New review shows gaps advice and scope for innovation
New Zealand’s financial advice regime is working, but many people are still navigating major money decisions – including home loans – without help.
That is the message from a wide‑ranging review by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA), which highlights significant scope for advisers, including mortgage brokers, to broaden access to quality guidance for first-home buyers and property investors.
The Access to Financial Advice Review, supported by a 1,000‑person consumer survey, found just 28% of New Zealanders had used a financial adviser in the past 12 months. Uptake was lowest among lower‑income and less‑educated households, and many consumers remained unclear about what advice is, how to get it, or what it costs.
FMA chief executive Samantha Barrass (pictured) told the Financial Advice New Zealand conference that “financial advice plays a vital role in helping people make informed decisions about their financial futures.”
Barrass said the findings show “there is significant opportunity to expand access to advice so more New Zealanders can benefit from it.”
For advisers, the review underlines a large untapped market of households who are thinking often about their finances, but relying on informal sources such as family, friends, or the internet when weighing up mortgage rates, borrowing capacity, and property decisions.
Barriers, misconceptions, and advice ‘right‑sizing’
FMA’s work identifies a mix of structural, cultural, and operational barriers. Many consumers still see advice as unaffordable, do not know where to start, or do not trust that advice will be in their best interests. Women, lower‑income groups and some ethnic communities, including Māori and Pasifika, were less likely to use advisers and more likely to report difficulty accessing help.
On the supply side, some licensed financial advice providers are taking an overly cautious approach to regulation, defaulting to broad, full‑scope advice processes even where more focused support would be appropriate. That can make it harder to deliver streamlined help on specific needs – for example, a first‑home buyer wanting to understand how much they can safely borrow, or an existing borrower weighing up a refinance to manage higher mortgage rates.
FMA is encouraging advisers to use the flexibility of the principles‑based regime more confidently, “right‑sizing” the nature and scope of advice so it remains suitable but more accessible and commercially viable across different client segments.
Tech, hybrid models, and underserved segments
The review also points to technology‑enabled and hybrid advice models as a major opportunity to expand reach. Digital tools, open banking data, and AI‑supported processes are already helping some firms triage clients, automate fact‑finding, and free up more time for complex human conversations.
“Technology can automate parts of the process that currently take advisers a lot of time, freeing them up to focus more on the human conversations that consumers value,” Barrass said.
Importantly, FMA highlights specific gaps where more advice is needed – including retirement decumulation and culturally aligned models for Māori clients.
The regulator plans further engagement with advice providers, banks, and fintechs to develop practical examples of flexible, scalable models that still meet conduct obligations and deliver good consumer outcomes.
Head over to the FMA website to see the media release and access the FMA review.
Stay informed with the latest housing market trends and mortgage insights — subscribe to our free daily newsletter.
