Solid academic qualifications and formal industry certification form the basis of proposed minimum standards for financial advisers in NZ.

On Friday the Code Committee for Financial Advisers released a consultation paper detailing proposed minimum standards of “competence, knowledge and skills” for authorised financial advisers.

The committee is working on a new code of conduct that will bind financial advisers to minimum standards of professionalism, ethics, qualifications and experience.

General insurance brokers won’t be expected to comply, although Insurance Brokers Association of NZ CEO Gary Young is among 10 professionals appointed to develop the competency standards.

The drive for standards comes amid a wider push for stronger supervision of the NZ financial services sector, where advisers have previously faced little regulation.

The proposed minimum standards strongly advocate the National Certificate in Financial Services (Financial Advice) alongside graduate diploma-level qualifications and formal industry certification as benchmark industry standards.

The committee is currently liaising with the NZ Securities Commission on the recognition of foreign advisers and says it may consult further on that issue in coming months.

Submissions to the paper close on November 13 and a draft code will be finalised early next year.