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New Zealand Securities Commission |
Last Updated: 16 November 2014
Ref: 500-200 / #127248
CONSULTATION ON STANDARD CONDITIONS FOR QUALIFYING FINANCIAL ENTITIES (QFEs)
– DISCLOSURE AND RELATED MATTERS
21 October 2010
Introduction
The Financial Advisers Act 2008 (the Act) provides that a grant of QFE status
may be subject to terms and conditions and may also
incorporate standard
conditions. The proposed standard conditions in this paper relate to a
QFE’s disclosure obligations
under the Act.
This paper supplements the consultation paper on standard conditions for QFEs
that was published by the Securities Commission (the
Commission) on 28
September. (See www.seccom.govt.nz/qfe). Together,
the two papers present the proposed standard conditions for a QFE. The
Commission intends use standard conditions
for all QFEs, unless there are
particular circumstances requiring modifications.
The Act requires that standard conditions must be consulted on before they
are approved. This consultation paper is relevant for all
QFE applicants and is
likely to be of interest to consumer bodies.
Disclosure and consumer protection
The Act requires disclosure so that retail clients can make informed
decisions about whether to use the adviser and whether to
follow the advice
received (section 3 of the Act). Disclosure is a key part of consumer
protection.
Disclosure obligations for financial advisers are set out in sections 21 to
31 of the Act, and apply when a personalised service
is provided to a
retail client. Disclosure obligations for individual Authorised Financial
Advisers (AFAs) and for registered
financial advisers will be set by
regulations. These will focus on:
• any limitations on the service or products available
• fees for advice
The Act does not set out detailed disclosure requirements for QFEs (section
25). Regulations are expected to require a QFE to disclose
matters prescribed in
its terms and
conditions of QFE status. This consultation therefore sets out the proposed
conditions. These have a similar focus to those for AFAs.
QFE status is intended to be an efficient way for businesses to comply with
the Act. The Act puts disclosure obligations on the QFE
for services carried
out by QFE advisers, rather than directly on individual advisers. Standard
conditions therefore apply to the
entity. (Any AFAs in a QFE will make
individual disclosures in accordance with requirements for AFAs.)
A wide range of entities can potentially become QFEs, including businesses
providing services in relation to category 1 or category
2 products or both. To
become a QFE, the Act requires that an entity must satisfy the Commission that
it has the capacity to comply
with the Act, including that it has procedures to
ensure that retail clients receive adequate consumer protection (section 66).
The Act, the regulations and the proposed conditions therefore allow flexibility
for QFE disclosures. The conditions require a QFE
to use this flexibility to
meet its consumer protection obligation, while also allowing an approach which
may be efficient for the
QFE. The Commission expects a QFE to be able to
explain the reasons for its approach to disclosure in a particular service
or channel, including the form, timing, clarity and level of detail. It also
expects QFEs to have appropriate governance and approval
processes in
place.
Advisers in a QFE do not have to be authorised to provide services for
category 1 products if the QFE Group issues or ‘promotes’
the
product. (‘Promoter’ is defined in the Securities Act.) In these
cases there is a close link between the advisers
and the product. The customer
needs to be informed of this limitation on a QFE adviser’s choice of
products.
Customers may be aware there is a potential conflict of interest in dealing
with an adviser who works for the product provider. However,
conflicts arising
from the way the QFE incentivises its advisers are less likely to be clear and
must be clearly disclosed.
For services in relation to category 2 products, regulations do not currently
require registered financial advisers to disclose limitations
on the products
that they can provide or conflicts of interest arising from commissions or other
remuneration. Conditions for QFEs
do not go further than the regulations.
However, if changes are made to the regulations, the Commission will expect
QFEs to amend
their disclosures accordingly.
For all advisers, regardless of incentives or relationship to the product
provider, the Commission expects that a professional
adviser will ensure that
the customer is aware of the initial and ongoing costs to the customer of any
recommended product.
