FMA ramps up opposition to trail commissions

The regulator has run a pilot programme trialling its so called "value for money" guidelines with 14 managed investment schemes (MIS).

The participants were a mix of volunteers and co-opted and covered KiwiSaver providers, non-KiwiSaver funds, passive and active managers and banks and non-banks (but who took part in the pilot is undisclosed).

A number of themes are reported by the regulator with the two main ones being the use of benchmarks and commissions paid to advisers and others.

One area of praise was that MIS schemes "are showing repeatable performance, relative to appropriate market indices."