Monitoring and surveillance activities encourage compliance by all advisers. It helps to ensure a level playing field for advisers and will inform our development of policy and guidance. We look at whether the actions of advisers are achieving the objectives of the Financial Advisers Act 2008 and the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act. We are particularly interested in the outcomes for customers and the approach taken to providing financial adviser services - processes, materials and how financial advisers operate. If we do encounter a problem, we will generally work directly with the adviser to help them meet the required standard. However, we may also take action including enforcement action when standards fall below the required level.
RFAs, AFAs, QFEs and their advisers operate within the financial adviser regime. But with laws implemented on 1 April 2011 and 1 July 2011, a number of providers may still not have taken the necessary steps to be registered or authorised. Others may be hoping they can continue to operate illegally without being noticed. We refer to these people as trying to operate outside the 'perimeter' of the regime. FMA's current monitoring and surveillance focus for perimeter providers is as follows:
We have also made clear to product providers and professional associations that we expect they will put in place systems to ensure they are distributing their products only through registered and/or authorised advisers.
We monitor activities of non-QFE organisations who employ financial advisers which includes:
Accordingly, we expect all product providers to have in place systems to ensure they are distributing their products only through registered and/or authorised advisers.