Financial Advice NZ has announced this year’s conference. Details on the conference are below.

Keynote speakers

Date: 16 November 2021

• Mykel Dixon
• Dr Angus Hervey, Future Crunch
• Matt Whineray

Date: 17 November 2021

• Matt Church
• Siouxsie Wiles

Business sessions

Date: 17 November 2021

• Speaker: John Spence, global business expert and executive coach (via Zoom)

Topic: Delivering Consistently Superior Customer Service

• Speaker: Michael Henderson, Business Culture Subject Matter Expert

Topic: Ferocious Creating a High-Performance Company Culture

• Speaker: Michael Kitces, financial planning educator (via Zoom)

Topic: Applying Behavioural Finance in Principle

• Speaker: Paul Spoonley, demographer, former Pro Vice-​Chancellor of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Massey University

Topic: Demographic change and the impact on the face of New Zealand

Lightning Talks

Date: 16 November 2021

• Sam Johnson
• Ben Teusse
• Simon White
• Steven Korner

Venue: TSB Arena & Shed 6, 4 Queens Wharf, Wellington Central, Wellington

Dates: 15 November 2021, 16 November 2021, and 17 November 2021,

Prices:

All costs exclude GST.

Masterclass

Venue: TSB Arena & Shed 6, 4 Queens Wharf, Wellington Central, Wellington

Date: 15 November 2021

Price: $80 + GST (MasterClass only)

Time: 2:30pm – 5:30pm followed by dinner at Portifino Restaurant at 6:30pm (dinner is an additional $60)

Click here to register

In other news

Financial Advice: AGM will be held 15 November 2021

Compliance Refinery: Compliance Refinery expands

From Good returns: Once in a lifetime business - Take two

Financial Advice: Mid-Winter Blues Webinar Series

AIA New Zealand has announced that Countdown has replaced New World as the AIA Vitality Active Rewards Grocery Partner. AIA Vitality members can receive a Countdown gift card when weekly Active Rewards targets are met. Members can earn up to $300 worth of Countdown gift cards each membership year when they continue making health-conscious decisions and remain active on AIA Vitality. New Balance has also joined the AIA Vitality partner network, offering members a 30% discount off full priced footwear and accessories. Additional AIA Vitality partnerships are set to be announced next month.

Chief Product and Vitality Officer Len Elikhis has said that it’s great to see the tangible benefits being delivered.  Elikhis shared that 25,000 members received over 164,000 Active Rewards, it was also revealed that members collectively took over 10 billion steps, claimed 3,400 free AIA Vitality health checks, and nearly 1,000 discounted MoleMaps..

“AIA Vitality members can turn their healthy habits into healthy food with the addition of a new Active Rewards Grocery Partner, Countdown.

Members can receive a Countdown gift card every time they reach their weekly Active Rewards target.

Countdown has replaced New World as a grocery partner and also joins Airpoints as an AIA Vitality Status Rewards partner, and members can earn up to $300 worth of Countdown gift cards each membership year by making healthier choices and continuing to engage with the AIA Vitality programme.

“We’re thrilled to have Countdown come onboard as our new Active Rewards Grocery Partner," says AIA NZ chief product and vitality officer Len Elikhis.

"With 180 stores nationwide, we are confident this is a benefit that members will be able to enjoy wherever they live in Aotearoa.”

Members can also get into gear with the addition of New Balance, who have joined the AIA Vitality partner network offering a 30% discount off full priced footwear and accessories.

“As we approach the second anniversary of AIA Vitality in New Zealand, it’s great to see the tangible benefits we’ve been able to deliver for Kiwis,” Elikhis says.

“Our nearly 25,000 members have received over 164,000 Active Rewards and improved their health by collectively taking over 10 billion steps.

“What’s more, our members have taken steps to learn more about their health and wellbeing, by claiming 3,400 free AIA Vitality health checks, and nearly 1,000 discounted MoleMaps.

"By regularly evolving the programme, we continue to motivate our members to live healthier, longer, better lives. With our latest partners, we’re set to take the programme to a whole new level."

Since launching in August 2019, AIA NZ has continued to enhance the AIA Vitality programme to deliver more value and rewards for members.”

In 2020 it launched the Apple Watch benefit, and in March this year welcomed new partner brands Samsung, Event Cinemas, and the Allen Carr Easyway Quit Alcohol programme.

