FAA steering group manned by officials

Financial advisers are not represented on the Financial Advisers Act review steering group.

Friday, May 22nd 2015, 6:00AM 2 Comments

by Susan Edmunds

An issues paper for the review is due over the coming weeks but reportedly has to go to Cabinet before it can be distributed.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) policy and subject matter experts will review submissions and provide policy advice and analysis with their final recommendations to the Minister by July 2016 on changes, if any, to the Acts.

An MBIE spokeswoman said his is a standard approach for reviews of this nature.

The review has a steering group made up of representatives from MBIE, Treasury, the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) and the Commission for Financial Capability, which provides high level direction and oversight of the review.

MBIE would not name the members of the panel but David Boyle represents the Commission for Financial Capability and FMA general counsel Liam Mason is on the panel.

Robert Oddy, chairman of the Financial Advisers Associations of NZ, said advisers should be represented. "Especially given it is for the review of the Financial Advisers Act. It would seem odd if not bizarre should there be no financial adviser inclusion."
He said it risked a backlash from the adviser community.

But adviser Murray Weatherston said advisers should not be upset about not being represented if product providers were not among the group members, either. “If there were representatives of insurance companies or banks I’d say there ought to be someone for advisers. But if it’s an officials group, it’s an officials group.”

But he said it could be argued that the inclusion of the FMA was unusual. “It does seem a bit strange that the regulator is on these things. They don’t seem to be worried about the FMA having a say, presumably the FMA is making a submission, too.”

MBIE said Cabinet would ultimately make decisions about any changes to the regime.

Tags: regulation

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Comments from our readers

On 22 May 2015 at 12:40 pm Brent Sheather said:

Why the secrecy? Are we living in Mexico? A very suss move by the Ministry of Investment Banking. Murray, they might be officials now but what were they last week and what will they be next week. My guess is a good proportion of them have worked for the banking sector and will work for them again. I think it’s called industry capture by stealth.

On 25 May 2015 at 10:15 am R1 said:

Absolutely bang on Brent. You only need to attend some of the industry seminars involving regulators to see how cosy the relationships are. The public in general and smaller advisory firms are being severely disadvantaged by the opaqueness and preferential influence the investment banking sector has with their friends in the government and MBIE.

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