25 Nov 2015

Govt moves to tighten financial advice

1:55 pm on 25 November 2015

The government is moving to improve financial advice laws.

It has released an options paper this morning setting out ways to improve the legislation governing financial advisors.

Commerce minister Paul Goldsmith said the plan was to make sure people had access to good quality financial advice.

He said the review would question whether advisors should also be selling a product.

"One of the options that we're considering is just separating out those two, and saying if you're effectively a sales person, that's what you do - you make it clear that you're not giving advice, you are not purporting to be off working in the interest of the person you are giving advice, you are trying to sell a product, and be open and clear about that."

Mr Goldsmith said one of the other options being considered was whether to allow what he called 'robo-advice' where people could seek advice via an app rather than face to face.

Submissions on the options paper are due early next year.