More than 600 financial advisers may have left the industry so far this year, according to the government’s Companies Office.
Of the estimated 9,000 financial service providers that migrated to become financial advisers by 15 March, around 680 have not inked to a Financial Advice Provider, says the organisation – meaning around 7.5% of the country’s advisers have been deregistered.
“Companies Office did not have any expectation around numbers that would subsequently link to a FAP,” says a Companies Office spokesperson. “Around 8,500 financial advisers have been linked to a FAP on the Financial Service Providers Register.”
To help ensure advisers know what to do, Companies Office sent reminders to 550 financial advisers in the past few weeks reminding them to link to a FAP or be deregistered.
“We have also engaged with members of the financial advice industry to help direct advisers to instructions and guides on how to link with a FAP,” says the spokesperson.
Katrina Shanks, CEO, Financial Advice NZ, says it has contacted 42 of its members who were not linked to a FAP and says many are no longer giving advice.
“I feel relatively confident there won’t be many members unnecessarily deregistered,” she says.
A spokesperson for the FMA says: “Overall, we understand from Companies Office that there has been a healthy level of engagement from the industry with most transitioning advisers now linked to a financial advice provider.
“With the passing of the [15 June] deadline, we now encourage the sector to focus on the process for full licensing.”
The FMA has received 37 applications for full licensing and 1,807 transitional licences have been issued.
See our story: FMA Turns its Attention to Full Licensing