Advisers forced to tell on each other
Code Standard 7 in the Draft Code of Professional Conduct says that an authorised financial adviser (AFA) who has reasonable grounds to suspect that another AFA has not complied with the Code, or that a person has not complied with the act, must report the suspected non-compliance to the Securities Commission.
The Financial Adviser Associations of New Zealand (FAANZ) submission on the Draft Code says it strongly recommends that there needs to be prescriptive guidance around how the Securities Commission will protect and provide anonymity for the whistleblower.
It also says there needs to be regulatory protection for the whistleblower from civil liability.
FAANZ chairperson Lyn McMorran is also concerned that there could be anti-competitive behaviour with mischevious reporting to put an adviser out of the market.
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