In addition, a greater range of people will be able to give advice.

These forecasts come from the professional development body, FINSIA, which covers banking, funds management and securities as well as the provision of financial advice in Australia.

Chief executive Yasser El-Ansary has been visiting New Zealand to speak to some of its 10,000 local members.

Top of his mind is a government enquiry in Australia, the Quality of Advice Review, which is due to report its findings on December 16.

This review looked at several issues which will resonate with New Zealand professionals, such as streamlining and simplifying regulatory compliance obligations to reduce cost and remove duplication.

It asked whether principles-based regulation could replace rules-based regulation, and also considered issues such as disclosure rules and international best practice, along with innovation and digital solutions, among other things.

El-Ansary says the review followed a similar inquiry into banking and was focussed on the financial advice industry which had been facing several difficulties.

“The regulatory burden on financial advisers has grown exponentially over the past decade and that has resulted in two things,” he said.

“One, we have seen an exodus of financial advisers from the profession, and that has limited the availability of advice.

“Two, the regulatory burden has resulted in higher prices needing to be charged in the provision of advice,”

The outcome of the review will not be known for another month, but El-Ansary has been following it closely and thinks several outcomes are likely.

“What I expect to be there (in the findings) is a series of recommendations that deal with opening up the breadth of financial advice and also reducing some of the regulatory impositions that add significantly to the cost of delivering financial advice.”

In terms of the breadth of advice, El-Ansary expects the right to give financial advice could be extended to banks and superannuation funds.

He thinks trends like this are necessary, because all Australians are compelled by law to save for their retirement but do not always have the advice they need to do so well.

“Every Australian, by virtue of having that superannuation retirement account, ultimately does need a level of financial advice.

“This is not just the domain of the wealthy and have lots of money to invest, this is the domain of every single worker in our economy.”