Financial Advice Provider Disclosure Statement

Important information about deVere New Zealand Limited

 

Licensing information

deVere New Zealand Limited FSP502166 (deVere NZ, we, us) holds a financial advice provider licence issued by the Financial Markets Authority. This licence enables us to provide financial advice to clients on behalf of deVere NZ, or through one or more of our financial advisers. This disclosure statement relates to the services that both deVere NZ and the financial advisers that work for us provide to customers. deVere NZ operate from its Takapuna premises on level 1, 1 The Strand, Takapuna, Auckland. Contact us via email [email protected] or call us on 09 489 6380.

 

Nature and Scope of financial advice service

deVere NZ and its financial advisers provide financial advice services (including UK pension transfers) directly to you on the following products:

  • Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) – UK Pension transfers into products with Booster Investment Management Limited, Britannia Financial Services Limited, i-Select Limited, IVCM Trustees (NZ) Limited, Lifetime Asset Management Limited, and Saturn Invest NZ Limited.
  • Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) – UK Pension transfers into products with Morningstar Inc, Hansard International, Providence Life Limited, RL360 Insurance Company Limited, and PSG SIPP Ltd.
  • KiwiSaver, Investments and Managed Funds – KiwiSaver and other managed investments products with Booster Investment Management Limited, Lifetime Asset Management Limited, Fisher Funds Management Limited, Milford Asset Management Limited, Generate Investment Management Limited, and Pathfinder Asset Management.
  • Other Investments - Finzo NZ Limited and dVAM Limited.
  • Life and Health Insurance – Insurance products with AIA Group, Asteron Life, NIB Health Funds, and Partners Life Limited.

The disclosure statement of the financial adviser(s) you meet with will list the products they can advise on.

 

How we operate

To ensure that our financial advisers prioritise the client’s interests above their own, we follow an internationally recognised professional advice process to ensure our recommendations are based on the client’s goals and circumstances.

Financial Advisers Operation

 

What do we charge our clients?

We may not charge anything when you come to us for a consultation, particularly if it is not in your best interests to proceed with deVere NZ’s financial advice services. For example, if during a consultation on transferring a UK Pension it appears that it is in your interests not to transfer your UK pension to New Zealand (or to a UK SIPP), then you will not be charged for any deVere NZ financial advice.

Financial adviser fee: Pension providers will deduct this one-off fee out of your Pension on transfer, which will be paid to deVere NZ by the new QROPS/SIPP provider. This fee covers the financial advice provided to you and the work required to facilitate the transfer of your pension. This fee varies between products and will be outlined in detail in my statement of advice (SOA).

Service fees are paid to deVere NZ to provide you with ongoing financial advice, valuation reports and service from deVere NZ. Services fees are calculated as a percentage of funds you hold with the provider. The service fee will be disclosed in deVere NZ Financial Adviser’s SOA as an annual percentage of the funds held and deducted and paid to deVere NZ monthly by the product provider.

Investment advice that is provided and implemented may incur a planning fee; this will be based on the time the deVere NZ financial adviser spends planning your investment and selecting an appropriate fund to match your risk profile. Any planning fee charged will be disclosed in the SOA and provided to you along with the investment mix, the name of the fund, and who the provider is (or providers are).

 

Reliability History

On 31 May 2024, the Financial Markets Conduct Authority (FMA) issued a Notice of Decision to Censure and Require an Action Plan (Notice) to deVere New Zealand Limited (deVere NZ).

The FMA considered that deVere had contravened the following market services licensee obligations:

  • Financial Advice Provider Standard Condition 1 (Record Keeping)
  • Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Adviser Services – Code Standard 3 (give financial advice that is suitable)
  • Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Adviser Services – Code Standard 4 (ensure that the client understands the financial advice)
  • s431J Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (duty to ensure the client understands the nature and scope of the advice); and
  • s431L Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (duty to exercise care, diligence and skill)

deVere NZ is required to include details of this censure in its disclosure information, pursuant to the requirements of the Financial Markets Conduct Regulations 2014.

