There’s lots of talk about the so-called ‘advice gap’ in the context of the Financial Advisers Act review but nowhere was it so stark (or more attributed directly to us, and which we could therefore do something about) than here.
We’ve also been assisting MBIE with their work to encourage more KiwiSaver members to engage with their investments – including getting more KiwiSaver providers to start meaningful conversations with their customers. This includes work on including fee information in annual statements and other disclosures.
This reflects our strong view that understanding how (and why) investors react to financial products is crucial to having more effective dialogue with providers AND working out where we can help investors.
An example of this is a research report we commissioned on ‘ingredients of confidence about retirement’. This tells us (or confirms for us) a few important points. Those who do some proper homework and/or get professional advice justifiably feel more confident about their financial prospects in retirement - and the earlier you start the better.
Last week we moved to bring short-dated FX derivatives (such as binary options) within our licensed derivatives regime. Too many people are getting hurt in this space and whilst a license requirement may not stop dodgy overseas operators targeting NZers, we do hope that it will reinforce to those who want to play in high risk areas like FX trading, that they should deal with businesses located and regulated here.
Rob Everett
Chief Executive
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