More AIA Vitality partnerships will be announced in August 2021.” Click here to read more

In other news

Financial Advice: Bring in the Experts webinar - Are your record keeping processes compliant for the new regime?

From Good returns: Ending a 40-year career - the true cost of a FADC decision

From Insurance business mag: CPD: Are advisers doing it right?

RBNZ: RBNZ issues Relationship Charter survey results

Succession planning for your business and how to value it - Financial Advice New Zealand Session

There has been unprecedented interest in business valuation - that's not just about a few retiring advisers: it is also a valuable management tool, it enables funding lines to be established for acquisition, and helps to address governance priorities. In the last two years the approach to valuation has tended to change to reflect larger business sizes, more diverse revenue streams and the current economic conditions. You will hear about all of these and more, including feedback from the market about current valuation ranges. 

Joining me will be Kurt Owen, of BASE Accounting, Malcolm Powell a retired financial adviser. 

Our experts discuss why, when, and how businesses are valued. Key questions to be answered include:

• When do you need a valuation?
• What is the benefit of a valuation?
• How do you decide if you need a renewal, business, or a joint valuation?
• How can you use a valuation?

This will be valuable for anyone looking at selling or buying their business. Members free, others $50+gst

Register here

Financial Advice CEO Katrina Shanks has said that most members are now linked to a FAP. Although there are some members that still need to make changes, Shanks said that members understood what was required of them. Shanks has said that she is encouraging companies who are ready to apply for their full licence, saying that the sooner advisers apply the better.

“Financial Advice New Zealand (FANZ) chief executive Katrina Shanks says she's pleased the vast majority of the organisation's members are now linked to a financial advice provider (FAP) and that the work put in by FANZ to help its members get across the line has been worthwhile.

Shanks says apart from a couple of members who thought they had linked themselves to a FAP but had not, "...everybody seems to be relatively comfortable that they are on the register".

'We had a couple of phone calls after the event, but we worked those out.

"There is still time to contact the companies office and make the required changes...they will have to work through the process of deregistration and can't just do it all straight away."

Shanks says that on the whole FANZ members understood what was required of them.

She says FANZ won't know exactly how many members have dropped off until the end of this month, "but it will be very few".

"This process was relativity simple, obviously the fifteenth of March wasn't the end date in terms of licensing - now we move into the full licensing process and have two years to do this, but that time will go very quickly."

Shanks says FANZ knows some organisations who are ready to apply for a full license and she encourages them to "...get it done and dusted".

"The sooner you apply for the full licence the sooner you can put all of this behind you."

Overall, she says it's been pleasing to see members were prepared for the change and understood the requirements.” Click here to read more

In other news

Cigna: Canterbury flooding support offered to advisers and customers. Those affected are encouraged to contact the Customer Care Team on 508 464 999

Cigna: Jozac Hillary from RMA Financial won the $1000 business kick-start prize at Cigna Live

Cigna: General Manager David Haak noted that advisers found the new eApp easy to use

From Insurance Business Mag: Are insurers investing in the wrong kind of cybersecurity?

Cigna: Multi-benefit discount extended until 31 October 2021

FSC: Get In Shape Webinar Series: Session 17 

nib has announced the launch of a new health cover option, non-PHARMAC Plus, that is designed to offer members more access to potentially life-saving treatments not currently funded by PHARMAC. Members will be able to access treatments that are Medsafe approved and have been prescribed or administered according to Medsafe’s guidelines. Non-PHARMAC Plus is now available through adviser and group business channels. Members can add the cover to new or existing hospital cover. There is no waiting periods if members choose to add this option. Benefit limits range from $20,000 to $300,000 per member annually. nib CEO, Rob Hennin, has said that non-PHARMAC Plus was developed to offer members more flexible and affordable options. Through non-PHARMAC Plus members have access to new unfunded medicines. When future treatments for critical illnesses become available, members will be covered.  non-PHARMAC Plus covers the cost of using non-PHARMAC treatments in private hospital or at home up to six months after being admitted to hospital and any drug administration costs once a claim is accepted.

“Leading health insurer, nib New Zealand (nib), has today launched a new health cover option to provide Kiwis with greater choice and access to potentially life-saving treatments not publicly funded by PHARMAC – the government agency responsible for deciding which medicines are subsidised as part of our public health system.

