Financial Advice Provider Details
- Finsol Financial Services Limited
- FSP627069
- Phone: 0800 346 765
- Email: finsol@finsol.co.nz
- Head office postal address: 9 Customs Quay, Ahuriri, Napier
Licensing Information
Finsol Financial Services Limited/Finsol and Finsol Insurance and Mortgage Brokers is licensed by the Financial Markets Authority (the Government agency that monitors financial markets in New Zealand) as a Financial Advice Provider.
Our Financial Services Provider Number is FSP627069. You can find us on the Financial Services Register here.
Nature and Scope of Our Advice
Services and advice provided
- Personal and group Insurance advice (life, trauma, income protection, health insurance, permanent disablement, specific injury cover).
- Business insurance advice (key person, shareholder protection, business debt protection).
- ACC disability cover for sole-traders and shareholders (ACC CoverPlus Extra).
- Home loans (borrowing capital for the purchase of personal or investment property).
- KiwiSaver advice.
- Wealth optimisation and investment portfolio advice.
Insurance providers
AIA, Accuro, Asteron Life, Chubb Life, Fidelity Life, NIB, Partners Life, Southern Cross, Allianz (travel insurance)
Home loan and lending providers
ANZ, ASAP Finance, ASB, Avanti, Bluestone, BNZ, Cressida, DBR, First Mortgage Trust, Heartland Bank, Kiwibank, Liberty, NZCU, Resimac, SBS, Sovereign, The Cooperative Bank, Westpac
KiwiSaver providers
Booster, Pathfinder, Milford Asset Management, Kōura, Generate
Investment providers
Consilium (the Synergy Investment Programme), Mliford Asset Management.
If a provider other than the above has a particular product that you are interested in, please let us know as we will be happy to provide advice on that basis. If you require specialist taxation or estate planning, we will make recommendations on how important these are concerning the advice we have provided and, if requested, refer you to the relevant trusted professional.
Provider Paid Commission or Fees
We are paid commission by insurers and lenders when an insurance policy or a loan application is finalised and complete.
Insurance
For insurance, commissions rates paid by the insurer are:
Initial commission:
- Group Insurance products: up to 15% of the annual premium, excluding any policy fees.
- Life, Trauma, Permanent Disability, Income Protection, and Health Insurance products: 30% to 220% of the first year’s premium, excluding any policy fees.
- Travel insurance: 30% of the total premium.
Ongoing commission:
- Group Insurance products: up to 15% of the annual premium, paid annually, excluding any policy fees.
- Personal Life, Trauma, Permanent Disability, Income Protection, and Health Insurance products: 5% to 30% of the annual premium, paid annually, excluding any policy fees.
- Travel insurance: nil.
Lending
For loans, commission rates paid by the lender are:
Initial commission: New Home Loans: between 0.45% to 0.85% of the total lending amount.
Ongoing commission: Home Loan Renewal: between 0% and 0.20% of the total remaining lending (calculated annually but paid monthly).
KiwiSaver
We're paid between 0.20%-0.50% per annum of the total KiwiSaver balance by the KiwiSaver provider of choice to cover the expense of providing ongoing advice and support.
Please note that the fee paid to Finsol does not increase the overall fee you would pay as a KiwiSaver customer. The exception to this is Kōura, where the fee paid to Finsol does increase the overall fee paid by 0.30% due to the bespoke nature of their portfolios and the additional time required to provide advice.
Some providers pay a one-off fee for a new or existing account at no expense to the customer. This can range between $0-$300.
Client Fees
Insurance
- Repayment of commission fee: this will apply if we are required to repay the commission within 12 months of issuing your insurance policy. The fee will be capped at $750 plus GST. This fee will be calculated at a rate of $250 plus GST per hour for the financial adviser's time spent on services related to the insurance advice and service. The total fee will not exceed the commission owed to the insurer. If a fee is applicable, you will receive an invoice and have 30 days to make payment.
- Nil commission fee: this will apply if you request our services for a product or service without us receiving a commission, the fee will be agreed upon and authorised by you in writing before we proceed. This fee will be based on an estimate of the time required to provide the advice. If a fee is applicable, you will receive an invoice and have 30 days to make payment
Lending
A fee is rarely charged for lending or home loan advice. If a fee needs to be charged, this will be explained and confirmed with you before further advice is provided:
- Financial advice fee: a fee may apply for additional financial advice required to secure lending: $250 per hour plus GST, for a minimum of two hours.
