On 1 May the FMA turned 4, marking yet another eventful year in our short but busy history. Notably, we also raced past the first anniversary for Phase 1 of the FMC Act. The freshness of these milestones reflects that while change has been a long time coming, we are still a new regulator operating in an even newer regulatory regime.

Indeed key parts of the new reform process are still in progress. Various transition periods for new offer document requirements and licensing obligations for new sectors like derivatives issuers, DIMS and Managed Investment Schemes are gathering pace.

Having highlighted our strategic priorities in our Strategic Risk Outlook last December, we need to assess how best to apply our limited resources, both human and financial, to operate our new machinery. For instance, how do we get under the bonnet of newly licensed sectors in a way that is transparent but does not create opportunity for firms or individuals to game our points of focus?

Reflecting our need to ‘size’ the FMA and its resource needs against our core activities and processes, we are in the midst of an extensive business planning program. The goal is to ensure we can match those core activities to our strategic priorities, performance measures and very importantly, our budget.

As the mists begin to clear in terms of our overall remit, we will see changes to the areas of activity within the FMA and how we apply the resources we have.  In that respect, we are very fortunate to have a strong and committed team. We are acutely conscious our people make all the difference so we can fulfil our ambitions to be an engaged and effective regulator.

As always we have plenty going on that will directly impact you, our stakeholders, and much of this is highlighted in further detail below.

Rob Everett
CEO, FMA