Disclosure obligations – other requirements
A QFE must comply with all of its disclosure obligations under the Act, the
regulations and its terms and conditions. Disclosure regulations
are currently
being finalised. The regulations are likely to include some matters to be
disclosed by a QFE, such as contact
details, information about its internal complaints handling arrangements and
its external dispute resolution scheme. They may also
provide for the form that
the disclosure must take, but are not expected to always require written
disclosure documents.
The Commission’s powers
The Commission will work with industry to encourage high standards of
professionalism, consumer protection and compliance when making
disclosure.
Guidance and illustrative examples are included in this paper to assist
QFEs in designing their approach
to disclosure.
The Commission will take a risk-based approach to monitoring QFEs and
deal with issues through constructive dialogue, but will
take action when
standards fall below the required level. The Commission has a range of powers
under the Act which it can use to
address any default by a QFE, including any
breach of the disclosure requirements in the Act, the regulations or the
QFE’s
terms and conditions. The Commission’s powers were outlined
in the previous consultation on standard conditions.
Contents
The following sections of this paper contain:
• Proposed standard conditions for QFEs
The standard conditions for disclosure are conditions which the Commission
expects to be fixed during the period of QFE status.
They include tables of
disclosures in Table 1 and Table 2.
In addition, the QFE ABS Guide includes standard conditions on the reporting
of information to the Commission. Amendments are proposed
to bring the Guide
into line with the disclosure conditions. The Act allows the Commission to vary
reporting conditions, such as
the QFE ABS Guide, from time to time during the
period of QFE status, following consultation (s147A and B).
• Explanatory notes
These provide explanations and guidance on how the Commission will interpret
the condition. Additional guidance may be provided from
time to time.
• Illustrations and examples
These are intended to assist QFEs in considering how the conditions might be
implemented in practice.
Request for comment
This paper can be downloaded from the Securities Commission website:
www.seccom.govt.nz/qfe. Printed copies are also available from the Commission. Please forward written submissions:
By post to: By courier to:
The Securities Commission The Securities Commission
PO Box 1179 8th Floor, Wellington 6140 Unisys House
56 The Terrace
Wellington 6011
Or by email to:
QFEenquiries@seccom.govt.nz
with “QFE disclosure standard conditions submission” as the
subject.
Submissions close at 5.00pm on 12 November 2010.
Submissions will be subject to the Official Information Act 1982. The
Commission may also make submissions available on its
website or draw
attention to submissions in internal or external reports. If you would like
the Commission to withhold any
commercially sensitive, confidential or
proprietary information included in your submission, please say so in your
submission. Any
request to have information withheld will be considered in
accordance with the Official Information Act.
Next steps
Once submissions have been considered, the Commission will finalise and
approve the standard conditions by notice in the Gazette. These will be
published on our website and will also be available in printed form. Any entity
granted QFE status will be subject
to the standard conditions unless there are
modifications by the Commission.
Many QFE applicants will have submitted their ABS, or have substantially
completed their ABS to meet the 1 December submission deadline.
The Commission
understands that these potential QFEs will not be able to address the specific
requirements proposed in this consultation
in their ABS. The Commission will
consider disclosure as part of its ongoing monitoring of QFEs and may
undertake monitoring
work in this area after disclosure requirements are
implemented on 1 July 2011. For investment business, QFEs should continue
to
comply with the requirements of Part 4 of the Securities Markets Act until that
date.
Proposed Standard Conditions for Qualifying Financial Entities
(QFEs) – Disclosure and Related Matters
These conditions are to be read alongside the Commission’s earlier
consultation paper on QFE standard conditions and are numbered
accordingly.
4 DISCLOSURE
4.1 The QFE must have a written policy for approving and providing
disclosure under the Financial Advisers Act (the Disclosure
Policy). It must
set out how the policy meets the QFE’s consumer protection
obligations.
4.2 Where consumer protection needs differ between products or
services, the QFE must document why the approach to disclosure
is
appropriate for each product or service.
4.3 In making disclosure under s25 of the Financial Advisers Act the
QFE must disclose*:
i) the information in Table 1 for all of its financial adviser services
ii) the information in Table 2 for services in respect of
Category 1 products.
Information disclosed should relate to the relevant service.