The FMA’s decision to issue the Notice followed its review of certain UK Pension transfers to a UK regulatory approved platform. deVere NZ accepts that its record-keeping processes in relation to these UK Pensions transfers did not meet the record keeping standards required under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013. Since April 2022, deVere NZ has engaged in considerable compliance uplift and deVere continues to do so voluntarily and through its Action Plan across its client base, to ensure that the FMA is satisfied that the records of its advice are fulsome and clear. deVere NZ and its financial advisers remain committed to working in clients’ best interests, providing the best solution to meet their goals, and ensuring record keeping exceeds regulatory expectations.

 

Conflicts of Interest

We take any perceived or real conflicts of interest very seriously and have a dedicated policy for dealing with such issues whereby we avoid, disclose and/or manage any conflicts so that our client’s interests are placed first and foremost.

To manage any conflicts, deVere NZ advisers select the product and provider based only on your needs and circumstances, they follow the advice operating process described above (under “How we operate”) and all our advisers undergo annual training about how to manage any potential conflicts of interest.

dVAM Limited (dVAM): There is a relationship between dVAM and deVere NZ, both of which are part of the deVere Group. As a result of this relationship there is a potential conflict of interest with the dVAM funds we offer. However, deVere NZ do not receive any additional commission, payment, or other financial benefit from dVAM or the deVere Group when a client invests in the dVAM funds, nor do our financial advisers.

IVCM Trustees (NZ) Limited (IVCM) has a relationship with Nigel Green, the CEO and founder of deVere Group. Nigel is a shareholder in this company. However, neither deVere NZ nor our financial advisers receive any additional commission, payment, or other financial benefit from IVCM or the deVere Group if you invest in any of their funds. Any fees paid by you out of your investments through dVAM or IVCM (as a product provider) are disclosed as we would with our other product providers.

 

Our duties and obligations

deVere NZ and anyone who gives financial advice on our behalf, have duties under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 and its associated regulations relating to the way that we give advice. We are required to:

  • Give priority to your interests by taking all reasonable steps to make sure our advice isn’t materially influenced by our own interests.
  • Exercise care, diligence, and skill in providing you with advice.
  • Meet standards of competence, knowledge and skill set by the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services (these are designed to make sure that we have the expertise needed to provide you with advice).
  • Meet standards of ethical behaviour, conduct and client care set by the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services (these are designed to make sure we treat you as we should and give you suitable advice).

This is only a summary of the duties that we have. More information is available by contacting us, or by visiting the Financial Markets Authority website at: https://www.fma.govt.nz

 

Complaints handling and dispute resolution.

If you are not satisfied with our financial advice service, you can make a complaint by emailing [email protected], or by calling 09 489 6380.

You can also write to us at: 
Level 1, 1 The Strand
Box 33916
Takapuna 
Auckland 
0622
New Zealand

When we receive a complaint, we will acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days.

To seriously consider all aspects of your complaint, we may need to contact you to get further information about the service or lack of service you received. We aim to resolve complaints as quickly as possible and will keep you updated throughout the process, including if we need more time to consider your complaint.

We will contact you by phone or email to let you know our findings and how we intend to resolve your complaint. If you are not satisfied with the resolution or how your complaint was handled by deVere NZ internal complaints process, you can contact the independent dispute resolution provider, Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL).

FSCL is a free and independent financial ombudsman service. This service may help investigate or resolve your complaint to your satisfaction. You can contact FSCL by:

  • Phone: 0800 347 257
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Post: Financial Services Complaints Limited, P O Box 5967, Wellington 6140.

 

Ask us – we are here to help.

We welcome any questions or queries you have in relation to this important information including if you would like to receive this disclosure in writing, more importantly, we look forward to working with you.

Phone: 09 489 6380         Email:[email protected]