Investment schemes "dressed up" as property deals to avoid the rigours of the Securities Act could be brought to task by the Securities Commission in future, its chair Jane Diplock has suggested.

The incentive to stay on floating rates may have moved up a notch, yet BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander is doggedly sticking to his preference of fixing for at least 18 months.

Retirement commissioner Diana Crossan wants to see the word “disclosure” banned and replaced with “consumer information” in a bid to make things simpler for consumers.

Securities Commission chairman Jane Diplock has hit back at criticism the commission was at fault in the failure of finance companies and says the sector faced a “perfect storm”.

Building a residential property portfolio is not as easy as it used to be, with the tough economic times beginning to expose those who fail to plan properly.

The Investment Savings and Insurance Association (ISI) has expressed its disappointment that recommendations to exempt pure risk life insurance from anti-money laundering legislation have so far not been picked up.

The Securities Commission is investigating complaints of illegal house-to-house marketing of KiwiSaver schemes.

Deciding between floating and fixed mortgage rates currently may be a case of tossing a coin in some instances, according to BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander.

Basing mortgage borrowing decisions on people's forecasts in these uncertain times is a risky business, according to BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander.

Mortgage borrowers should expect higher interest rates to be used to dampen down rapid house price rises in future, according to BNZ chief economist Tony Alexander.

The Insurance and Savings Ombudsman service (ISO) is considering opening up its dispute resolution scheme to financial advisers, to help them meet impending regulatory requirements.

The New Zealand market is playing a game of "follow the leader" following positive sentiments seen offshore despite the Reserve Bank of New Zealand's (RBNZ) dovishness, leading economists suggest.

New fee-based firm Foundry Asset Management is on the acquisition trail and is currently in talks with several firms.

New Zealand is years behind Europe when it comes to commodity investment and is missing out on significant inflation-hedging possibilities as a result, according to one of the world's largest commodity investment managers.