The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) will start accepting transitional licencing applications from 4 November 2019, and the new financial advice regime will begin in June 2020.
Financial advisers will have until June 2020 to submit their applications for a Financial Advice Provider (FAP) Transitional Licence, and they can either secure their own or work under another person or organisation that holds a FAP licence. Exact dates have not been set for the end of transitional licencing, or for the full licence process.
The FMA has released an online ‘explore your options’ decision tool to help advisers decide how they’d like to go about operating in the new regime. It also offers guidance on their duties, the costs involved and the next steps they need to take.
FMA Director of Market Engagement John Botica says the guide has been informed by adviser requests for simple and clear guidance on how to proceed with licensing.
“We’ve spoken to hundreds of advisers over the past year and received an overwhelming request for straightforward, practical support on how to operate in the new regime,” Botica stated.
“Many advisers are still unsure what path they want to take in the new regime. ‘Explore your options’ has been developed as a guide to get advisers started. We tested it with some advisers and modified it based on their suggestions to ensure it best meets advisers’ needs.”
The FMA will be updating the tool with new information as more details around licencing are confirmed, and says the process will be managed entirely online in most cases.
“Transitional licensing will give us a better sense of who is operating in the market – helping us anticipate the number of full licence applications and resources needed for ongoing monitoring and supervision,” Botica concluded.