- Nil commission fee: where lenders don’t pay commission, we charge a fee of between 0.75% and 1.50% of the total loan amount.
- Bridging finance fee: where advice is provided in relation to bridging finance, we charge a fee of between 0.75% and 1.25% of the total loan amount.
- Lending withdrawal fee: where substantial work has been undertaken and you withdraw, transfer or cancel your application: we charge $250 per hour plus GST, for a minimum of two hours.
Investment Portfolio Advice
We charge a one-off fee of $500 plus GST, and to cover the costs of reviewing and servicing an investment portfolio, we charge an ongoing fee of between 0.20%-0.35% plus GST per annum of the total investment fund balance. The one-off fee is invoiced accordingly, whereas the ongoing fee is automatically deducted from your portfolio balance.
Incentives
- Finsol does not accept incentive gifts from our product providers, though we may receive small Christmas gifts from some providers.
- Any incentives or Conflicts of Interest for Finsol Financial Services (FSP627069) are managed by our internal Conflicts of Interest Policy.
- We undertake regular compliance training and undergo a voluntary external compliance audit every year.
Conflicts of Interest
- As mentioned above, in relation to the placement of insurance or a drawdown of a loan, we are paid commission by the provider of choice.
- As mentioned above, in relation to the implementation of a KiwiSaver account or investment solution, we are paid an ongoing fee by the provider of choice.
- We are under no obligation to do business with any provider or financial organisation.
- We prioritise our client’s interests above our own.
- We have no relationship with any person or organisation that would influence our advisers while giving advice.
- We follow a six-step advice process which includes thorough research and diligence with our product selection. This process ensures we meet our client’s specific needs and always place their interests above our own.
- This process can require a series of meetings with a prospective client before we finalise our advice. We maintain a close ongoing relationship with clients, regularly reviewing progress and working with them over time to help meet their goals.
Six-Step Advice Process
- Establishing the client-adviser relationship.
- Gathering client data and determining their goals and expectations.
- Analysing and evaluating the client’s financial position, including the client’s cash and debt management, personal and business insurance, retirement and estate planning needs and or investment needs.
- Developing and presenting our written advice.
- Overseeing the implementation of the plan.
- Monitoring and reviewing the plan.
All our financial advisers and suppport team member undergo annual training about how to manage conflicts of interest. We also maintain a register of conflicts of interests.
Duties Information
We are bound by the duties of the Financial Markets Conduct Act (431I, 431K, 431L, 431M) to:
- Give priority to the client’s interests by taking all reasonable steps to make sure our interests don’t materially influence our advice.
- Exercise care, diligence, and skill in providing advice.
- Meet the standards of competence, knowledge, and skill-set outlined in the Code of Conduct.
- Meet the standards of ethical behaviour, conduct, and client care set out in the Code of Conduct.
Reliability History
Neither Finsol nor any of its employees have been subject to any material public discipline, relevant convictions or civil proceedings, and in the case of financial advisers, any bankruptcies or insolvencies.
Complaints
If you have a problem, concern, or complaint about any part of our advice or service, please speak with your adviser as soon as possible so that they can try to resolve the issue.
Internal Complaints Process
If you cannot resolve the issue with your adviser, you can contact our internal complaints manager:
- Anne Oldham
- finsol@finsol.co.nz
- +61410399722
Anne will respond to you within 24 hours and will try to resolve your complaint. When we receive a complaint, we will assess it by following our internal complaints process:
- We will consider your complaint and let you know how we intend to resolve it.
- We may need to contact you to get further information about your complaint.
- We aim to resolve complaints within ten working days of receiving them. If we cannot do so, we will contact you to let you know we need more time to consider your complaint and provide you with a realistic timeframe.
- We will contact you by phone or email to let you know whether we can resolve your complaint and how we propose to do so.
External Complaints Process
If we cannot agree on how to resolve your issue, you can contact our external dispute resolution scheme, Financial Services Complaints Ltd (FSCL) - A Financial Ombudsman Service. This service will cost you nothing and will help us settle any disagreements:
- Financial Services Complaints Ltd (FSCL) - A Financial Ombudsman Service
- 0800 347 257
- info@fscl.org.nz
- PO Box 5967, Lambton Quay, Wellington, 6145
Professional Indemnity Insurance
Finsol and its advisers are covered under a Professional Indemnity Insurance policy. This insurance is underwritten by Dual New Zealand. As with all insurance policies, there are terms, conditions and exclusions that may apply.