4.4 Where the QFE’s disclosure under s25 of the Financial
Advisers Act is not in writing, the QFE must inform the
client that
written disclosure is available on request.
Definitions
In the conditions, the following terms have the meanings set out
below:
Material influence
(in 4.3 Table 2)
An influence which a reasonable client would find reasonably likely to
influence the adviser in providing the financial adviser service.
Relevant service The particular financial adviser service (or services)
that is likely to be provided to the client, or is being
provided to the client
(rather than necessarily all of the financial adviser services that a QFE offers
across its client base).
Remuneration Any commission, fee, or other benefit or
advantage, whether a monetary benefit or otherwise, and whether
direct or
indirect; but does not include salary or wages of a fixed amount.
* Requirements in these conditions are additional to those set out in
the Act and the Regulations.
TABLE 1 – All financial adviser services
This table forms part of condition 4.3
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Information to be disclosed
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For services relating to:
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Category 1 products
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Category 2 products
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||
1
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That the QFE takes responsibility for the financial adviser service
provided by its QFE advisers.
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yes
|
yes
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2
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For the relevant service, a general description of:
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yes
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yes
|
3
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A general description of how the QFE, members of the QFE Group and its QFE
advisers are remunerated for the relevant service.
A statement of whether there are other factors that could influence the QFE
and its advisers.
That the client will be provided with more detailed information as soon as
practicable, and may request this at any stage.
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yes
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not required
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4
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That the QFE is licensed and regulated by the Securities Commission for its
financial adviser services along with the contact details
of the
Commission.
That the client can obtain information about financial advisers from the
Commission and can report information about the QFE or its
advisers to the
Commission.
|
yes
|
yes
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5
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That the information provided is important and should help the client
decide which financial adviser to choose.
|
yes
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yes
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6
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That the client can check the status of the QFE and whether other entities
are a member of the QFE Group on the register at www.fspr.govt.nz.
|
yes
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yes
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TABLE 2 – Services in respect of category 1 products
This table forms part of condition 4.3
|
Information to be disclosed
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1
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Any fee(s) chargeable to the client for the relevant service, including the
basis on which the fee will be charged, the amount or
a reasonable estimate of
the fee and when the client must pay the fee.
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2
|
Details of any material influence on the QFE or the QFE adviser, including
any interest, incentives, remuneration, relationships or
associations.
As far as is practicable, the QFE must disclose the amount (or rate) of the
incentive or remuneration, together with the name of the
person who provides the
remuneration if that person is outside the QFE Group.
|
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE QFE ADVISER BUSINESS STATEMENT (ABS)
GUIDE
The ‘Information for Customers’ section of the QFE ABS Guide
will be amended to reflect the Disclosure Policy requirements.
The compliance principle will be amended to add (in bold):
The QFE should have governance and compliance arrangements that
ensure:
The expected information will be amended to add:
We expect your ABS to address these principles by covering, where
relevant:
Explanatory notes
4 Disclosure standard conditions
Disclosure under section 25 applies to personalised financial adviser
services to retail clients. The obligations in a QFE’s
terms and
conditions are in addition to the requirements in the Act and in the
regulations (which contain additional content
and deal with the form of
disclosure).
The Commission has taken a principles-based approach to drafting these terms
and conditions. This is intended to assist QFEs in
seeing the substance of the
requirement. Variations in terminology to the disclosure Regulations do not
necessarily indicate that
a different interpretation is intended. The
Commission expects QFEs to take into account the objectives of the Act and their
consumer
protection obligations in interpreting the requirements.
4.1 and 4.2 – Policy and its application
A QFE has flexibility in how it interprets or combines elements of the disclosure requirements:
• disclosures must be provided before, or as soon as practicable after, providing the financial adviser service (section 25)
• previous disclosure given to the client may be relied upon if it is not out of date
(section 29)
• disclosures can be combined with additional information (section 28)
• it is not currently proposed that the form of disclosure will be specified. (The Act does not require that disclosures must be made in a written statement, and this is not expected to be required by the Regulations.)
• matters to be disclosed might be dealt with together or at different
times.
