Although not a full account the following comments came out of my notes from the FSC function on the review of the FAA and FSP laws.
Hon Paul Goldsmith, Minister for Commerce and Consumer Affairs
- Legal requirement for review
- Interest in reducing poverty and have seen the chaos that financial illiteracy can cause
- Can we reduce the cost of advice?
- Want a future where financial advice is available to as many New Zealanders as possible
- Wouldn’t rule out changes, but there has to be a reasonably high threshold for legislative change
- More access to effective advice would be a good result
Naomi Ballantyne, CEO Partners Life
- A danger in focusing on commission, not conflict of interest
- Commission is important to channels where customers get choice
- Would focus on the process to manage conflict, and that should apply regardless of channels
Therese Singleton, Head of Wealth and Wealth Protection, AMP
- MBIE paper has few examples concerning insurance
- [Insurance products]… are complex products and should not be category two
- Wants consistency, no sudden changes
Peter Neilson, CEO FSC
- Well written, genuine issues paper
- How do we get more advice, especially to people who are not receiving it
- Want to help the 15,000 people a year who are at risk of losing their home because of sickness
- Need more advice on KiwiSaver and Equity Release in the future
- Could have limited access to KiwiSaver funds to pay for advice at key points in life
Robert Oddy, AFA, Principal of International Financial Planners Limited
- Wants to facilitate more limited advice
- Gave the example of the Doctor faced with an issue – doesn’t have to conduct a whole person review and recommendation
- Not everyone wants a full process
Dr Pushpa Wood, Director Financial Education and Research Centre, Massey University
- Few consumers will respond to the issues paper, because it assumes the awareness, literacy, interest, and time to respond
- Need more advice in an ethnic context, not merely translated into a language
David Boyle, GM Investor Education, Centre for Financial Capability
- Concerned to ensure access
- Wants to see more provision of limited advice to enhance access