Week one of Financial Advice NZ’s Connect Tour attracted an audience of more than 100 advisers in Dunedin, Christchurch, and Palmerston North. The tour continues Tuesday 6 August in Wellington, followed by Cambridge and Auckland.
Financial Advice NZ’s CEO Nick Hakes says feedback from the events so far has been “overwhelmingly positive”, with advisers hearing from a range of guest speakers such as Fidelity Life’s Bronwyn Kirwan, and Angus Dale-Jones – Chair of the government appointed Financial Code Committee – responsible for the financial advice code of professional conduct.
“The adviser-driven programme has hit the mark, with 93% of advisers saying the active participation in the Code Committee consultation process on education standards, and hearing directly from their peers such as Tim Fairbrother from Rival Wealth in Masterton on advice excellence, was extremely relevant to their own advice business,” says Hakes.
Kirwan shared her firm’s research showing that those who are supported by a financial adviser value the advice, and benefit from it.
“Bronwyn talked about engaging with those who are not in an active advice relationship,” says Hakes. “More needs to be done to reach those people, and that includes engaging with the next generation of clients.
“These industry trends were reinforced by the research from Heathcote Investment Partners.
“Financial advice is a team effort right across the sector, and one of the things we discussed was the perceptions of those consumers who are un-advised.”
Attendees also heard that while the Level 5 qualification is proposed to be retained as the minimum education level for the sector, the emphasis of the professional conduct code has shifted to advisers and financial advice providers taking personal responsibility for the continuous development of professional skills and expertise.
Hakes says: “If you look at the FMA’s monitoring insights, it has picked up on a couple of areas for improvement, such as having a professional development plan, and improving skills.
…we have to continually refine and develop professional skills…
“There is alignment between some of the areas that the FMA wants the advice community to improve upon with this next iteration of the code.”
Hakes also shared information about Financial Advice NZ’s professional development framework, how it fits within the advice regime, and its alignment with the code committee.
He says: “A strong message to advisers is that we have to continually refine and develop professional skills that align to the more complex client scenarios that people deal with, particularly with the older demographic.”
Hakes says that by 2030 a quarter of the country’s population will be aged 65 and over, and the financial advice sector is well positioned to manage the transfer of wealth from one generation to the next.
