Fisher Funds has been growing its advice team, now at about 15.

Milford Asset Management is expanding its private wealth offering, planning offices around the country. Pie Funds is also building up its wealth team.

McLachlan said there were a couple of factors driving the growth. He said there was now less delineation between fund managers, wealth managers, product managers and investment advice.

“The new world of regulation means product manufacturers have increased obligation to ensure clients get the right outcome. It’s easier to manage a client outcome when you have got your own employees selling the product.”

But he said clients were also finding their need for advice was largely unmet in the marketplace at present. The market for managed funds was still small relative to where it could or should be, he said.

To grow demand, providers would need to invest in the client end and help to build their understanding of the product, he said, and how it could be of value to consumers.

“It’s a natural extension of the growing market as well as regulation.”

Milford Asset Management head of private wealth Philip Morgan Rees said it currently has 15 AFA advisers based in Auckland, Christchurch and Wanaka but there are clients spread across the country.

As the business continued to grow, there would be advantage in having more advisers based in areas where there was demand for advice, he said.

The timetable for setting up new offices and the locations would depend on finding the right people, he said. The Christchurch office opened in 2018 because the right adviser had been found for it, he said.

There was a strong client base to service in areas such as Wellington, Hamilton and Tauranga, he said but also good and growing client bases in Northland and Hawke’s Bay. “It’s really a case of finding the right person and developing the office from there.”

Morgan Rees said there was a lot of demand for personalised advice. Milford would go through the process of becoming a licensed financial advice provider later this year, he said.

“We’re still seeing a lot of demand from people looking for advice that takes into account their goals.”