Since its launch in 2018, Financial Advice New Zealand has become the preeminent voice for the financial advice sector in the country – and, according to chair Sue Brown, it is hoping to grow its membership further over the next two years.
Brown recently spoke at the Financial Advice NZ 2020 conference, and she said the sector has worked hard to rebuild customer trust following the Global Financial Crisis. She said that for advisers, it is vital to maintain that level of trust with the general public, and she urged advisers to help grow the organisation as a “respected voice” for the industry.
“What the finance sector needs to be in two years’ time is still trusted, because we’ve had the massive hiccup of the Global Financial Crisis and the finance company failures where trust just disappeared from the sector,” Brown commented.
“Everyone has done a lot of work to rebuild that, and we need to make sure that in two years’ time, that trust is still there.”
“For Financial Advice NZ, that means great opportunity,” she explained.
“In two years’ time, we’ll have redoubled the efforts we’ve made over the last two to three years under Katrina’s leadership and guidance, to be respected as the voice for financial advisers and financial advice in New Zealand.”
Brown says that Financial Advice NZ is planning to run more customer-focused campaigns aimed at educating the public on the value of financial advice, and she also urged advisers to help grow the organisation’s membership and reach through word of mouth.
“We’ll be the body that people come to when they want comment, and there will be a very clear understanding of where all those motivations lie,” Brown said.
“We are all here for nothing else but financial advice - we’re not here for the manufacture or the product, except insofar as it serves our clients.”
“My aspiration is that we’ll also see a greater understanding among the public of the value of financial advice, and we have big plans for consumer-based campaigns over the next two years,” she added.
“I hope we’ll see a bigger membership, because our member pool is growing - and if you think being a member of Financial Advice New Zealand is a great thing, tell three people about it and encourage them to come on board. The bigger we are, the more sustainable we are, and the more authentic our voice is.”
