See our transition information sheets below for MIS managers. These provide an outline of the transition timeline and examples of the key activities and indicative timings for each step of the transition.

• Other types - Managed investment schemes
• Superannuation - Managed investment schemes
• Unit Trusts - Managed investment schemes
• KiwiSaver - Managed investment schemes

To become a licensed MIS manager you'll have to meet and maintain certain minimum standards. The key standards in the Act (section 396) include:

• Your directors and senior managers (current or proposed) must be fit and proper for their positions
• Your business must be capable of performing the service effectively and in keeping with your licence conditions
• We must have no reason to think you're likely to contravene your licensee obligations.

There will also be other important requirements. You can find out more about the minimum licensing standards and conditions in our licensing guide.

Licensees obligations include notifying the FMA of certain events and providing us with information. All notifications should be emailed to the FMA at compliance@fma.govt.nz, noting the relevant obligation in the subject line of your email. You can notify us when a new director or senior manager is appointed by completing a notification form.

In your application you'll need to demonstrate how you can meet the minimum standards and conditions for your licence - or ask us for a limit or variation using the forms below.  This is very important because when a licence is granted, they contain conditions that support your licensee obligations. They include conditions imposed by the FMC Act, the regulations, and any conditions imposed by the FMA.

Licences are issued under the FMC Act. Should you wish to reference your licence and the authority under which it is granted on your marketing material including; websites, business cards, brochures or letterhead please use the following:

For licences without restrictions:
[Name of licence holder as on licence] is a licensed manager of registered schemes or
[Name of licence holder as on licence] is licensed under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 as a manager of registered schemes.

For licences with restrictions:
[Name of licence holder as on licence] is a licensed manager of [type of scheme eg registered forestry] schemes or
[Name of licence holder as on licence] is a licensed to manage the [name scheme] scheme or
[Name of licence holder as on licence] is licensed under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 as a manager of [type of scheme eg registered forestry] schemes or
[Name of licence holder as on licence] is licensed under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 to manage the [name of scheme] scheme.

Your marketing material must not refer to your licence as an FMA licence.

A statement of investment policy and objectives (SIPO) is a document that sets out the investment governance and management framework, philosophy, strategies and objectives of a managed investment scheme and its investment funds or portfolios. Under the FMC Act, all managers must ensure there is a SIPO for each MIS they manage. Except in prescribed circumstances, you must also register the SIPO with the Registrar, and must lodge any changes to the SIPO with the Registrar.

Download SIPO guidance note PDF.

Download limit break information sheet PDF.

As a licensed MIS provider you'll have other ongoing obligations. For example, you must:

• register your scheme before you make a regulated offer, and keep the registration up-to-date
• ensure scheme property is held by the supervisor or another independent custodian
• hold your investor's money on trust
• carry out functions in keeping with the governing document, SIPO, and your other issuer obligations
• correct material pricing errors or non-compliance with MIS pricing methodology, report these to your supervisor, and take any other steps required
• monitor your compliance, identify material changes of circumstance, and meet reporting obligations

New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Korea and Thailand are members of an arrangement called the Asia Region Funds Passport. The passport allows a managed fund based in one country to be offered more easily to investors in other participating countries. The passport arrangements are set out in a Memorandum of Cooperation on the Establishment and Implementation of the Asia Region Funds Passport (MoC).

If you want to offer interests in a New Zealand registered MIS into another passport country you will first need to apply to the FMA under s 134(3) of the FMC Act for the scheme to be registered as a passport fund. For further information see here.   

The FMC Act sets out minimum compliance standards of behaviour for people operating in the financial markets.

It prohibits:

• misleading or deceptive conduct
• false or misleading representations
• unsubstantiated representations
• offers of financial products in the course of unsolicited meetings.

Read more about fair dealing.

The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (the Act) imposes several obligations: 

• You must provide a written risk assessment of the money laundering and financing of terrorism activity you could expect in the course of running your business.
• You are required to implement an anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism programme that includes procedures to detect, deter, manage and mitigate money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
• You are required to appoint a compliance officer to administer and maintain your programme.
• You are required to perform due diligence processes on your customers. This includes customer identification and verification of identity.
• You are required to report suspicious transactions. 

The FMA supervises designated business groups (DBGs) and reporting entities listed in Section 130 of the Act. See more.

This guidance note outlines our expectations for how issuers of debt securities, managers of managed investment schemes and their supervisors should approach their governance accountabilities and responsibilities. It describes how the overarching duties of care, acting in the best interests of clients, and fair dealing set the scene for how each participant meet their governance responsibilities. It also describes how participants must interact with each other and with the FMA and addresses the need for governing documents to be effective and fit for purpose.

Guidance note: Governance under Part 4 of the FMC Act.

This information sheet outlines new reporting duties under Part 4 of the FMC Act. It includes a table showing the reporting requirements for debt issuers, MIS managers/trustees of restricted schemes, supervisors, auditors, custodians, actuaries, investment managers and administration managers.

Information sheet: Reporting duties under Part 4 of the FMC Act

This guidance note outlines how we expect managers of managed investment schemes and their supervisors to approach SIPOs under Part 4 of the FMC Act.

Guidance note: Statements of Investment Policy and Objectives under the FMC Act

Also, see our Information sheet on Reporting SIPO limit breaks

• The essentials of being a director PDF
• Going Public - A director's guide PDF