Minister approves code of conduct for financial advisers
Tuesday 21 September 2010, 9:37PM
By Simon Power
85 views
Commerce Minister Simon Power today approved the Code of Professional Conduct for Authorised Financial Advisers.
The approval means the Commissioner for Financial Advisers can now determine when the code can come into effect.
"This is a significant step towards the full implementation of the Financial Advisers regulatory regime and the Government's goal to rebuild investor confidence in our financial markets," Mr Power said.
The regime is governed by two pieces of legislation - the Financial Advisers Act and Financial Service Providers Acts.
The two Acts, which will be fully in force by July next year, require all financial service providers - including financial advisers - to be on a public register and, if they provide retail services, to belong to an approved dispute resolution scheme.
The Code of Professional Conduct establishes 18 standards to ensure all authorised financial advisers meet the minimum standards for ethical behaviour, client care, knowledge, skills and competence, and continuing professional development. The Code is available at http://www.financialadvisercode.govt.nz/
"Many mum and dad investors have lost large sums of money because of the poor investment advice they've received.
"I'm confident the code will ensure advisers are held to higher standards of competency and accountability."