26 March 2026

Yesterday we released our review into access to financial advice at the FANZ National Adviser Conference in Auckland. The purpose of the review was to enhance our understanding of the availability of financial advice in New Zealand.

Thank you to everyone who provided valuable feedback on the terms of reference for this review last year. We have published two reports. The first brings forward the voices of consumers, based on a representative survey of New Zealanders. It explores how people see financial advice, where they go for information, how demographics shape their choices, and how digital tools are influencing behaviour.

The second examines access to advice through the lens of advice business models, innovation and regulation, and identifies challenges and opportunities for both the FMA and the financial advice sector to consider.

These reports mark an important milestone in understanding accessibility challenges and opportunities and will form the basis of an ongoing conversation with the advice sector about how we can collectively improve Kiwis’ access to financial advice.  

To achieve the best outcomes for our markets and New Zealanders, the FMA takes a collaborative approach. We continue to engage closely with firms and industry groups to support good practices and reduce the risk of poor outcomes for New Zealanders.
Over the past month, we have already seen the benefit of this approach in several areas including:

Tokenisation: We published submissions received on our 2025 tokenisation discussion paper, which highlighted potential benefits such as broader capital-raising opportunities, greater access to New Zealand financial markets, and increased liquidity and market resilience. 

Sandbox pilot: We shared that we intend to expand the sandbox pilot to introduce an on-ramp or restricted licence for innovative firms.

We remain committed to engaging with industry and consumers to promote fair, efficient, and transparent financial markets in New Zealand.

Ngā manaakitanga,  
Clare Bolingford, Executive Director - Licensing and Conduct Supervision  

Engaging with industry helps the FMA stay connected to real world practices, identify emerging risks, and provide clearer, more practical guidance. These conversations support a collaborative, effective regulatory approach that promotes good conduct and better outcomes for consumers, markets and the wider financial system. 

The FMA engaged with industry at a number of events in March, including the Meet the Managers Roadshow hosted by Heathcote Investment Partners, INFINZ International Women’s Day breakfast, the IAIS Market Conduct New Zealand meeting, the Asia‑Pacific Regional Committee, the Trans-Tasman Banking Council heads meeting, the FinTech Hui Taumata, and the FANZ National Adviser Conference. 

Next steps for the sandbox discussed at the FinTech Hui Taumata 

At the FinTech Hui Taumata in Wellington earlier this month, FMA Chief Executive Samantha Barrass discussed next steps for our fintech sandbox. The sandbox will introduce an on-ramp or restricted licence for innovative firms, helping them access the market with some restrictions that could be lifted as the firm grows. 

The on-ramp licence will be available to firms who wish to test certain types of products within scope of the Financial Markets Conduct Act, with controls for a set period of time. We are still in the early stages of scoping the work, but our initial focus will most likely be on firms who wish to test certain types of managed investment scheme products. Other product offerings like discretionary investment management services and crowdfunding may be included over time.

Ms Barrass said this expanded approach will support innovation, grow competition and balance potential risks to consumers, while broadening support to a wider number of firms. 

We are aiming to start testing the design of our draft on-ramp licence with external stakeholders between May and June which will involve testing market appetite, and suitability of the conditions and built-in relief.

FMA Chief Executive Samantha Barrass with Commerce Commissioner Bryan Chapple at the FinTech Hui Taumata in Wellington.

FMA at the FANZ National Adviser Conference

Speaking at the Financial Advice New Zealand (FANZ) National Adviser Conference this week, FMA Chief Executive Samantha Barrass emphasised the vital role financial advice plays in helping New Zealanders make informed decisions on their financial futures, noting that when delivered well, it provides clarity, confidence, and long-term benefits. 

She said the new financial advice regime is a principles-based regime, which means that it’s flexible and can be right-sized for each individual business. 

Speaking about the findings from the Access to Financial Advice Review, she noted that one of the challenges appears to be that for many firms, faced with uncertainty about how to tailor the nature or scope of financial advice, the default is to be cautious and conservative. We want more people to be able to access financial advice services.

We want to foster an advice sector that is innovative, inclusive and responsive to the evolving needs of New Zealanders. The best way to make that happen is for the sector and us to work together to ensure New Zealanders can thrive.  

FMA Chief Executive Samantha Barrass speaking at the FANZ National Adviser Conference in Auckland. 

Access to financial advice

Our Access to Financial Advice Review looked at how New Zealanders access financial advice and the challenges facing both consumers and the advice sector. 

The research found that 28% of New Zealanders accessed financial advice in the past 12 months, with lower socio-economic groups and some communities, including Māori and Pasifika, significantly underrepresented. Many consumers were uncertain about what financial advice is, how to access it and how much it costs.

The review highlights opportunities for the sector to improve accessibility, including improving access to advice about retirement decumulation and exploring technology-enabled advice models that could help reach more consumers.

The findings have been published across two reports that draw on consumer research and engagement with advisers, financial institutions and industry bodies.  

Stay up to date on financial advice

If you haven’t already, we encourage you to subscribe to our Financial Advisers Update newsletter here. The next edition will include insights from the soon-to-be-published financial advice regulatory returns data, which will feature an interactive dashboard of recent data.

Tokenisation in financial markets    

Following our September 2025 discussion paper on the current use and future potential of tokenisation in New Zealand’s financial markets, we have published a summary of feedback themes, along with our response. 

Submitters highlighted potential benefits of tokenisation such as broader capital-raising opportunities, increased access to New Zealand financial markets, and improved liquidity and market resilience. Submitters also identified a number of risks, including custody challenges relating to the control of virtual assets, cyber security risks, and the potential for fraud and scams involving fake tokenised assets. 

