Commission ban would hurt consumers

The warning comes as superannuation groups across the Tasman call for the ban on commissions for financial planners in Australia to be extended to existing clients.

Although it is considered unlikely the Aussie commission ban will be copied here, there is a possibility it could be looked at during later rounds of the on-going process of regulating New Zealand's financial markets.

Thomas, who is on the board of the Financial Markets Authority, told Good Returns that in her personal opinion as a fund manager, banning commissions would probably do more harm than good.

"In my view banning commissions in New Zealand would remove a number of smaller, independent players from the market," she said.