You'll need a licence if you are appointed as an independent trustee of a restricted KiwiSaver scheme or a workplace superannuation or legacy scheme.
Every restricted managed investment scheme must have at least one licensed independent trustee. They must meet the definition of independent in the Act (section 131).
To ensure your application runs as smoothly as possible, follow the steps below:
The fee payable to the FMA when you apply for a new FMC Act licence for an Independent trustee of a restricted scheme is $2,139 (excl. GST). The fee includes 15 hours of assessment hours.
We may change an additional fee at the FMA hourly rate where our assessment of an application exceeds the included number of hours. If an additional fee is changed for your application, we will let you know in advance and provide you with a reason for this. We may also invoice you for any costs of external advice or assistance.
Licensees have a number of obligations, in addition to the minimum standards and standard conditions set out in their licence. These 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.
To become a licensed independent trustee you’ll have to meet and maintain certain minimum standards.
The key standards in the Act (section 396) include:
There are other important requirements. You can find out more about the minimum licensing standards and conditions in our licensing guide.
If we grant you a licence it will contain conditions that support your market services licensee obligations. These include conditions imposed by the FMC Act and regulations, as well as conditions imposed by us.
Find out more about the conditions for
In your application, you’ll need to demonstrate that you can meet these conditions – or ask us for a limit or variation in your licence.
All licensed independent trustees have obligations.
For example you must:
There will also be a number of other important obligations.
The Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 (the Act) imposes several obligations:
The FMA supervises designated business groups (DBGs) and reporting entities listed in Section 130 of the Act.
The FMC Act sets out minimum compliance standards of behaviour for people operating in the financial markets. It prohibits:
Read more about the Financial markets Conduct Act 2013 (FMC Act)