The Financial Services Council (FSC) has hit a regulation nerve with its ‘Advice Summit’ triple-city tour scheduled for next week virtually booked out.
Richard Klipin, FSC chief, said the FSC to date has been swamped with over 650 sign-ups across the Auckland-Wellington-Christchurch events set down for November 28, 29, and 30, respectively.
“We had about 50 people register within the first hour bookings were available,” Klipin said. “That suggests there’s a strong appetite among advisers to listen and learn about the changing regulatory environment.”
Christchurch has “sold out”, he said, while the FSC added “another sleeve” to the Auckland venue at Eden Park to accommodate the 400 or so delegates. However, some space was still available at the Wellington symposium to be held in the Westpac Stadium (known colloquially as the ‘Cake Tin’)
The FSC partnered with the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to host the regulatory roadshow, structured around presentations from “key decision makers in the industry”, according to statement.
Summit headliners include: Angus Dale-Jones, chair of the Code Working Committee; John Botica and Derek Grantham – FMA director of market engagement, and principal consultant, respectively; and, Sharon Corbett, MBIE principal policy adviser corporate law.
Klipin knocked back suggestions the FSC was muscling in on the advisory association patch currently claimed by the likes of the Institute of Financial Advisers (IFA) and the Professional Advisers Association (PAA) – the latter pair soon to morph along with the NZ Financial Advisers Association (NZFAA) into a single organisation, Financial Advice NZ.
“We have strong and productive relationships with adviser bodies,” he said. “But there will be a significant number of advisers – especially RFAs [registered financial advisers] coming into the new regulatory environment and the industry has to help and educate them.”
FSC members – largely composed of insurers – work closely with financial advisers as employees or via contractual arrangements, Klipin said, “and need to communicate with that part of the market”.
“Advisers have a lot of decisions to make in this period of rapid regulatory and industry change,” he said. “And although we don’t know the final form of the legislation yet, there’s enough information to start thinking about the options.”
At an incident-free AGM last week the FSC also confirmed its new board, which is almost the same as the old board. Excluding Klipin and independent chair, Rob Flanangan, the new FSC board has increased by one to number 11 following a two-in – Partners Life chief, Naomi Ballantyne, and AIA NZ general counsel, Kristy Redfern – and one-out, EY partner Matthew Hanley, process.