At MoneySaver.co.uk, we’re all about dishing out valuable content on a smorgasbord of topics – from consumer products (electricity providers, mobile phone plans) to financial products (insurance, bank accounts, pensions and investment platforms). Plus, we also offer a plethora of guides on Work and Income, education, parenting, employment, and home-ownership, among other themes.
Our focus never wavers – we’re all about the cost of a product or service, its terms and conditions (i.e., the fine print) and, on occasion, offering a journalistic opinion. For a variety of investment-related guides, we also provide comparisons to help you better understand products and their features.
We’re committed to a highly risk-averse journalistic approach and never dish out financial advice. Our guides deliver factual information and, when needed, opinion (based on fees, performance, and coverage) using data points provided by financial product/service providers and/or trusted third parties like Morningstar or Sorted.org.nz.
Here’s a quick overview of the legal framework we abide by, covering our interpretation of the Financial Services Legislation Amendment Act 2019, Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008, and Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013.
First up, the (new) Schedule 5 inserted into the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013, “Exclusions from definition of financial advice”, outlines:
A person doesn’t give financial advice just by doing one or more of the following: (a) providing factual information (e.g., information about the cost or terms and conditions of a financial advice product, or the procedure for acquiring or disposing of a financial advice product): (c) making a recommendation or giving an opinion about a kind of financial advice product in general rather than a specific financial advice product (e.g., an opinion about shares in general rather than shares of a particular company):
Our take: MoneySaver.co.uk’s journalists and research team serve up factual comparisons and product reviews of numerous financial advice products. We never recommend any specific policy, credit policy or financial product for any particular person. All published information is general and based on product features, pros and cons. We encourage consumers to compare options independently before making any decision. We may shortlist providers of financial products which we believe offer specific value, as an opinion and as a starting point for thorough, individually-led product comparison.
Furthermore, the Financial Services Legislation Amendment Act 2019 details Further exclusions from regulated financial advice:
(8) Ancillary services and other occupations Financial advice is not regulated financial advice if the person giving the advice– (a) carries on one of the following occupations: (ii) journalist: or an occupation prescribed by the regulations; and (b) gives the advice– (i) in the ordinary course of carrying on that occupation; and (ii) as an ancillary part of carrying on the principal activity of that occupation, being an activity that is not the provision of a financial service.
(3) Financial advice is not regulated financial advice if– it is given only as an ancillary part of a business whose principal activity is not the provision of a financial service.
Our view: MoneySaver.co.uk’s publications are by no means financial advice. However, we include the above legislation for relevance and completeness. We don’t rely on these provisions to exempt our resources from any current New Zealand law.
service (including a custodial service), being a licensed NBDT as defined in the Non-bank Deposit Takers Act 2013, being a registered bank, keeping, investing, administering, or managing money, securities, or investment portfolios on behalf of other persons, being a creditor under a credit contract, operating a money or value transfer service, issuing and managing means of payment, giving financial guarantees, participating in an FMC offer as the issuer or offeror of the financial products, acting in any of the following capacities in respect of regulated products or financial products offered under an FMC offer, as an issuer, supervisor, investment manager, licensed market service, acting as a custodian in respect of a registered scheme or a discretionary investment management service provided by a DIMS licensee, operating a financial product market, changing foreign currency, trading financial products or foreign exchange on behalf of other persons, providing forward foreign exchange contracts, acting as an insurer, providing any other financial service that is prescribed for the purposes of New Zealand complying with the FATF Recommendations, other recommendations by FATF, or other similar international obligations that are consistent with the purpose of this Act.
A few parting words from MoneySaver.co.uk’s founder, Christopher Walsh: Financial regulation in New Zealand is constantly evolving, and our guides and resources will always endeavour to present information that showcases the marketplace fairly and objectively. We have relied on the generous time and expertise of the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) since our launch in 2018. We continue to engage their team and other relevant authorities to ensure our resources, tools, and guides are fully compliant with existing and upcoming regulatory requirements. We follow all guidance as it’s provided.
Each day, thousands of New Zealanders rely on MoneySaver.co.uk’s objective and independent guides and resources to help them save money or make better consumer-related decisions. If you believe any of our guides or resources fall into financial advice of any kind, please contact our research team