It wouldn’t be another designation like AFA, RFA or QFE, but would be a restricted AFA.

Code committee chairman David Ireland says it is one of a number of ideas which will be raised in a discussion document on the code.

He says the committee can’t establish other designations, but there are already example where advisers can be licensed for specific areas. One example is discretionary investment management (DIMs). There are also AFAs who can only give advice around either mortgages or life insurance.

Ireland says the committee were “loathe to more complicated and granular than it needs to be.”

However it also recognised there was the need to be able to provide advice to KiwiSaver members.

The committee was planning to have the document out around the time that the Financial Markets Conduct Bill was passed into law. However as that has now been pushed back to later in the year the committee will release its paper before the bill is passed.

Ireland says the committee would like to have its consultations and decisions finished by the end of the year as there are some sunset clauses in the current adviser legislation which are due to end then.

He described it as being a “self-imposed deadline”.

The “tweaks” to the code will “not be too dramatic or drastic”.

Advisers are also going to be hit with some discussion documents and guidance notes from the Financial Markets Authority next week. One of these will be guidance on AFAs providing limited financial advice rather than a full comprehensive plan.

This issue is designed to allow AFAs to deal with questions from clients like whether or not they should have bought Mighty River Power shares.

Ireland says the committee haven’t seen this guidance yet.