Financial Advice New Zealand unveils Quality Service Mark framework

Financial Advice New Zealand has today released details of the highly anticipated Quality Service Mark (QSM) framework for its members.

Plans to unveil the QSM were announced in December of last year following the formation of Financial Advice New Zealand’s Member Advisory Committees (MACs), which currently represent the interests of members across four industry sub-sectors. According to chair Sue Brown, the new framework aims to be “a widely recognised mark for quality advice in New Zealand; a mark of distinction and a trusted tool for New Zealanders when seeking an adviser.”

The QSM is initially optional for existing members, but will become a requirement of membership five years post launch. Financial Advice New Zealand will be working to incorporate the QSM into audit review processes, which will assist its groups and service providers with attaining the mark.

According to a press release, the QSM will be an ‘evidence-based verification of a member’s professional standards’ that will be renewed every three years, and will be comprised of six key elements; professional promise, regulatory compliance, third-party references, professional development, advice process review and experience. It will be designed to complement Pinnacle designations such as the CFP and CLU.

With regards to costs, there will be no additional fees charged for obtaining the QSM, and no additional costs provided the member is part of a group with an approved audit and review process. Members without an approved process will need to pay for the Advice Process Check; the specifics and costs of this are in the process of development, and are expected to be released by the end of September.

Further details of the QSM will be refined through collaboration with the MACs along with industry stakeholders, and the mark will be launched to the public in early 2019.