Advisers push regulation with government.
Financial planner regulation is firmly on the agenda in New Zealand after the president of the Financial Planners and Insurance Advisers Association (FPIA), Paul O'Brien, took the issue up with a senior politician.
The association has had two offers from Government MPs to help it advance some form of registration. Most recently, in a private initiative, O'Brien gained support from senior government MP Steve Maharey for the introduction of legislation covering adviser regulation.
Maharey is the minister for Social Welfare and is also responsible for the Office of the Retirement Commissioner.
Last year, Government whip Rick Barker also offered to sponsor a private members bill for the association, however the association would have had to bear the considerable cost of drafting the bill. Also, there would have to be majority support within the industry for regulation.
A spokesperson for Maharey says the minister is personally supportive of the initiative and happy to support it, however "he is not going to be pursuing the bill himself."
He says adviser regulation is not on the Government's agenda, rather any bill would have to be introduced to parliament through a Private Member's Bill.
O'Brien is promoting an option which would require all people giving investment and insurance advice to be a member of an association. Such an association would have to have a code of professional conduct, disciplinary procedures and a continuing education programme.
The matter will be discussed at the next FPIA board meeting. If the board approves the idea then a consultative process will kick off which will include members and other interested parties such as the Investment Savings and Insurance Association.
His approach is that the association has to be proactive on the regulation issue, and has to be self-regulate itself before having regulation forced on it. If it self-regulates then it won't be subjected to heavy-handed legislation like that in Australia and the United Kingdom, he says.
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