4.1 and 4.2 require a QFE to consider the needs of the consumer (and the
objective of disclosures) when deciding how to use
this flexibility.
The QFE should have a governance framework around its disclosure approach,
and to making and documenting
its decisions on the approach for its products and
services, including the factors which have been taken into account in reaching
those decisions.
The design of the approach should consider the form, timing and
content of the disclosures through a process and the
controls over operation.
For example, QFEs might consider questions such as:
• When is the information most relevant to the customer (from the
customer’s perspective)?
• At what stage in the process can an appropriate balance be struck
between too much information (for example all the products
that a QFE might be
able to provide) or too little (for example insufficient information about the
range from which the product
was selected)?
• What format is most useful to customers in this channel?
• What language is most appropriate for customers in this target
market?
• How can we ensure that the importance of the disclosure is
clear?
• What type of disclosure can be successfully delivered by this adviser
group?
• How can we monitor that our advisers provide the disclosures?
• Have we sought or received any customer feedback on our
disclosures?
A large QFE may choose to provide relevant disclosures by making some part of
its disclosure specific to each channel – for
example, a different
approach might be adopted in a call centre selling general insurance or credit
products, to that taken for face
to face investment advice. This would allow
more specific relevant information to be given about the products and any
limitations
on products and on incentive schemes for advisers.
In considering the format of its disclosures, QFEs are encouraged
to consider the approach taken in the AFA and Registered
Financial Adviser
disclosure regulations, so that customers can recognise required disclosures and
compare advisers.
The Commission has particularly required a policy and documented reasons
for the approach selected for disclosures. This reflects
the focus of the
legislative requirements on disclosures. Policy documents may also be a
desirable approach to governance and compliance
arrangements in other areas of
a QFE’s financial adviser services, even though not specifically
required. The Commission
may also ask QFEs about their reasons for
adopting particular approaches to their consumer protection obligations in other
areas.
4.3 – Matters to be disclosed
The Commission has taken a similar approach to that taken for AFAs. The
Commission considers that some matters to be disclosed are
‘about the
business’. They tend to be generic in nature and are likely to be
provided together at the start of, or at
an early stage in, the process for the
service. These matters are set out in Table 1.
Other matters to be disclosed are ‘about the advice’. They are
more specific to the actual service being provided
and are likely to be
affected by the more specific information being gathered during the process.
They are therefore likely
to be given at a later stage in the service. These
matters are set out in Table 2.
The definitions of ‘remuneration’ and ‘material’ are
derived from disclosure requirements in the Securities
Markets Act and will be
updated to take account of any definition in the disclosure regulations, if
necessary.
Record keeping
Records of disclosures should be maintained in accordance with standard
conditions 3.1 and 3.2. It may not be necessary to keep a
record on each
customer file of the actual disclosure information provided under Table 1, if
the information is the same for all
customers in a service and the QFE can
demonstrate compliance through records of its approach. Such records are likely
to include
the wording and form of its disclosures, its procedures and the
operation of its controls.
Table 1 – All financial adviser services
2 – Products and services
For services in respect of category 1 products, the QFE or a QFE Group member
should disclose that it is the issuer or promoter (under
the Securities Act) of
the product. (The nature of the ‘promoter’ relationship may need to
be explained.) It should
be clear that the QFE Group is responsible for both
the advice and the product.
For all services, the services or products may be limited by the
QFE’s commercial arrangements or business structure –
for example,
dealing with one category 2 product provider, or a sales force which provides
only certain types of product. This should
be explained.
Where the relationship of the QFE to the product is not clear due to
branding, this may also need to be explained. For example: if
a product
provider is a QFE Group member, but has a different name to the QFE Group; or if
the QFE has branded a third party category
2 product.
The Commission expects that once disclosures are completed, the customer will
understand whether any product recommended has
been selected from a
range of products of the same type available, or is the one product of that
type which the adviser has
available.
For services for category 2 products, the requirements may go
beyond those for Registered Financial Advisers. Many QFEs
are product
providers, or have particular commercial relationships which may limit the
products and services available
to customers. The short disclosure
envisaged balances the consumer protection obligations of QFEs and the
efficiency
advantages of the QFE model.