The new add-on cover, non-PHARMAC Plus, is available from today through nib’s adviser and group distribution channels with members able to add to their new or existing hospital cover.

Benefit limits range from $20,000 to $300,000 per member per year, allowing members to choose the level of cover that best suits their health needs and budget.

nib New Zealand Chief Executive Officer, Rob Hennin, said the non-PHARMAC Plus option was developed in response to a growing need for cover that provides members with greater choice, affordability and flexibility when it comes to modern medicines.

“New Zealand’s public healthcare system is often recognised for the level of care it provides, but we’re also ranked as having the worst access to funded modern medicines of the 20 OECD countries,” Mr Hennin said.

“Without funding, these medicines can often cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, placing Kiwis who are already under significant stress dealing with an illness, with the added financial burden of paying for treatments out-of-pocket.

It’s why we’ve introduced this add-on option which is designed to better protect our members’ health by making potentially life-saving treatments more affordable and accessible,” he added.

nib’s non-PHARMAC Plus option provides cover for all medicines that are not funded by PHARMAC, are Medsafe approved and have been prescribed or administered in line with Medsafe’s guidelines – not just cancer treatments.

“The great part about our non-PHARMAC Plus option is that the add-on benefit also enables our members to ‘future-proof’ their cover so that when new unfunded medicines become available to treat critical illnesses, they’ll be covered for it,” Mr Hennin said.

“As these advancements in medicine innovations continue to take place, advisers will play a critical role in educating and informing the public of the various health cover products in market to help support their clients’ long-term health needs,” he added.

The benefit covers the cost of these medicines where nib has accepted a claim for treatment and where the non-PHARMAC drugs are used in a private hospital or at home for up to six months after being admitted to hospital for treatment. The benefit also covers any drug administration costs. Additionally, there are no waiting periods if members choose to add this option to their policy.”

In other news

Financial Advice NZ: Dunedin roadshow to be held Tuesday, 29 June – 9:30am to 12pm

Financial Advice NZ webinar: Update from the FMA, unbundling Full Licensing, and Consultation on Financial Advice NZ Constitution

Financial Advice NZ: Professional Ethics Workshop

Financial Advice NZ has announced that a liability programme for members has been launched. The insurance plan will be available to all advisers from 1 July 2021. Financial Advice NZ CEO Katrina Shanks has said that the programme is designed to offer an affordable alternative to Professional indemnity insurance. Sole advisers with their own license, classified as Class 1 FAPs, will be offered premiums ranging from $1,700 to $3,600. While licensed FAPs with 2-12 advisers, classified as Class 2 FAPs, will be offered premiums of between $2,250 to $4,300. Premiums will vary depending on advice streams. The liability programme will be underwritten by NZI and QBE.

“Financial Advice New Zealand chief executive Katrina Shanks says the new liability programme is for its members only and took seven months to put together with its broker Marsh New Zealand.

Shanks says the new insurance scheme is available to all advisers, including financial planners, and will start on July 1.

With PI insurance costs escalating, Shanks says the new liability programme offers great value for money and further incentives for members who qualify for "trusted adviser" status, plus runoff cover for FAPs and individual advisers.

"Professional indemnity insurance is a hardening market in these uncertain times due to the changing regulatory environment and the risk appetite of insurers, and the process to finalise this programme has been robust," she says.

"We have worked very hard on your behalf in a very difficult market.

Class 1 FAPs (sole advisers with their own license), will face premiums ranging from $1,700 to $3,600, depending on the advice stream.

The liability programme will cover all advice provided by the FAP.

Meanwhile, costs for Class 2 FAPs (licensed FAPs with between 2-12 advisers) will need to pay premiums of between $2,250 to $4,300, depending on the advice stream.

Marsh New Zealand central region manager Marijke von Molendorff says the policies are being underwritten by NZI and QBE who have spread the risk 60% - 40% respectively. 

