Listen to the minister

Thursday, June 21st 2007, 2:28PM

I listened into Commerce Minister Lianne Dalziel's press conference on changes proposed for advisers and non-bank deposit takers the other day and was pleased with what I heard.

It appears Dalziel has a pretty good handle on what is a large and complex process. Also the way the government has gone about the changes by establishing expert groups and consulting is to be applauded.

It's also useful to note that she has been watching the stouch between adviser associations and has effectively told them to pull their heads in.

Added to that she made it clear that there will most likely be more than one APB.

Multiple APBs is something which does make sense. In this area advisers should have a choice and be able to join one which suits their needs. At the moment it looks like there will be a range from the minimalist to the highly controlled.

What I am not so keen on is choice with disputes resolution services. It seems far more sensible to have one ombudsman to keep costs down and provide consistent decisions.

It's interesting to see that the politics and spin from the industry started almost immediately after the announcement. I see that some are renaming the Approved Professional Bodies (APBs) as "co-regulatory professional associations". This seems a little mischievous and also it is not the term either the minister or officials use.

It would be wise for associations to heed the minister's advice on co-operating.

One of the things which I find puzzling is this oft-heard comment that there are thousands of people out there giving advice who don't belong to any of the existing associations.

We have spent years studying the shape of the industry and trying to work out how many people fall into this category. It seems to us that yes there are quite a few, but do 50% of advisers not belong to any association. I don't think so. I'm happy to be proved wrong.

Advisers nearing retirement shouldn't be too worried about the changes. Looking at the timetable it appears that it won't be fully implemented till 2012.
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We'd love to get your thoughts on the proposed changes. Likewise if you have any questions for the minister send them through to us and we will try and get an answer. Questions and comments can be sent to blog@goodreturns.co.nz

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