FANZ conference brings adviser community together

The weather was cool, but hearts were warm.

From April 1-3 it rained for most of the time in Christchurch, where hundreds of financial advisers gathered at Te Pae (pictured) for the 2025 Financial Advice New Zealand (FANZ) National Adviser Conference.  

With the theme "Shaping the Future of Advice," the meeting marked both a chance for advisers to engage with broader industry questions and connect with peers facing similar challenges, including the common one of how to collectively shape an industry that many New Zealanders still don't fully understand.

"We need to bring the advice community together. We need to create new ideas. We need to challenge our own ideas. We need to see what's happening and working well internationally, and then we also need to validate the things that we're doing here well," Nick Hakes, chief executive of FANZ, told New Zealand Adviser.

Storytelling to win over Kiwis

Better storytelling was a key theme for the conference, especially given that many New Zealanders remain unaware of what financial advisers actually do.

 "Many people don't understand the value of using an adviser, or they're worried it's going to cost more money,” said Jenny Campbell, country manager for Finsure New Zealand. “There is a massive piece of education to the public there that we really need to work on," she said.

She pointed to the experience of mortgage brokers in Australia where 76% of new residential loans are now coming via the third-party channel. In New Zealand, the percentage of borrowers who secured a mortgage through an adviser in the last 12 months is just under half (46%).

“In Australia, it's become so normalised that they no longer have to explain to the public what they do," Campbell explained. "Over here, we're still behind the eight ball in that degree."

This awareness gap creates practical obstacles for both advisers and potential clients. Addressing this challenge connects directly to Hakes's vision for the future of how New Zealanders engage with advisers.

“We have to take all of those good news stories, those good client stories, and put them into the bigger narrative so we can actually encourage more Kiwis to go seek professional advice… all of the really good stuff that is already happening in those advice businesses—we have to fold that up into a more national narrative," Hakes explained.

Building community and sharing ideas

The financial advice industry can often leave practitioners feeling isolated in their day-to-day operations, something Hakes acknowledges is a common challenge.

"Quite often, we know [people] can be siloed. It can be lonely within your own advice business, no matter which part of the country you're in, and so [we want people] to think big and be brave,” he said.

A sense of community-building resonated with many participants, including those from different segments of the financial advice sector.

"Financial Advice New Zealand is a really important advocacy space for advisers. So for us, attending this is important to be at the forefront of that, also support our advisers, and also pick up some tips and tricks to help improve our business too," said Warwick Slow, national sales manager at Kiwi Adviser Network.

Beyond formal programming, many advisers highlighted the value of informal knowledge exchange that happens during such gatherings. Artificial intelligence (AI) was highlighted as a tool that is already changing advice work even though there is simultaneously a feeling that the AI revolution is only just starting to take off.

"I always pick up some really great kind of little nuggets of truth, little kind of things to turbocharge my own business from other advisers. It's a great kind of neutral platform where people are quite open to share ideas," said Hamish Patel, mortgage adviser at mortgagesonline.co.nz.

These informal exchanges sometimes lead to significant business improvements. Patel cited an idea that he got during a presentation at a past conference which he quickly converted into practice.

“That idea changed the next year of business for me," Patel recalled.

The practicality of learning from others' experiences rather than making costly mistakes is a key function of conferences such as the FANZ annual meet.

"You get busy, you don't always have time to look inside your business. Making mistakes and losing clients is a hard way to learn lessons, [but by attending a conference] you can just pick it up off other advisers that have gone through it all," Patel added.

Refreshed format for modern challenges

The 2025 conference introduced several format changes designed to address contemporary challenges facing financial advisers. The program featured specialized sessions under banners like "Modern Financial Adviser Masterclasses" and "Modern Advice Practice Workshops," covering topics from ethics in client psychology to future-focused business models.

For Campbell, learning about the cutting edge is a key reason why she attends.

"Newer ways, smarter ways of interfacing with people, better ways of using our data… that whole piece on what's new, what's cool, what's sexy—what can we learn and take away?" she said.

Also central to the 2025 conference was the "Expo @ the Commons" concept—a communal exhibition space designed to foster collaboration. This approach drew inspiration from traditional community gathering places like town squares and piazzas that historically served as hubs for sharing resources and culture.

The format received positive feedback from attendees like Slow, who appreciated both the substantive and social elements.

"Excellent, great organisation. The food is nice, and plenty of nice merch for the punters as well. If you go around the stalls, you can get yourself notebooks and a few gifts for the kids," he said.

A special dinner on April 2 brought together the full conference delegation in the Commons area, allowing advisers, partners, industry leaders, and visiting experts to connect in a meaningful way. Seven new members who have achieved the certified financial planner (CFP) designation were also introduced, receiving their certificates at the conference.  

The conference concluded with a black-tie Gala Award Dinner on April 3, celebrating outstanding contributions to the financial advice profession.

Government and regulatory perspectives

The conference program also featured notable government and regulatory representatives, including Hon. Nicola Willis, Minister of Finance, and Samantha Barrass, CEO of the Financial Market Authority, providing political and regulatory perspectives on the financial advice sector.

For many participants, these sessions offered valuable context for understanding broader policy directions affecting their practices.

Campbell emphasised the importance of such gatherings in the wake of regulatory changes.

"We've been through a period of really significant changes in that regulatory space. And any opportunity for advisers to come together as a community—it's wonderful for everybody. It's a great chance to reconnect, catch up, see what's happening, what's new, but also, literally, to catch up with friendly old faces and see what's happening," she said.