Financial advisers have given the Financial Markets Authority a mixed report card in its latest annual survey. There were areas of strong support, but some notable concerns about red tape and practical guidance.
The FMA's Ease of Doing Business Survey collected responses from 599 stakeholders across New Zealand's financial sector in August 2025, including 249 Financial Advice Providers with full licences and 151 other licence holders.
Confidence still high, but some areas over-regulated
Most advisers are confident in New Zealand's financial markets. Among FAP licence holders, 83% said they were confident in the markets overall, while 86% felt confident the markets are effectively regulated. Other licence holders showed similar levels at 80% and 86% respectively.
When asked why they felt confident, advisers pointed to New Zealand's robust regulatory framework and the FMA's oversight. However, some expressed concerns about the complexity and cost of compliance.
"As a Financial Adviser we are regulated to a very high standard and while some of the regulation can be overbearing, we do have a high level of compliance and high level of integrity," one respondent said.
Others who had low confidence said that advice on simpler products should have less red tape - particularly in insurance.
“For simple transactions it’s over regulated,” another respondent said. “Why does it need to be so complicated to provide a client with a simple insurance product? No wonder people just buy online.”
Only 52% of FAP advisers agreed it was easy doing business with the FMA, compared with 64% of other licence holders.
Similarly, 54% of FAP advisers felt the FMA had developed streamlined systems and processes, while 67% of other licence holders agreed with this statement.
Communication gets reasonable marks
Advisers rely heavily on FMA communications, with 74% of FAP advisers and 70% of other licence holders using the FMA website as their main information source. The FMA's market communications came second at 66% and 58% respectively.
The FMA Update newsletter has strong readership, with 74% of FAP advisers and 69% of other licence holders reading it most or all of the time.
Media releases also performed well at 54% and 50%.
When rating the communications themselves, 70% of FAP advisers found them clear, concise and effective, compared with 78% of other licence holders. Around three-quarters of both groups found the communications easy to understand and relevant to their sector.
Advisers want more real-world clarity
When asked how the FMA could improve, 23% of respondents across all stakeholder groups called for simpler, clearer guidance with more detail and practical examples.
Nine percent wanted communications tailored to specific sectors rather than broad messages across the entire financial industry. Another 9% asked for more opportunities to engage directly with the FMA.
Several advisers expressed concern about the time burden of compliance. The lack of real-world examples was also an issue, with advisers noting that the vague guidelines were one of their biggest pain points on compliance.
“Give advisers practical examples of how we are expected to meet their requirements/standards,” one suggested.
“We have very vague guidelines/responsibilities- without being tested I have no idea if I am meeting them or not. There is a lot of hearsay between advisers on how to meet FMA requirements for advice processes. Give us a guideline or examples of how people and where people have fallen short, how people achieve the requirements you set and then we can have some oversight or understanding of the targets/requirements.”
Another respondent said that more real-world examples would help smaller FAPs in particular.
“It’s easy to get lost in general guidance, but practical case studies or short video explainers showing good vs poor conduct would make things much clearer,” they said.
The FMA set five performance targets for the year. It met or exceeded two targets related to engagement and guidance, but fell short on three others. These included whether its actions raise market standards, whether communications are clear and effective, and whether it has developed streamlined systems for licensed entities.
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