Financial Advice NZ consultation begins

Development of Financial Advice New Zealand is moving into its second phase.

Tuesday, October 25th 2016, 6:00AM

by Susan Edmunds

The Institute of Financial Advisers and Professional Advisers Association are working together on the development of the new organisation, intended to represent the industry as a whole.

They have a 100 working day plan to develop the framework for the organisation. By April or May next year, members of both organisations will have the opportunity to vote on whether they want to join.

The first 20 working days of the development have been spent developing the budget for the development process and a consultation and communication plan.

The next 40 will be spent consulting with advisers, the wider financial services industry and consumers.

PAA president Bruce Cortesi said those in the development working group would be using technology as well as holding a number of meetings around the country to try to reach as many people as possible, including advisers who are not already part of the IFA or PAA.

He said the focus would be on reaching as many people as possible. “There is a sense of expectation of what the next move is, that’s healthy and really encouraging as long as we provide the opportunity for everyone to have that consultation process.”

IFA president Michael Dowling said PAA and IFA members seemed happy to move ahead with the Financial Advice NZ concept. It was harder to gauge what those outside the associations thought.

He said the Financial Advice NZ development team were willing to extend the consultation period if necessary, beyond 40 days, to ensure that all relevant voices were heard.

“This is the most crucial component of the plan,” Cortesi said.

Once the consultation process is complete, another 20 working days will be spent defining the plan and organisation the operation and structure of the new organisation.

“We are really looking forward to the next phase,” Cortesi said. “We will probably gain an insight into people’s views of the industry that have not been known before. I would suggest this is the first time the industry has had a process for bringing so many viewpoints together.”

Focus groups will be run at 11 locations across the country.

Tags: Financial Advice New Zealand