At the March 2026 Financial Advice NZ Conference, FMA Chief Executive Samantha Barrass presented findings from the regulator's access to advice review, drawing on interviews with 80 stakeholders and a survey of a thousand customers.
Encouragingly, four out of five New Zealanders prefer face-to-face conversations when seeking financial advice, rather than using only digital tools or automated journeys. Trust and genuine human connection remain the gold standard.
The research showed 28% of adult New Zealanders accessed financial advice in the past year. While more than half recognised Advisers can help with retirement planning, only one in three knew they could help with life insurance, and just one in four knew advice was available on health insurance.
The findings suggested consumers don't see life insurance as part of their financial planning, and day-to-day financial pressures mean most lack the headspace to think long-term. Just under a third cited cost as a barrier to seeking advice, meaning those who most need protection are often least likely to seek it.
This is where the regulator's message becomes particularly important. Barrass was direct: under New Zealand's principles-based regime, Advisers have genuine flexibility to tailor advice to suit different consumers. Barrass observed that too many firms are defaulting to caution, treating every interaction as requiring the full advice process, making conversations feel more complex and less accessible than they need to be.
Her message was positive: "We encourage you to innovate and think differently, to introduce new advice journeys that tap into consumer groups who are currently underserved."
Technology has a supportive role to play, and digital tools and hybrid models can help Advisers reach people who would never pick up the phone. But the FMA research highlighted that it's the human conversation that does the real work; technology's job is simply to create the path that leads people to it.
The demand is there. The trust in the model is there. The regulator is actively encouraging the profession to find new ways to reach the hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders who want advice but haven't yet found their way to an adviser.
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