We will continue to engage with policymakers on potential changes to legal and regulatory frameworks as markets continue to evolve. 

Jess Learns to Invest - the latest podcast

How do you build a diverse investing portfolio?

In this episode of Jess Learns to Invest, Jess is joined by Tom Hartmann, Personal Finance Lead at Sorted, to explain what a portfolio is, why diversification matters, and how spreading investments across different assets, industries and regions can help manage risk over time.

The conversation covers the difference between diversification and asset allocation, how managed funds and KiwiSaver can provide diversification, and why rebalancing and fees matter for long term investors.

This episode is designed for New Zealanders, particularly those starting out or invested through KiwiSaver, and reinforces the importance of understanding risk.

FMA confirms no change to reasonable grounds guidance

We have completed a review of our guidance on Reasonable grounds for financial advice about financial products. 

We conducted targeted engagement to understand how the guidance has been operating in practice, with a focus on reasonable grounds for advice on IPOs and listed equity securities. Through this work, we did not identify material concerns that warrant substantive changes and have decided not to amend the guidance. 

The guidance continues to reflect the FMA’s approach to applying and enforcing Code Standard 3 of the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services in circumstances where there is limited information available to support reasonable grounds, including the importance of professional judgement. 

We want advisers to be comfortable using their professional judgement when research is limited. This helps support the availability of financial advice for novel investment opportunities, including IPOs and listed equity securities (particularly smaller market capitalisation stocks) and encourages investor participation in New Zealand’s capital markets. 

Class exemptions 

Exemptions granted

We have renewed, for a further five years, an exemption that allows certain Australian financial services licence holders to continue providing financial advice from offshore to certain New Zealand retail clients on an unsolicited basis. This can be done without holding a financial advice provider licence and without complying with certain duties under the FMC Act, provided the conditions set out in the notice have been met. Read the exemption

We have also extended, for a further two years, a temporary class exemption relating to climate reporting. The exemption complements targeted relief provided by the External Reporting Board for climate reporting entities in respect of the assurance of their scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions disclosures. The exemption will not affect the requirement for assurance of scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions disclosures. Read the extended exemption

In-principle decisions 

We have decided in principle to grant the following class exemptions:

The renewal, for a further five years, of the existing class exemption for issuers of employee share purchase schemes. Read more

The renewal, for a further five years, of the existing class exemption for Catalist Public Market listed issuers. Read more

We may consult with interested stakeholders on drafting of the exemption notices that implement these decisions. If you would like to be added to the list of stakeholders, please email exemptions@fma.govt.nz and specify which exemption notice(s) you are interested in.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade - Iran sanctions 

All reporting entities should remain aware of New Zealand’s current sanctions on Iran. 

On 18 October 2025, New Zealand implemented “snapback” sanctions on Iran in accordance with its obligations under the United Nations Security Council. The United Nations Sanctions (Iran) Regulations 2025 introduce a range of obligations for any person in New Zealand, as well as New Zealand citizens and entities operating internationally, who are conducting or intending to conduct business with Iran.

From 1 February 2026, New Zealand introduced a compulsory registration scheme for all New Zealand persons and entities wishing to engage in business with Iran. Registration with the New Zealand Sanctions Unit within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) is required before any such business activity is undertaken.

All reporting entities should remain vigilant to any attempts by customers to circumvent Iran sanctions, including using intermediary jurisdictions or complex transaction structures with potential links to Iran. You are also reminded of your obligation to submit a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) in relation to any activity or transaction suspected of being connected to sanctions circumvention or evasion.

Further information about New Zealand’s Iran sanctions regime and the registration requirements is available in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Guidance Note: Iran sanctions. If you have any questions about your obligations or the registration process, please contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade at Sanctions@mfat.govt.nz.  

ASB ordered to pay $2.1m after fair dealing breaches affecting over 25,000 customers 

The High Court has fined ASB Bank $2.1 million for fair‑dealing breaches relating to its insurance products and banking services. The failings affected over 25,000 customers, who were refunded around $4.7 million. The FMA acknowledged ASB’s self-reporting and remediation, however, the duration of the issues and delays in escalation required a strong regulatory response.

Former NZ financial adviser sentenced for breaching stop order 

Former financial adviser David McEwen has been convicted on four counts of breaching an FMA Stop Order. He has been banned from acting as a director, promoter, or company manager in New Zealand, barred from providing financial advice for seven years, and fined $15,000.

The charges relate to breaches of a 2023 Stop Order designed to prevent financial harm to his clients. McEwen continued to seek money from former clients, receiving around $17,000 after the order was issued. The FMA had previously issued warnings and advised former and existing clients to check their credit and debit card statements for any unauthorised payments.

FMA Head of Enforcement Margot Gatland said the case demonstrates the importance of enforcement in preventing harm to consumers and maintaining market integrity.

Stay informed

Stay informed: Check out the FMA’s enforcement activity for more about the actions we take to protect investors and maintain market integrity.

Inside a scam - IPO scams

IPO scams are on the rise. Scammers offer fake “IPO” or “pre IPO” shares that don’t exist.
They often impersonate licensed brokers or well known companies, use professional looking websites, and promise early access or high returns - but the investment is fake and your money is lost.

Red flags include unexpected contact, pressure to act fast, and deals that sound too good to be true.

If you think you have been targeted by an IPO scam:
- Stop!
- Don’t send any money
- Report it to the FMA

Find out more about IPO scams here

We regularly publish warnings containing the names of businesses or individuals you should be wary of if you are planning to invest. 

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