Commerce Committee Chair has misgivings about QFE extension

During a submission from the New Zealand Bankers' Association, Dalziel said she had "very real doubts about the extensions in this area - we shouldn't be moving away from what we want to protect."

Her comments came after Institute of Financial Advisers President Lyn McMoran had earlier indicated her own concerns about the extension of the QFE regime. She said it would limit the viability of advisers being truly independent by giving their competitors who were in multiple QFES an advantage by reducing their costs.

"We're seeing product providers in the market trying to get advisers under their umbrella," she said. "If you get advisers under many QFEs, who will be taking responsibility for their competence?"

Susan Guthrie of the Consumer Institute was also critical of the QFE changes, saying the exemption for nominated advisers lacked any transparency, with corporate companies able to negotiate the terms of their application with the Securities Commission in a one-on-one basis.