A financial adviser can help guide your choices about insurance, money, investing, borrowing and other financial products. They include financial planners, investment advisers, mortgage and insurance brokers and, employees of financial advice providers, insurance companies, banks and building societies who provide advice services.
Our Information Sheets in our Document Library have quick guides to common issues. Consumer tips and case examples are included.
Our Glossary explains the meaning of technical terms used in tips and cases.
Important update
From the 15 March 2021, all financial advisers must be engaged by a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FAP) to provide financial advice on behalf of the FAP.
All FAPs are required to provide disclosure statements on their websites, or if they do not have a website, provide a disclosure statement on request from the public. Public disclosure documents must include details of their complaint process and contact details of their Dispute Resolution Scheme.
You can check if your Financial Advice Provider is a member of the IFSO Scheme here.
Advisers make recommendations about insurance, money, investments or borrowing from the information you provide. If you don’t provide all the information the adviser asks for, even if you don’t think its relevant, they won’t be able to give you the best advice.
Before you sign a contract or application for a policy, make sure you read and understand them. The documents the adviser gives you will help you make decisions about financial products and services.
Financial advisers are either paid directly by a fee from their client, or by commission from a product provider (i.e. insurance company, fund manager or bank). Ask your adviser to explain how their fees work. Sometimes, fees apply if you stop working with an adviser, or change or cancel a product, e.g. paying off a loan early.
It is your adviser’s job to give you all the advice and information you need to make informed decisions. Your adviser will set out the reasons for his or her advice to you in writing. Make sure you read it and ask any questions if you don’t understand anything.
Advisers specialise in the products or services. They should be able to answer your questions or find out the information for you. Your choices are your own, but you need to understand enough about the products and services to be confident to make the right choices.
You can find searchable lists of advisers on professional association websites:
You could ask for a recommendation from other professionals, family and friends, and colleagues.
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) recommends you think about: what type of advice you want, what the adviser’s qualifications are, if the adviser belongs to a professional body (see above), the adviser’s experience, how you get information from your adviser, and how your adviser is paid.
Your adviser may help you to complete the application form, but it is your responsibility to make sure all the information is correct. If it isn’t correct, when you make a claim it could be declined or your insurance policy cancelled. If your adviser is completing the application form for you, take the form away and re-read it to make sure you have provided all the required information. If you are not happy with it, add more information or complete a new form yourself. We recommend you complete the application form yourself and have a chance to double-check all your answers before it is sent to the insurer. If you’ve told the adviser about a health issue that isn’t on the application, make sure you include it. Ask the adviser why s/he didn’t.
Start by raising the issue with your adviser and their Financial Advice Provider. Your adviser should do their best to sort the problem out. If you need help to do this or this didn’t resolve the issue then contact us: 0800 888 202 or complain online.
Yes, all Financial Advice Providers and the financial advisers they engage, are subject to the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services which outlines the minimum standards of ethical behaviour, conduct, client care, knowledge, competence and skill.