graduate Diploma attained after 30 June 2011.
Quick Guide #5
Competence compliance for AFA’s with a CFP designation only.
Financial Advice New Zealand also provided an update on its promotion objective to heighten awareness of the value of advice and connect more Kiwis with quality advisers.
In the seven weeks since its launch on 1 July, the financialadvice.nz website has had just under 10,000 visits by over 6,000 people; appeared on screens more than one million times, and the Find an Adviser page has received more than 1,200 hits.
“We’re focused on creating awareness of Financial Advice New Zealand and members; what we stand for; and the important role that advice plays in helping Kiwis thrive,” said Shanks.