She says the features of the programme are different depending on the size and licence class of each FAP and premiums are calculated based on income (see tables below) and people can pick and choose indemnity cover levels.” Click here to read more

Partners Life has announced expanded scope of service of the Client Engagement Team. The team was established to help advisers with customer retention and payment regulation. Recently Partners Life has decided to offer training and support to ensure the team becomes the first Nominated Representatives for Partners Life. The team will be responsible for providing customers with support regarding pricing issues and policy retention. The team will offer customers quotes for alternative Partners Life products and other retention options such as Premium Holidays and Policy Suspensions. Partners Life has made clear that advisers will be involved in the process. Advisers have the option of opting their clients out of this service. Advisers that have opted out of the current services of the team will automatically be opted out.

“A few years ago, we established our Client Engagement Team to assist our advisers with customer retention and arrears. To date they have done a fantastic job!

Throughout this time however, the team have had very little scope to have truly constructive conversations with clients due to the limitations of the type of financial advice they could give.

With the recent legislative changes, we have identified an opportunity to provide the appropriate training and support to our Client Engagement Team, enabling them to become the very first Nominated Representatives for Partners Life. This means they can begin to have robust conversations with our clients regarding affordability issues, while also being able to discuss all possible options available for the clients to keep their cover in place. This can range from providing quotes for alterations or discussing other retention options within our Partners Life products, such as Premium Holidays or Policy Suspensions.

The team will be limited to discussions around affordability of select Partners Life products only, and we will ensure we involve you as our client’s financial adviser. We will refer your clients to you in the first instance and keep you involved in all communications. In fact, if you would prefer that we don’t have these conversations with your clients, then you can choose to opt out of this offering.

Our Nominated Representative service will replace the existing arrears management service our Client Engagement Team currently offer. If you have already actively opted out of the existing service, you will automatically be excluded from the Nominated Representative service and will need to advise us if you wish to now be included in the Nominated Representative service. All other advisers will automatically be included in the new offering, and you will need to advise us if you wish to be excluded.” Click here to read more

In other news

AIA: Policy letters now available through SovLink and Insight

mySolutions: from 1 July 2021 all qualified commissions (FAPO) payable by all the major insurers to be bundled into adviser commission package. They have also made a strong commitment that they will not become a FAP or 'compete' with advisers. 

Financial Advice: Getting Back to our Regions

Financial Advice: Bring in the Experts - Economist Tony Alexander - Budget Update

During a Financial Advice NZ webinar FMA director of market engagement John Botica concluded that the industry responded well to the regime change. Botica highlighted that over 3,000 financial advice providers, 10,000 advisers, and 12,000 nominated representatives are now on board. It was highlighted that there is now a steady flow of full licences applications. Botica made a note to discuss the lack of linking between advisers and FAPs on the FSPR. HE warned that it is important to link as there is the possibility of being deregistered from the FSPR from July. The assumption that the obligations of FSLAA don’t apply to the two-year transitional licence period was debunked,  it was made clear that all obligations of the new regime have been effective since March 15, 2021. Adviser website not reflecting the new disclosure rules was another issue discussed during the webinar. We offer a website review service for advisers looking to ensure they are compliant and have websites that are user-friendly. 

“Just over a month on from the start of the new regime, the FMA has shared a report card on how the financial services industry has adapted to the changes brought about by FSLAA.

Speaking at the Financial Advice New Zealand “Bring in the Experts” webinar, FMA director of market engagement, John Botica, said “The numbers tell us that [the industry] responded well.

“To see over 3,000 financial advice providers, together with 10,000 advisers and 12,000 nominated representatives tells us that the industry stepped up to the mark.”

According to Botica other factors on the positive side of the report card are that traffic of advisers applying for their full licence is starting to pick up.

“We are starting to get a good flow of full licence applications, and we are starting to see those licence approvals [coming] through which is great to see.”

But the report card was far from straight A’s.

On the negative side, Botica noted that many could be better at linking the advisers to the FAP on the FSPR.

“It is really important not to forget to do this. You really don’t want to get to the end of June and be facing the very real possibility of being deregistered from the FSPR.”

Another concern of the FMA is the misconception that the two year transitional licence period is a timeframe where the obligations of FSLAA do not apply.

Botica says, “This is just wrong. All obligations under the new regime took place on March 15. The transition period is in respect to moving to a full licence and to your approach to competency.”

The other low grade on the report card is related to adviser websites not being updated to reflect the new disclosure rules.

