Several people questioned the Code Committee's proposal for the default position of Authorised Financial Advisers to be "independent" at its Wellington forum on the ethical behaviour and client care discussion document, calling it unworkable as all advisers favour and know some products over others.

"What independence suggests is that we're all dodgy," said Institute of Financial Advisers past-President Bernard Gresham. "No-one has ever questioned that I take commissions."

Committee member David Ireland pointed out that it is a simple case for advisers to communicate their relationships with providers to clients, and said the committee has "shied away" from an overly prescriptive regime. Still, he accepted there could be problems in the public's interpretation of what an independent adviser was and urged advisers to make submissions on the document.

Much of the Code Committee's proposals on client care had been taken from the IFA's own code, along with the Institute of Chartered Accountants and standards in Australia and England, Ireland said.

Ireland also confirmed that the committee is proposing to let clients waive the requirement for advisers to match products to their needs on an individual need, provided the customer did so on their own initiative.

Advisers in the audience spent a lot of time going over questions around competence and what will be required of them to meet the standards when they come into effect at the end of the next year, and the Securities Commission's director supervision Angus Dale-Jones gave a rough timeframe as to when the regulator wants to have things up and running.

The Securities Commission hopes to have the regulations in place by the end of May next year, giving advisers until some time in December 2010 to meet the requirements.

Dale-Jones also clarified that financial planners, irrespective of whether they are selling category one or two products, will have to be authorised if they want to offer a complete service to their clients.