[GRTV] Meet Financial Advice NZ CEO Katrina Shanks

Tell me a little bit about what attracted you to joining Financial Advice New Zealand.

Gosh, there are numerous reasons why I was attracted. I supposed the first one was that I’ve always had a sense of service to the public and making a difference in people’s lives and I believe that financial advisers so that every single day when they work with a client, and work with a customer and they help them on their path of financial wealth, financial health, and giving them a sense of what the value of financial advice can do for their lives. So that was the first thing that was really important to me – helping other people and that’s what this organization does by supporting financial advisers. The second one was the opportunity to make a real difference. Obviously, this is a new organization, it is modern, bright, shiny, relevant, vibrant, and it is really exciting to have the opportunity to mold something and to make a real difference in the lives of New Zealanders, but also in financial advisers’ lives by supporting them with some really good skills and a basis to move forward in the industry.

Was building the association one of the major attractions, or was it around promoting the financial advice side of things?

It was actually the three pillars, which are in the constitution for the association. So obviously there is promotion - which is reaching out to the public so they understand the value of advice. Then there is advocacy – ensuring that the framework which financial advisers work in and which consumers are in, is fit for purpose – being able to reach out to the decision makers and policy makers and ensure that framework is correct. And the third one is standards – ensuring that when customers do get financial advice from financial advisers who are part of Financial Advice New Zealand, they know there is a standard in place and they’re getting quality advice.