3 – Remuneration for the service
The general description given in the Table 1 disclosures is expected to be
high level, but sufficient to alert the customer to the
fact that a potential
conflict of interest exists. More detailed information is required by the
conditions in Table 2, but might
be provided at a later stage in the
process.
For services in relation to category 2 products, regulations do not require
registered financial advisers to disclose conflicts of
interest arising from
interests, commissions or other remuneration. If changes are made to the
regulations, the Commission will
expect QFEs to amend their disclosures
accordingly.
4 – Regulation by the Commission
In making disclosure about regulation by the Commission, QFEs should provide
factual information and comply with standard condition
6 (‘no
endorsement’).
Illustrations
Some illustrations of how Table 1 might look are provided in the
Illustrations section.
Table 2 – Services in respect of Category 1 products
1 – Fees
The direct costs for the advice should be made transparent to the
customer.
We expect that more detail can be disclosed as the nature of the service
being provided becomes clearer. For example, in some situations
a QFE may be
able to provide the information in a single disclosure without overloading the
customer with information that is not
relevant. Where a QFE has a number of
different services, it might determine that its consumer protection
obligations are best
satisfied by a number of disclosures of increasing
detail:
2 – Interests, incentives, remuneration and
relationships
The customer should be made aware of any matter which may influence the
service and which therefore represents a potential conflict
of interest, so the
customer can decide whether to follow the advice provided or use the service.
QFEs should consider financial
and other interests on the QFE itself and/or the
QFE adviser.
A QFE currently subject to the disclosure requirements of the Securities
Markets Act is likely to already disclose matters similar
to those required by
these conditions. The QFE should consider how to use the greater flexibility
allowed under the Financial Advisers
Act to disclose these matters in a way that
meets its consumer protection obligations.
Influences on the QFE include remuneration or incentives received by members
of the QFE Group or other related companies. Where the
QFE or QFE Group is
responsible for both the advice and product, this should include an explanation
of the total remuneration to
the QFE Group. For example for investments a
composite charges ratio may be appropriate. Influences also include external
incentives
to the QFE Group, for example from the issuers of promoted
products.
It is not intended that the QFE should disclose potential influences solely
arising from the profitability of its products –
such disclosure is likely
to lead to artificial cost allocations and therefore to be of limited value to
customers.
Influences on the QFE adviser will not be clear to the customer and should be
disclosed. QFEs should also consider influences on nominated
representative
advisers, including incentives and remuneration received by the adviser
from his/her employer (and amounts
received by that employer if
known).
When presenting incentive and remuneration disclosures, QFEs should consider
how best to fulfil their consumer protection obligations
within the timing
requirements of the
Act. Potential complexities of incentives and remuneration should be balanced
with the customer’s need to understand influences
relevant to their
needs.
A QFE may consider that some influences are clear to the customer from high
level disclosures (under Table 1) explaining that for
investment services the
QFE adviser can sell only the category 1 products issued or
‘promoted’ by the QFE Group. In
these cases, a QFE might consider
whether it can fulfil its consumer protection obligations by giving more
detailed disclosures
on influences later in the service. For example,
disclosure of all of the incentive and remuneration structures across
a range of
products at the start of the relationship might overload the customer, while
waiting until possible relevant products
or services have been identified might
allow shorter disclosures and enable the customer to focus on relevant
information.
If the QFE decides that it is appropriate to leave detailed disclosures to
later stages of the service or relationship, it should
at least state (under
Table 1, 3 of the conditions) whether there are matters which might influence
the advice, and, if so, that
further information can be provided now or at a
later stage (and can be provided in writing).
The Commission expects that the QFE will take into account potential
influences on the advice when designing its supervision and compliance
monitoring approaches.
QFE ABS Guide
The QFE ABS Guide includes standard conditions for reporting by a QFE to the
Commission in the form of an ABS. This includes information
about its
governance and compliance arrangements. QFEs must address the compliance
principles and include the expected information in their ABS. For
more information and a copy of the QFE ABS Guide see www.seccom.govt.nz/qfe For information
about standard reporting conditions see the previous consultation on QFE
standard conditions.
