New Zealand is attracting growing interest from big overseas fund managers.

Registered financial advisers are unsure of their requirements under the incoming anti-money laundering regime, the Professional Advisers Association says.

The option to withdraw KiwiSaver fund to buy a first home should be retained but other changes made if default funds are changed to “life stages” settings, Mercer says.

Outsourcing administration doesn’t reduce your anti-money laundering requirements, the Financial Markets Authority has warned fund managers.

Advisers who don’t make enough of an effort to reach hard-to-find clients could find themselves offside with the regulator, attendees at a NZ Funds Management event last week were told.

One of the big stories this week was the belated move of the government to tighten up the financial services providers register.

More than 1300 of the almost 2000 authorised financial advisers in this country have indicated they provide discretionary investment management services (DIMS), which the Financial Markets Authority has its eye on.

Proposed changes to the tax treatment of foreign superannuation funds transferred to New Zealand are likely to be tweaked before being put to Parliament this year.

Running a fund management and research business within the same company requires vigilance to prevent conflicts of interest, Mercer’s New Zealand boss Martin Lewington says.

A financial advisory business was stunned last week when it found itself in the middle of a conspiracy theory involving a talkback radio caller, the Treasury, the upcoming Mighty River Power float and some overzealous news reporters.

An Australian research house that specialises in analysing superannuation funds looks set to expand into New Zealand.

One of the most interesting stories in the financial services space this week was the Institute of Financial Advisers weighing in on the debate about how advisers should charge for their services.

The Commerce Commission has taken aim at Forsyth Barr over its role in the promotion of Credit Sails derivative products that saw investors lose more than $70 million.

Financial advisers will have a greater range of local products to offer their clients and at lower cost if the current managed fund boom continues, an analyst says.

There’s no ideal measure for how advisers should charge their clients, according to the Institute of Financial Advisers, which is looking to pre-empt the possibility of fees being regulated.

A research firm that hands out star ratings to KiwiSaver schemes has been criticised for its fee-focused approach that, according to one provider, unfairly favours the banks.