Financial advisers give advice about financial planning, insurance, investing and other financial services and products.

1. FINANCIAL
ADVISERS JOB PROSPECTS
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FEES
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INCOME
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JOB PROSPECTS Job prospects for financial advisers are generally good as many
workers in these occupations are likely to retire over the next decade.
However, prospects are limited for school leavers as people in these
jobs are expected to have established lists of clients, which often take
years to build up.
These jobs now require registration with the Financial Markets Authority,
making entry more difficult, but providing more opportunities for those
who are registered.
At a glance
SERVICE INDUSTRIES
■ How to become a financial adviser
Financial advisers give advice about financial planning, insurance,
investing and other financial services and products. The general
term ‘financial advisor’ includes the likes of financial planners,
mortgage and insurance brokers; as well as people working for
insurance companies, banks and building societies that provide
advice about money, financial products and investing.
An adviser receives, holds, pays or transfers client money or
property on their behalf.
Financial advisers need a thorough understanding of how
financial markets work so they can give good advice to clients.
Having qualifications at Level 5 or above is preferable for all jobs
in these occupations.
Qualifications needed
A variety of certificate and degree qualifications are available. At
a minimum, you would require a National Certificate in Financial
Services (Level 5) to become an authorised financial advisor.
There is a Diploma in Personal Financial Planning. For more
information about the skills needed to enter financial services
work, see the Skills Organisation website.
→ Skills Organisation, financial services:
www.skills.org.nz/financial-services-sector/
→ Skills Organisation, Certificate in Financial Services:
skills.org.nz/industries/financial-services/learning-pathways
Cost of study
Bachelor of Commerce
in Finance
Graduate Diploma in Business
Studies (Personal Financial
Planning)
18,600 over three years $5,800 over one year
Average costs in 2014 for a domestic student. Costs vary between
institutions. Further costs include materials, textbooks, and
accommodation.
Rents vary from place to place. Estimated market rents by re-
gion, city and suburb are available on the MBIE Tenancy Services
website.
The StudyLink website provides general budget advice for
students, and the Sorted website provides help with detailed
budget planning.
→ Tenancy Services: www.tenancy.govt.nz/rent-bond-and-bills
→ StudyLink: www.studylink.govt.nz
→ Sorted: www.sorted.org.nz/calculators/money-planner
Where to study
Relevant qualifications are available across New Zealand, at poly-
technics, private training organisations (PTOs) and universities.
Registration
Under the Financial Advisers Act (2008) licensing is now required
for financial advisors. To do this, they need to:
• complete the National Certificate in Financial Services
(Financial Advice) – NZQA Level 5, or equivalent qualification
• get authorisation to practise from the Financial Markets
Authority (FMA)
• be registered on the Financial Service Providers Register
• belong to one of four approved dispute resolution schemes.
For more detail on licensing, see the FMA website.
→ FMA, licensing: fma.govt.nz/compliance/role/afas/#e2037
Completed qualifications
The number of students completing relevant qualifications rose
from 950 in 2011 to 1,140 in 2013. Since 2010 there has been a
rise of about 20.0% in the number of students completing a
Bachelor’s degree in banking and finance.

2. SERVICE INDUSTRIES
FINANCIAL ADVISERS
Source: Ministry of Education
■ Income and employment prospects
Income
In 2014, the average income for financial advisers was estimated
to be $90,000.
Estimated average income
$90,000
Average Income from Statistics New Zealand June 2015 New Zealand Income
Survey. Estimated from average hourly earnings.
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree in the fields of banking and
finance earned $41,600 one year after their study ended. After
five years, earnings had increased to about $64,700.
Median earnings after qualification completion
One year Two years Five years
$41,600 $47,000 $64,700
Employment and skill shortages
Financial advisers employment
Current Projected growth
2013 2014 2014–19 2019–24
4,570
4,480
down 2.0%
0.7% per year -0.1% per year
Employment is expected to grow by about 0.7% per year from
2014 to 2019, and remain flat (down by 0.1%) from 2019 to 2024.
Demand for new financial advisers may rise more strongly if a
number of people leave the profession due to non-compliance
with the requirements of the Financial Advisers Act 2008. In
addition, many financial advisers are expected to retire in the
next 10 to 15 years.
Source: MBIE Estimates
Where to find job vacancies
The number of online job vacancies for financial advisers
increased by 48.9% from September 2014 to September 2015.
This compares with an overall increase of 1.9% for all vacancies
over the same period.
Vacancies are advertised through public media such as the Trade
Me Jobs and Seek websites.
→ Trade Me Jobs: www.trademe.co.nz/jobs
→ Seek: www.seek.co.nz
Career path
Most financial advisers need to establish a list of clients, which
takes time. Many begin their careers in junior positions within
financial firms or banks and work their way up from there.
■ Other information
Links
More information about financial advisers is available on the Careers
New Zealand website.
→ Careers New Zealand: www.careers.govt.nz
Numberofstudents
completingqualification
0
500
1,000
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Diploma Bachelor's Degree Master's Degree
Employment
Estimate Forecast
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
2009 2014 2019 2024