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Jenha White
Jenha White
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Regulation

The first AFAs announced

Wednesday 1st of December 2010

A further 112 applicants are in the Securities Commission system awaiting authorisation

The ten AFAs are:

Whangarei

  • Verleene Robertson, Northland Money Management.

Auckland

  • Gavin Busch, NZ Financial Planning
  • David Milner, Britannia Financial Services
  • Simon Hassan, Hassan and Associates

Hamilton

  • Colin Vazey,Vazey & Child Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers

Christchurch

  • Selwyn Paynter, Capital Investment Planning
  • Sian Ruth, Capital Investment Planning
  • Andrew Verrall, Capital Investment Planning
  • Katrina Hawker, Capital Investment Planning
  • Michael Taylor, Strategic Financial Planning, Christchurch

Also from today, all entities that provide financial services must be registered with the new Financial Service Provider Register, except financial advisers who have until 31 March 2011. So far 685 financial advisers have registered.

Mayhew urges advisers wishing to qualify as an AFA to keep moving promptly through the assessment processes.

Some 4,000 advisers have taken the first step in the process by registering for qualifications and 2,128 have booked examination dates for the core Standard Set B exam.

Mayhew also noted that from today all financial advisers have a statutory obligation to act with care, diligence and skill.

"That gives the investing public greater legal recourse in the event that things go wrong."

He says from early 2011, the Securities Commission will be signalling to the public that if they want personalised investment advice they should be dealing with an AFA. 

"Investors have a right to expect their adviser to engage now to obtain the professionalism expected of them under the new regime," he says.

"They shouldn't have to wait until the law takes full effect on 1 July 2011."

To find out everything you need to know about the main features of the regulatory regime, click here.

 

Comments (3)
Simon Rule
Interesting. So to date only 17% of advisers have opted for AFA status. I think ETITO are being very optimistic then if they think that the full number of advisers registered on their training system will actually book exams.
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14 years ago
Michael Donovan
Mmmmmm. I have written about some shared views on "regulation" in past months. Alistair, your comment seemed to strike a rather relevant point. Regulation is not much different to having locks on doors. They only keep the honest people out. I am without doubt that this new move should help put the willys up any advisers who have devious pre-meditated intentions.........HOWEVER may I return to one of my main points in past months, and much of the theme is on "perceptions"! Because there is now a publicised "regulation move" to advisers, the problem is that the investing public will now "perceive" that all investments, and all portfolios are going to be safe. Hey, to help prove the point, just take the example of all those investments offered with a "fully regulated" PROSPECTUS. Now who were some of them? Blue Chip, Bridgecorp, First Step (Money Managers), and the list of finance companies..... Regulation...the saviour. The "lock-breakers" will still be out there...? AND...are investors EVER going to be enjoying TWC (True Wealth Creation), which I copyrighted a few years ago. TWC is all wealth created above fees, tax, and what they refer to as 'inflation'. the portfolios which can achieve this all-important factor are just virtually non-existent. Someone prove me wrong and tell me of a portfolio which has consistently achieved more than 15%pa gross equivalent in todays environment? If you think that what they refer to as 'inflation' is really no higher than 3%pa then you should seek better advice yourself. My old clients wouldn't get out of bed for anything less than 15%pa. And the big solution is supposed to be regulation??? The highest regulated economy in the world was a main contributor to the financial debarcle that hit the world 2 or 3 years ago...and it ain't over yet. I for one hope that the 'new entrants' to the finance profession take on the facts from the right sources in the 'best interests' of their investor clients, because regulation alone did not help their predecessors to build real portfolios with TWC. Watch this space. Michael D.
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14 years ago
Murray Weatherston
Is anyone else worried about the following statement attributed to the Commissioner: He says from early 2011, the Securities Commission will be signalling to the public that if they want personalised investment advice they should be dealing with an AFA. There is no legal requirement to be an AFA until 1 July 2011. Lots of us have to sit exams but we still intend to be AFAs by the due date. Why should the Securities Commission use its position for a maximum of 6 months to promote those who are already AFA (and congratulations to those early adopters, most of whom I would guess to be CFPs who have a Diploma and so only had to pass Set B) over and above those who are about to become AFAs. Really we should be rioting in the streets if that happens. If you want an analogy, it would be the same as IFA going out and promoting those who already have a CFP over those who were perhaps on the way to CFP. It all seems me to be a crude attempt to try to force more advisers into doing their exams earlier to meet the regulators timeframes and capacities rather than our own.
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14 years ago
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