Advisers adjust to heightened alert levels

Financial advisers are adjusting to a return to life at higher alert levels.

Thursday, August 13th 2020, 5:00AM

Katrina Shanks

Katrina Shanks, chief executive of Financial Advice New Zealand, said the announcement on Tuesday evening of a return to alert level three for Auckland and two for the rest of the country was disappointing.

“However, in a few days we will have a better understanding of the scale of the new cases and the alert levels which will follow. As always advisers will ensure they and their employees are safe and then will reach out to their clients to offer re-assurance and offer any assistance.”

She said Auckland advisers were being strongly encouraged to work from home. In the rest of New Zealand, advisers would need to focus on contact tracing, and stay away from the workplace if they were unwell.

“At Financial Advice NZ we will continue to support our advisers in any way we can and continue to connect with regular communications and webinars to ensure we have a strong supportive community.”

A planned pop-up stall at The Base in Hamilton, intended to offer free financial advice, has been cancelled.

Instead, members of the public were urged to submit their money questions via Sorted or to find a financial adviser.

Asteron Life said business would continue.

“Our recent experience with the Government’s restrictions has shown that we are able to work together remotely and can quickly set up for business as usual while working from home,” said Graham Hill, executive manager of life distribution.

Asteron Life said it would keep advisers updated as the Government announced any further changes, and that they could continue to get in touch with Asteron through any of their usual channels.

“Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us with any questions, we are here to help,” he said. “And in the meantime, we encourage all advisers to stay safe.”

Tags: Asteron Covid-19 Financial Advice New Zealand lockdown