The FMA turning up doesn't mean it wants to shut down an adviser

“We're not turning up to shut you down,” Hewes said, unless the adviser has been showing behaviour outside of their licence conditions.

The FMA would like to establish a relationship with the industry and to have advisers acting as “our ears and our eyes. If you're seeing conduct that isn't up to your standard, please let us know,” Hewes said.

“We can't be everywhere,” he said, adding that the FMA would like to be told about “anything you see that makes you feel uncomfortable, anything that could bring the industry into disrepute.”

The FMA's principal adviser, Crystal Burbery, told the conference that the FMA has been listening to the industry, particularly its concerns about “the intensity of monitoring.”