Financial Advice veteran retires with warning note on new regulations

Jack Singh seems content to be leaving his financial advice business Time Vision in the capable hands of his two sons. He says he’s happy to look forward to spending more time with his grandchildren.

But reflecting on a lifetime in financial advice he says the new regulatory regime has seen massive changes needed within the industry and not all good for the adviser. “They have loaded a lot of costs on the advisors and advisor businesses.”

The Financial Services Legislation Amendment Act 2019 introduced a new regulatory regime for financial advice on 15 March 2021. Singh says things are much tougher now as advisers must pay for registration, compliance audits, FAP fees, PI covers, client management systems as well as advertising and marketing.

“There are a lot of overhead costs now but where's the support? There is no support in assisting the business. In the process it is making it very difficult for common Kiwis who need to source professional advice.”