He said, after the global financial crisis, regulators' focus was more tightly on behaviour, with more of an emphasis on earlier risk management, financial stability and governance.

He said good regulation should support and protect customers' and investors' interests, encourage efficient operation of financial markets and economic growth as it lowered the cost of capital for New Zealand companies.

By contrast, bad regulation would impose costs, limit commercial freedom, stifle innovation and create barriers to participation, as well as other unintended consequences.

Good regulators would be, among other things, evidence-informed, risk-based, responsive and proportionate to the risks and harms presented.

He said the regulatory system should be an asset that should deliver benefits and positive outcomes that exceeded the cost of running it.

Financial advice was one of the FMA's key focus areas, he said, as it looked at how the industry balanced access to advice against quality and trust.

He pointed to the "advice gap" that was potentially leaving many consumers without information they needed.

Everett said the FMA was looking at the impact of remuneration models and sales incentives, as well as indirect sales, especially within vertically integrated firms.

Everett said while the law reforms were aimed at clarifying who was giving advice and on what basis, there was,  in reality, little truly independent financial advice in the market and most was aimed at high-net-worth individuals.

"[That] leaves the occasional or small-time investor unaided, a population that needs help and is vulnerable to loss."

But he said people did not like paying for financial advice.

Fintech was changing the market and challenging the dominance of the big players, which had been "baked in" since the GFC by some of the responses to the crisis, such as increased capital requirements.

"It is an expectation that regulators be agile and pragmatic enough to evolve as the markets evolve.   That’s never been more necessary than today. At the FMA we’re doing everything we can to approach these challenges with the right mindset."