QFEs will be expected to address the amendments, once incorporated into the
Guide, in future versions of their ABS. Most potential
QFEs have already
submitted or prepared their ABS for licensing. The deadline for submission is 1
December 2010.
The suggested information which provides guidelines for addressing the
principle may also be amended to provide additional assistance to QFEs, if
necessary.
Illustrations
TABLE 1 DISCLOSURE - CATEGORY 1 PRODUCTS
This example is for disclosure made through advisers working in MNO Limited,
an approved associated entity of XYZ Limited, which is
a QFE. The customer
knows the MNO Limited brand. These advisers advise on category 1
products.
This example draws on the format of AFA disclosures under the
Regulations.
It is important that you read this information
It will help you to decide whether our services will suit your needs. We will provide you with more information later that will also be important for the financial decisions you make.
Table 1 reference
5
What sort of adviser are we? 6
MNO Limited is part of a Qualifying Financial Entity (QFE) Group called XYZ
Limited QFE Group. You can check this information on
the Financial Service
Providers Register at www.fspr.govt.nz.
XYZ Limited is the QFE licensed to take responsibility for the advisers in the 1
QFE Group (the QFE advisers). This includes making sure that advisers
exercise care, diligence and skill in providing financial advice
to you. The
QFE’s licence means that QFE advisers do not have to be individually
registered or authorised.
What services can we provide to you? 2
Our QFE advisers can provide personalised advice about investment
products which are provided or promoted by our QFE Group.
(‘Promoted’ has a special definition.) This means that we take
responsibility for the product as well as the advice.
Our branch based advisers can provide advice on Unit Trusts and our
Investment Funds**.
Our QFE advisers cannot provide advice about other products or design a plan
for dealing with all of your investment goals. If you
need this service we can
refer you to one of our Authorised Financial Advisers.
How do we get paid for the services that we provide to you? 3
We do not charge a fee for our service, but when you buy something from us, our Group will benefit as we provide the products. Our advisers may also benefit as we provide a bonus scheme, which is based on a variety of
factors, including the performance of our company and how much the adviser
sells. We balance our bonus scheme by also requiring our
advisers to
consistently meet our suitable advice standards.
Before you decide to act on our advice we will tell you more about how we and
our advisers may benefit from your decision. You can
also ask for more
information. contd over
Who licenses and regulates us? 4
The Securities Commission. You can report information about us to the
Securities Commission (but if you want to complain you should
use our dispute
resolution procedures*). Contact the Securities Commission for more
information.
TABLE 1 DISCLOSURE – CATEGORY 2 PRODUCTS
This example is for disclosures made through the QFE’s own
advisers.
This example draws on the format of regulated financial adviser disclosures under the
Regulations.
It is important that you read this information
It is general information which will help you to compare financial advisers and choose the one that best suits your needs.
Table 1 reference
5
What sort of adviser are we? 6
XYZ Limited is a Qualifying Financial Entity (QFE). You can check this
information on the Financial Service Providers Register at
www.fspr.govt.nz.
What does that mean? 1
A QFE is licensed to take responsibility for its advisers. This includes
making sure that advisers exercise care, diligence and skill
in providing
financial advice to you. The QFE’s licence means that QFE advisers do not
have to be individually registered or
authorised.
What services can we provide to you? 2
Our QFE advisers can provide personalised advice about:
• XYZ motor insurance, which is insured by DEF Limited
• travel insurance provided by GHI Limited
• health insurance provided by GHI Limited or JKL Limited
We are not related to DEF Limited, GHI Limited or JKL Limited, but have
contracts with them to enable us to sell their products.
Our QFE advisers cannot provide you with advice about investment
products.
Who licenses and regulates us? 4
The Securities Commission. You can report information about us to the
Securities Commission (but if you want to complain you should
use our dispute
resolution procedures*). Contact the Securities Commission for more
information.
* Contact details, complaints handling and dispute resolution matters could
be added to comply with the Regulations
** Further information on the range of Unit Trusts and Investment Funds should be provided once more information on the client’s needs have been established.
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