Chief executive Katrina Shanks said there had been 20 new applications for membership in the past month.

Normally, a typical month would include both new applicants and advisers retiring, the numbers of which would even each other out. But there had not been those retirements in recent weeks.

There is now a total of 1,655 Financial Advice NZ members.

In April last year, it had 1,680.

Shanks said people were looking for a group that was an independent voice. “We provide some real value to members.”

There had been 4,000 attendees at Financial Advice New Zealand’s Covid-19 webinar series, she said.

“We’ve had good outcomes for advocacy in the past three to four months.”

Shanks said while the association had discussed taking a financial advice provider licence under the new regime, it had not been seriously considered as an option.

“When we talk about the changing environment as an organisation we talk about where we fit into the ecosystem.”

She said as a membership-based organisation striving to offer advocacy, standards and promotion for the industry, it was important it remained independent.

It would have been unwieldy to have some members who were part of an association FAP licence and some who were not.

Shanks said she would submit to select committee next week on the Conduct of Financial Institutions bill, particularly relating to the need for clarification on how financial advisers would fit within the new law.

She said there also needed to be more discussion of the way the bill creates the ability for a regulator to set remuneration structures with regulations, without parliamentary oversight.

“It’s one step too far … it’s a powerful tool to put in the toolbox.”