Ongoing education as part of mandatory professional membership a priority - FAMNZ

If organisations like FAMNZ were adding real value to mortgage advisers and their businesses, then advisers would never need to be compelled to join them. It speaks volumes about the value that the FMA itself saw in advisers belonging to an organisation like FAMNZ that they didn’t make membership of a professional body compulsory with licensing’s introduction. Clearly the regulators did not see any benefit to the consumer. Standards have been lifted across the industry by licensing’s arrival but advisers having to pay yet more money annually to belong to voluntary organisations that have been shown to have no teeth with the lenders and next to zero recognition by the NZ consumer is simply not logical. Associations are businesses at the end of the day so if they want members then they need to be demonstrating value and relevancy. This attempt by FAMNZ now to lobby the Government about ongoing education through mandatory professional industry association membership smacks of commercial self-interest. Maybe it’s different for insurance and investment advisers but as far as the mortgage adviser industry goes associations have clearly been missing in action for years now. Some would argue decades. They were silent when banks first increased adviser clawbacks and when banks tried to shut us out of the refix process. When we needed associations the most to be vocal for us as an industry, they were silent.

Prior to the arrival of FAMNZ many questioned whether there was room in the New Zealand market for another member-based organization with only mortgage advisers. Some people noted that the market was well serviced already for mortgage advisers. It’s no real surprise then that FAMNZ haven’t been able to grow their membership as fast as they would like to. Been unable to demonstrate value and relevancy FAMNZ now plan instead to lobby the Government about ongoing education of mortgage advisers through mandatory professional industry association membership. This announcement by FAMNZ leaves a bitter taste in the mouth for many advisers across the country. Our industry has been licenced. The NZ consumer has never been as well protected as they are today when they require financial advice on a home loan. The quality of mortgage advice that customers now receive has been improved significantly across the industry and yet because a professional association originating from Australia can’t manage to grow their membership here, they now expect all advisers to be forced into joining a voluntary organisation like FAMNZ. It’s disappointing to read comments from FAMNZ’s managing director saying some NZ advisers are unable to keep up with their professional development and that mandatory professional industry association membership is the only way to ensure advisers meet their licensing obligations. Mr White is also saying NZ advisers’ knowledge, which may be sound, is not evolving as the industry and rules change. By who’s determination is that exactly? FAMNZ? Once again, a third party is trying to tell the mortgage advisers of this country that we can’t function without their support. How many times are advisers going to have to listen to the same broken record? This announcement by FAMNZ will be seen by mortgage advisers for exactly what it is. It has very little to do with raising education standards for advisers and instead is all about an Australian based voluntary organisation that hasn’t been able to grow its membership in New Zealand like it expected to.

Well said Valkyrie. Respectfully I'm not sure that Peter White and FAMNZ did their homework when deciding to form another professional body in New Zealand for mortgage advisers. It’s worth remembering that FANZ is an amalgamation of both the PAA & NZMBA who made the decision to merge their two organisations based in part on lack of membership. FANZ’s former chief executive Katrina Shanks was quoted in late 2023 as saying then that she doubted there was room for another association in NZ. I guess the above realisation has now dawned on FAMNZ hence them announcing plans to lobby the government to make all advisers to be part of a professional body sighting education standards. It seems we have an outfit from Australia that decided it wanted a piece of the adviser market in New Zealand and things haven’t gone as planned for them. Essentially, they have arrived too late to the party. When it comes to professional bodies been voluntary organisations it’s ALL about demonstrating value and relevancy. With the mortgage adviser industry now licenced many advisers struggle to understand where exactly associations fit in the regulatory landscape. Clearly the FMA did not see a benefit to the NZ consumer in an adviser been made to be part of a professional body, not when the adviser must now be licenced to provide financial advice.

Respectfully, do we have a list of achievements/positive changes for advisers from FAMZ? I see a lot of lovely conferences & guest speakers & networking opportunities with other advisers, but very little else. What are the advisers actually getting for their money? Both the banks & insurance companies & FAPS offer sufficient training per year for sufficient CPD Accreditation. Perhaps FAMZ needs to look at themselves & membership fees & why only 196 out of 2100 advisers have signed up. I am picking that advisers are not seeing results from FAMZ