Services

Accredited bodies are organisations permitted under the ARA to license auditors and register audit firms. Accredited bodies also have responsibilities for supervising the auditors and audit firms they license and register, and for disciplining those auditors and audit firms if they breach their obligations.

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Financial benchmarks are prices, rates, figures or indexes that are referenced in financial products or contracts (for example, interest rates in interest rate swap contracts) to determine the price, value or performance of financial instruments.

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Auditor regulation and oversight helps to ensure the businesses we regulate (known as FMC reporting entities) have access to competent auditors, and these audits (known as FMC audits) are of a high standard. To achieve this, we review audit quality at the registered audit firms to ensure they meet the Auditing and Assurance Standards and monitor accredited bodies to ensure they are effective frontline regulators of auditors.

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See Auditor Oversight Committee

An authorised body is an entity (e.g. company or partnership) named on a Financial Advice Provider (FAP) licence. A licensed FAP must agree to an authorised body operating under its licence. 

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A 'custodial service' is provided if client money or client property is held by a person in trust for, or on behalf of, a client (or another person nominated by the client) under an agreement.

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The Financial Sector (Climate-related Disclosures and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021 amended the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (FMC Act), the Financial Reporting Act 2013, and the Public Audit Act 2001. The new law requires around 200 large financial institutions covered by the FMC Act to start making climate-related disclosures from financial years commencing on or after 1 January 2023. The organisations are known as Climate Reporting Entities.

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Crowd funding is a type of financial market service covered by the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (FMC Act). An equity-based crowd funding service licence holder acts as an intermediary between companies issuing shares and investors purchasing shares. The licence holder provides a facility where offers of shares can be made to the investing public.

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Cryptoassets, also known as virtual assets, cryptocurrencies, digital coins or tokens, are available online, for example via exchanges, initial coin offers (ICOs) and token events.

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To enable companies to grow and thrive, directors need to be both risk managers and responsible risk takers. Being a director is more than just a title. The office of a director carries with it a wide range of ethical, legal and commercial duties and obligations.

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A derivatives issuer that makes a regulated offer of derivatives must be licensed by the FMA. This page contains information about derivatives, obligations for derivatives issuers, and who needs to comply.

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You are providing Discretionary Investment Management Services (DIMS) when an investor gives you the authority to make decisions about buying and selling financial products on their behalf. To provide DIMS under the FMC Act you must hold a DIMS market services licence issued under the FMC Act.

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E-money is a digital cash equivalent where value is held electronically, for example on a prepaid card. In some jurisdictions, providers of e-money services require a licence (and “e-money” and “e-money institution” have specific regulatory definitions).

View the e-money and payment service providers page

A financial advice provider (FAP) is an individual or entity (e.g. a company) that provides a "financial advice service". An individual or entity provides a financial advice service if they give regulated financial advice to their retail clients on their own account, or they engage others to give regulated financial advice to their retail clients on their behalf.

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Explore your Financial Advice Provider (FAP) options

Financial Advice Providers Regulatory Returns

To use the term Financial Adviser you must be registered on the Financial Service Providers Register (FSPR) and engaged by a licensed financial advice provider (FAP) (or authorised body).

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The CoFI Act creates a new market service of “acting as a financial institution." We refer to this market service as the “financial institution service”. The licence for this market service is a “financial institution licence”.

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Financial Institution licensing

Fair Conduct Programme

Financial institution licensing FAQs

Financial market infrastructures (FMIs) provide channels through which payments, securities, derivatives or other financial transactions are cleared, settled or recorded. 

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Every restricted managed investment scheme must have at least one licensed independent trustee who meets the definition of independent in the Act (section 131). You'll need a licence if you are appointed as an independent trustee of a restricted KiwiSaver scheme or a workplace superannuation or legacy scheme.

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The financial advice provider regime under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (FMC Act) provides for regulated financial advice to be given on behalf of a financial advice provider (FAP) by an individual engaged indirectly through an interposed person. 

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A managed investment scheme (MIS) pools money from a number of investors who rely on the investment expertise of the MIS manager. The definition in the FMC Act (section 9) is broad and includes a wide range of collective investment schemes. These schemes can be structured in different ways and may invest in a wide range of investments. They can be open-ended (offered continuously) or close-ended (fixed number of managed investment product).

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KiwiSaver exempt employers

KiwiSaver annual statistical returns

A financial product market is a facility where financial products are bought or sold, or where offers or invitations to buy or sell financial products are made. Anyone operating a financial product market needs to be licensed unless the market is exempt.

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Issuers are involved in first making a financial product available. Under section 11 of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013, an issuer in relation to an equity security is the company, industrial and provident society, building society, or other entity to which the security relates.

An issuer in relation to a debt security means the person that is liable to repay money or pay interest or other returns under the security (other than as a guarantor).

View Offer disclosure for equity and debt offers

Issuers are involved in first making a financial product available. See Section11 of the FMC Act. They include a debt security, an equity security, managed investment product, and a derivative.

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Offers under the FMC Act

Asia Region Funds Passport

Crowdfunding issuers

Peer-to-peer lending borrowers

FAQs

Peer-to-peer lending involves a person issuing a debt security to another person, generally for personal, charitable, or small business purposes.

A peer-to-peer lending service provides a facility (such as a website) where offers for debt securities (such as loans) can be made. The primary purpose of the peer-to-peer lending service is to match lenders (otherwise known as investors) with borrowers.

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Supervisors are appointed to look after investors' interests for some types of financial products and the interests of residents of retirement villages. Supervisors covered by the Financial Markets Supervisors Act 2011 (the FMS Act) are those who supervise debt securities; Registered schemes, including KiwiSaver schemes, specified managed funds and superannuation schemes, and retirement villages.

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