About

Code

The Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services is prepared in accordance with Part 4 of Schedule 5 of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (the FMC Act).

The Code supports the purposes of the FMC Act including promoting the confident and informed participation of businesses, investors, and consumers in the financial markets, avoiding unnecessary compliance costs, and ensuring the availability and quality of financial advice.

The Code is part of a wider regulatory regime for financial advice. Subpart 5A of Part 6 of the FMC Act imposes statutory duties on persons who give regulated financial advice to retail clients. Those duties include:

• to comply with the standards of ethical behaviour, conduct, and client care required by the Code
• to meet the standards of competence, knowledge, and skill (including any continuing professional development requirements) provided in the Code for giving the advice.

In the Code, “client” means a retail client and “financial advice” means regulated financial advice given to a client.

The Code includes commentary to help persons who give financial advice to comply with the standards. The commentary does not limit the standards.

The Code was approved by the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs on 7 May 2019 and the obligation to comply with the Code came into force on 15 March 2021.

Code Committee

The Code Committee is Aotearoa New Zealand’s independent standard setter for financial advice. It is established by Part 4 of Schedule 5 of the FMC Act.

The Committee’s functions are:

• to produce a draft Code for approval by the Minister
• to review the Code from time to time
• to recommend to the Minister changes to the Code
• to liaise from time to time about the development, review, and implementation of the Code with the Minister, with the FMA and with persons that the Committee reasonably considers to be representative of the financial advice industry and of consumers of financial advice.

In June 2017, the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs appointed a Code Working Group to develop the Code. Pursuant to Part 6 of Schedule 4 of the FMC Act, the working group continues as the Code Committee from 15 March 2021.

Members

Angus Dale-Jones (Chair): Angus is a Chartered Accountant and consultant on conduct, regulation and climate. He was previously an ASIC Regional Commissioner and an NZ Securities Commission director. His term on the Code Committee expires on 31 July 2023.

Barbara Benson: Barbara was previously Manager, Teacher Education at the Education Council of Aotearoa NZ, a Ministerial-appointed layperson on the Veterinary Council of NZ, and a member of the National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee. Her term as a consumer representative on the Code Committee expires on 31 July 2023.

Karen Coutts: Karen is an Independent Governor experienced in iwi and pan-Māori governance with a special interest in Māori economic development including where Māori or iwi have shown interest in financial services. She affiliates to Ngāi Tahu and Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki. Her term as a consumer representative on the Code Committee expires on 10 April 2025.

Graeme Edwards: Graeme is a lawyer and consultant on corporate governance. He was previously the General Counsel and Company Secretary at ASB Bank. His term on the Code Committee expires on 31 July 2023.

Erin Jurgeleit: Erin is a consultant on product development, risk management and regulatory compliance for technology companies. She was previously the Head of Insurance Product at Next Insurance and a senior leader in PayPal’s product and engineering team.  Her term on the Code Committee expires on 10 April 2025.

Paul Mersi: Paul is an independent director and consultant. He was previously a Senior Partner and Head of Financial Services at PwC NZ. His term on the Code Committee expires on 31 October 2024.

Thérèse Singleton: Thérèse is currently the Chief Operating Officer of Ando Insurance Group. Her term on the Code Committee expires on 31 October 2024.