“Where we see genuine mistakes we will be sympathetic.” Click here to read more

In other news

FSC: Financial Services and the Climate Crisis with Hon James Shaw breakfast on May 14

FSC: FSC Connect Webinar on Cyber Security with Deloitte

Suncorp: Major insurer welcomes mandatory climate reporting

Southern Cross has described the change to the public health system as a positive step towards a more aligned health care system. Southern Cross noted that although the private health sector is highly efficient at delivering elective care, the sector needs to now work together to improve the overall service New Zealanders receive from public, private, and non-governmental providers. Southern Cross has highlighted that services must adapt to meet the demands of New Zealanders. Prioritising prevention has also been identified as key to achieving the best health outcomes.

“As the largest independent healthcare delivery network in the country, Southern Cross Healthcare welcomes the reform to the public health system.

It’s a positive step towards a more aligned system comprising public, private and non-governmental providers to achieve a better, fairer and more sustainable health solution.

The private health sector has a lot to offer and is well-recognised for highly efficient delivery of elective care. Now is the time to work in a whole of sector approach to maximise the contribution all facets of the health sector towards meeting the health needs of Kiwis.

The provision of services must adapt to meet ever-increasing and evolving demand. We only need to look at the growing mental health crisis, coupled with an ageing population where people’s latter years are often lived in a state of high health need, to see a strongly collaborative approach is required to deliver more efficient and cost-effective healthcare.

New Zealand simply cannot afford to have a health system that continues to operate at the bottom of the cliff. Changes need to happen now, and prevention must be a key focus for the new strategy to achieve the best health outcomes. 

This is why Southern Cross Healthcare has evolved beyond delivering care to patients in our wholly owned or joint venture hospitals and medical facilities and is investing in areas of growing importance. We now have invested in providing preventative, community-based services including occupational health, rehabilitation and mental health support, along with clinical wellness services.

While we know this is just the beginning, we look forward to receiving more information, and continuing to work in partnership to roll out the new health system.”

In other news

In Good returns: If in doubt - disclose

Partners Life: Andries van Graan now chief of adviser distribution at Partners Life

Russell’s piece in Good returns: Bancassurance – an opportunity for advisers?

Financial Advice New Zealand: Companies Office working to ensure FSPR process is "made simpler"

Dr. Graeme Jarvis has written a piece on Stuff about the Government’s plan to conduct a review into Pharmac. In the piece, Dr. Jarvis notes that the review should be seen as being for the good of the country, as long as the review is intended to update an outdated system, improve Pharmac’s performance, and expand access to publicly funded medicines. Transparency, timeliness and equity have been described as being the focus of the review. 

“That this Government has decided to have a review into Pharmac should be seen as positive by the country, and good public sector governance. This assumes, of course, that the review truly aims to look at ways to modernise a 27-year-old system and both to improve the way New Zealand accesses publicly funded modern medicines and to enhance the agency’s performance.

Performance for any health service should not be about PR, such as modelled graphs reporting assumed, rather than actual, savings. It should be about health outcomes achieved. Hopefully, the review can lead to the generation of meaningful health outcome measurements for patients, not myth-based savings indicators.

Transparency, timeliness and equity seem to be key areas of focus in the review. Safety of medicines is not – that is rightly a statutory role for Medsafe, not Pharmac. However, given recent deaths following an enforced brand switch of an epilepsy drug, now subject to a coronial investigation, the safety of Pharmac’s cost-driven decision-making processes should be within scope.

Timeliness of decision-making is an issue. New Zealand takes 2.5 times as long as the OECD average of nine months to publicly fund modern medicines, all of which have undergone rigorous review internationally, including assessment of clinical need and effectiveness. Why the delay? Hopefully the review will answer this question.

Despite New Zealand’s comparable wealth on a GDP per capita basis, it funds between two and 10 times fewer modern medicines than our OECD peers. Why the disparity? Is it technical or fiscal rationing? Only the former is considered in-scope for the review.” Click here to read more

nib has noted that New Zealanders can take Pharmac out of the equation by signing up to Ultimate Health with Easy Overlay promotion. The campaign begun April 1 and will continue until 30 June 2021. The promotion is only being offered on nibAPPLY.

In other news

Financial Advice: Economic Series - Part 2 Economic Update on the Property Markets webinar

Professional IQ: Timing saving online tools workshop helps describe CRM options for advisers and helps on how to use them to best effect

Cigna: Cigna Live registration still open