John Reddiford has seen a lot of changes in the insurance industry and after 37 years helping others to financially invest, he now plans to invest more time on the green working on his hole in one.
As an insurance industry veteran, Reddiford started his career in 1986 working for the Shell corporation before moving on to the University of Canterbury to complete a postgraduate degree in Masters of Business Association.
“ I needed a job in an industry that had flexibility so I started from the ground up as area sales manager at NZI.”
He says his time at NZI was great and considered the team family.
After ten years at NZI he was sent down to Timaru where he soon found himself left with only two advisers. Keen for the challenge he continued to build up his team and stayed on for a few years before transferring to Wellington NZI going on to win the national title of best manager before moving once again back to Christchurch.
John says his motivation had started to diminish when NZI was then acquired by (then) Prudential.
“There were 22 of us (advisers and management) and I was recommended to a manager at a small company called Fidelity Life and took over as their national sales manager in Auckland on a three year contract when Milton Jennings became chief executive.”
It was a tough time for Reddiford who was dealing with long commutes and family life.
“My mother was sick at the time and my kids were in the transition from primary to intermediate and I was still commuting every Monday from Christchurch.”
Despite the trying times, he flourished at Fidelity and at a time when the insurance industry was more of a competitive market than today.
After his time at Fidelity, Riddiford had made up his mind to start from scratch and take advantage of the boom. Renting an office and car space Reddiford Financial opened its doors in 2004.
Now, with recent changes to the financial advice regime Riddiford says he’s frustrated with those changes in the industry and its now time to retire. 
“I was one of the first to qualify with an AFA and the issue was always raised, having to tell clients you have that qualification and no one knew what that meant and it is frustrating.”
He says when the licensing changed and qualifications had to be updated he didn’t see the point.
“I’ve had my qualifications for many years. If I was a lawyer, doctor or architect I wouldn’t have to do it. Once you’ve got that, you do your 20 or 30 hours a year and the FMA has failed,.”
I’m 68, and I’ve had enough.”
Despite his frustrations with the industry he loved working with some fantastic people such as Gordon Watson (founder of Fidelity Life) and Roger Garrett (chief executive of NZI) who passed in 2010 and 2012, respectively. He says he is happy knowing his business is in good hands with his son, director and financial adviser, Chris Reddiford at the helm and hopes to see Reddiford Financial continue as a family business for many years to come.
As for the future of the industry he says the FMA needs to start hiring people who have already got their hands dirty, looking at things like licensing fees and having more staff in businesses but what is most important is giving people the right tools to do the job.
“Having access to training, to study investment management and insurance, things like that.”
He also sees the value in supporting Pasifika employment in the industry and even gave advice to the FMA to help facilitate a programme.
“We’ve got the help them (Pasifika) in their teens and twenties and it is more important for those groups to have support in this industry because by 2040 we might be looking at 40% more people over the age of 65 and as we grow older and have less country wealth we’ve got to figure out things that will affect things like the potential for the pension to be increased to the age of 67.