Here's what attendees need to know about the annual adviser event
Financial Advice NZ is back with its annual conference.
This year's event – the "National Adviser Conference: Shaping the future of advice" – promises to bring together an international crowd of advisers, regulators, politicians, thought leaders, academics and other industry professionals for their chance to mingle with the finest in the market, learn new tips and best practices and hear about what's happening in other parts of the market.
On this year's agenda are modern advice workshops, including "2030: NexGen advice business session," and a masterclass led by US-based Panos Leledakis, who is the founder of the International Financial Architects Academy.
The conference is scheduled for April 1-3 at the Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre.
New Zealand Adviser caught up with Financial Advice New Zealand CEO Nick Hakes (pictured) to learn more about the yearly conference, what to expect and the current state of the industry in New Zealand.
The interview has been edited for clarity and length.
NZA: Big picture, what are you seeing in New Zealand's property market, big picture?
Nick Hakes: Big picture, I think before any Kiwi acts, they should go and seek out a professional advisor, preferably from a member of Financial Advice New Zealand. It is the professional body for advisers. Because their financial decisions are long term and have huge financial implications. [They should do that] rather than just reacting to short-term market noise, such as interest-rate volatility. The adviser can help them determine what's important to them. What decisions need to be made. Determine how those decisions impact other parts of the full family balance sheet. And the best way to navigate the complexities of that decision making is to do so with somebody who is a member of a professional advising body that can help them navigate.
Last year was tough. So we start this year with more of a sense of optimism. But I think the message is, think long term: act long term and do it with an advisor by your side.
I think the New Zealand advice market has been through a period where it's been quite introspective. There's been some legislative change; there's been licensing changes. There's been [evolving] education standards. And so naturally, as an industry, to respond to that, you kind of have to start looking internally.
What we need to [focus on] in 2025 and beyond, is shining a light on good advice practices. Let's tell really good consumer stories. What's working? What's the success story? And let's be more outwardly focused, because we know from research that when somebody works with a professional advisor, their emotional wellbeing and their financial wellbeing improves. So we need to tell that story. And so our big focus, from Financial Advice New Zealand's perspective, is to be future focused.
NZA: What are the benefits for advisers of joining an organization like Financial Advice NZ?
NH: We are the professional body for financial advice. People become professional members. If you are a member of the professional body Financial Advice New Zealand, there are additional professional obligations on you, over and above the minimum standards. That's our role as the professional body. We're not employing advisors. We're not selling loans or services to advisors. People choose to be a member of the body, because by having additional professional obligations they can say that they are a member of the professional body, Financial Advice New Zealand.
NZA: What can attendees expect from the upcoming conference?
NH: The national advisor conference is the large gathering of financial advisors and financial advice providers in the country. The conference brings together the very best in New Zealand, so they can discover what people are thinking and the emerging thoughts in the international markets. It brings together 400 to 500 people, some of the best and brightest around the country, as well as visiting experts. It's the leading advice conference in New Zealand.
Financial Advice New Zealand brings them together in one area and we create a center of excellence where people can come and ask questions, [such as], “How do you do it in your business?” Attendees learn new ideas and new ways of doing things.
Most importantly, if I have this conversation with you [as an adviser], it validates a lot of the things that I'm currently doing well. The conference brings together the very best from what's working well internationally and what's not working, and brings it toNew Zealand. There's a lot of really good stuff that's happening here on the ground in New Zealand. And the conference helps us discuss how we can shine a light on what people are doing well in their businesses. Those are pretty valuable learnings.
NZA: What's on the agenda?
NH: This year we have what's called a professional development framework that's around the successful attributes of a modern financial advisor and a modern advice business. And through research, we actually know what works really, really well. And so a series of four workshops, or master classes, that address the critical issues and opportunities of businesses go through. We run what's called a critical advice issue. We discuss things like, what are some of the critical issues and opportunities for advisers? What problems are we solving for the advisor or for the client? What's not working? What pitfalls to avoid? Hopefully, participants can find some commonalities.
Also, there's been a lot of market discussion about the impact of mortgage advice. So we're actively engaged with the Commerce Commission, and we have the deputy chair of the Commerce Commission who will be talking specifically around the market study into personal banking services.
We played an active role in consultation with the Commerce Commission, and there was a significant shift in the Commerce Commission's view towards mortgage advice between the draft study and the final report that came out, with a series of 14 recommendations. Now, out of those 14 recommendations, there's probably three or four that absolutely impact mortgage advisers. But if you're a mortgage advisor sitting in front of a client, it can have a direct impact on that advice delivery. And so to have the deputy chair of the Commerce Commission come to talk to the advice community, specifically about the market study report, is valuable. This is about connecting those two pieces of the advice spectrum.
NZA: Why should people attend? What's the takeaway?
NH: The best ideas don't occur in the office. So how can advisers put themself into a different environment where they're exposed to the very best thinking, the very best networks and the very best bird's eye view of what works in practice?
The conference is a place where you can connect to a larger network. Advisers get exposed to new ideas; they're in an environment where they can then go and implement those actionable ideas. And they hear directly from industry leaders and thought leaders.
Taking that away from the national advisor conference, it can have a massive influence on advisers' professionally; it can have a massive positive influence on their business. The conference will ultimately have a massive impact, positive impact, on the advisers' clients. And this is the key part of what we do. That's the end goal.
