[Weekly wrap] Conference controversy

The big theme of this week was conferences, with a couple of adviser events being cancelled and another being moved, raising questions in each case.

Friday, January 25th 2013, 9:01AM

by Niko Kloeten

Two high-profile CPD courses have been cancelled due to lack of interest, and this could be just the tip of the iceberg as far as courses struggling to get take-up. For instance, reports from Strategi's Statement Of Advice course suggest it has been poorly attended, which is somewhat of a surprise given the importance of SOAs particularly in the regulated environment. One problem for providers like Strategi is that they are competing against cheap or free courses run by product providers looking to sell their products. The temptation for advisers is to take the path of least resistance when choosing their CPD.

But some advisers are questioning whether courses focused on making more money should be classed as professional development. Making more money is obviously something any business owner would want (especially when dealing with the costs of regulation) but how they go about doing that is the issue when it comes to determining what counts as professional development. The FMA is taking a hands-off approach at this stage, treating advisers as adults and allowing them to choose what is relevant to their professional practice. The regulator's monitoring visits are useful in this regard as they provide advisers with handy hints as to where they need to up their game.

The IFA conference hasn't been cancelled, but it has been moved to a new time and location, a switch that has prompted criticism from some in the industry. The change has clearly been on the cards for some time, although the original decision to hold it in Nelson was a bit of a head-scratcher. With the majority of advisers living in the major cities, holding such an event in a regional town would increase costs for most members. And the tie-in with another provider, the PortfolioConstruction Forum, has been seen by some as "outsourcing" the conference (as one commenter described it) and potentially damaging the IFA's value proposition. Just like advisers themselves, industry bodies need to be clear what they offer. Last year's master class featured a number of different providers but it was clearly an IFA event.

Another big story this week was the surprise announcement that Sovereign is getting a new chief executive, with Charles Anderson retiring at the end of March. Sovereign has enjoyed continued success under Anderson, winning a number of insurance industry awards, but perhaps the biggest change he's made has been the focus on sustainability, which has included a number of initiatives such as purchasing an electric car (the Nissan Leaf in case you're wondering). We think Anderson was a leader in the insurance industry.

There was some big news in the KiwiSaver space this week, with the latest Morningstar survey showing growth funds had a stellar year in 2012. And after seemingly endless speculation, BNZ has finally registered its KiwiSaver scheme. One comment likened BNZ's belated arrival to showing up late at a singles party. We think the birth of BNZ's KiwiSaver will further emphasise an issue that is frustrating advisers and small KiwiSaver providers: the ability of banks to get away with dodgy selling methods using glorified salespeople to switch people over to their schemes.

Advisers may be sick of having to deal with regulation, but there is a positive side: it prepares them for what is to come. With regulations such as the Anti-Money Laundering regime and FATCA due to kick in over the next year or so, it's probably easy for advisers to deal with these changes having already dealt with more far-reaching ones.

The consolidation of adviser groups has continued, this time in the mortgage market with two of the biggest groups planning to merge. Meanwhile, ASB has pushed out its forecast for an OCR increase.

And in insurance news, the first insurance-specific CRM product has been created.

Niko Kloeten can be contacted at niko@goodreturns.co.nz

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