Monday, September 20, 2010

New Zealand’s Code of Professional Conduct for Authorized Financial Advisers – Empowerment of Minority Investors

New Zealand’s Minister of Commerce, Hon Simon Power today approved the Code of Professional Conduct for Authorized Financial Advisers.

"This is a significant step towards the full implementation of the Financial Advisers regulatory regime and the Government's goal to rebuild investor confidence in our financial markets," Mr Power said. The approval means the Commissioner for Financial Advisers can now determine when the code can come into effect.

The regime is governed by two pieces of legislation - the Financial Advisers Act and Financial Service Providers Acts.

The two Acts, which will be fully in force by July next year, require all financial service providers - including financial advisers - to be on a public register and, if they provide retail services, to belong to an approved dispute resolution scheme.

Many of the minority investors had lost large sums of money because of the poor investment advice they've received.

The Code of Professional Conduct establishes 18 standards to ensure all authorised financial advisers meet the minimum standards for ethical behaviour, client care, knowledge, skills and competence, and continuing professional development. The Code is available at http://www.financialadvisercode.govt.nz/
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