“We don’t have any advisers yet [in the Wealth division] but we’re looking at making appointments in December and early in the new year for training and induction,” the spokesperson said.

He said Kiwibank would consider internal candidates as well as advisers, or potential advisers, working elsewhere in the industry.

Kiwibank already sells a range of white-labeled insurance products, backed by Cigna Life and Tower, PIE cash funds and term deposits, and a KiwiSaver product in conjunction with Mercer. The bank also planned to extend the range of investment products it issues next year by hiring a multi-manager provider.

Under a ‘request for proposal’ (RFP), which closed yesterday, prospective firms were asked to show how they would provide asset management, client services and registry capabilities.

As well, the successful candidate would be expected to support Kiwibank’s advisory network with training and online tools.

The bank spokesperson said there has been strong interest from providers in the RFP with both local and offshore firms likely to be considered.

He said Kiwibank would also apply for Qualifying Financial Entity (QFE) status under the recently-passed Financial Advisers Act. Under the legislation a QFE would take on responsibility for all advisers under its control.

Advisers acting under the auspices of a QFE would still have to be individually registered if they sell complex, or ‘tier one’, investment products. However, if advisers only sell products issued by a QFE - regardless of their complexity - they would not be required to comply with the stricter ‘tier one’ rules.