Executive director Graham Duston said FANZ made a decision earlier this year that it would move to a model of having a product business separate from its advice business.

It was sparked in part by the acquisition of Staples Rodway Asset Management (SRAM) and its Lifestages KiwiSaver scheme.

“The board looked at the adviser legislation coming down the pipeline,” he said.

He said the legal requirement to act in the clients’ bests interests, being introduced by the Financial Services Legislation Amendment Bill, was deemed to be difficult to negotiate in a vertical model.

Then the Australian focus on misconduct added an extra layer of concern about the viability of product manufacturers also dabbling in advice.

Duston said the law changes, along with all the reports coming out of Australia and the revelations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry, meant the vertically integrated model looked an increasingly difficult position.

FANZ will operate FANZ Private Wealth independently from its Lifestages KiwiSaver.

From January 1, it will offer a revamped DIMS proposition via the FANZ Private Wealth channel and look to migrate clients over, depending on their investment profile and how much money they had to invest, into different segments.

FANZ will continue to use Synergy, the investment programme that started as a joint venture for Consilium and which Consilium has now taken over as DIMS manager, for smaller clients.

It will offer a range of smart beta and active portfolios for mid-range clients, with bespoke offering for the larger investors, leveraging off the offerings that SRAM was traditionally involved in.

“For us its about what proposition do we want for advice and what do we want for KiwiSaver.”