Code of conduct members resign

Two members have resigned from a committee working on a code of conduct for financial advisers in the wake of a Consumer NZ report which found advice was "scandalously poor".

The Commissioner for Financial Advisers, Annabel Cotton, has accepted the resignations of code committee members Liz Koh and Patrick Middleton. Ms Koh and Mr Middleton were attached to firms that gave advice that was ranked "rejected" in the Consumer NZ report.

Ms Cotton said she accepted their resignations to remove the potential for loss of public confidence in the work of the committee, not as any reflection on the professional competence of the individuals.

Ms Koh is a director of Moneymax and Mr Middleton is a former head of wealth management at Westpac.

The commissioner said she understood that both Moneymax and Westpac did not accept the findings of the Consumer NZ survey.

The code of conduct is part of the new regulatory environment for financial advisers. The draft code is expected to be completed early next year. It will set minimum qualification standards, ongoing training requirements, and impose responsibilities for the advice given to clients.

Industry standards are being questioned after finance companies collapsed owing investors hundreds of millions of dollars.

Consumer NZ sent mystery shoppers to 33 financial advisers, from large institutions with in-house advisers and agents, sharebrokers and nationwide adviser chains to small standalone firms.

An expert panel assessed the quality of advice and information in the 17 plans it received. Consumer NZ chief executive Sue Chetwin said only three out of 17 advisers produced plans that the expert panel rated as "good". The others were rated as "disappointing" or were "rejected".

- NZPA