New MOU opens professional pathway between NZ and South African advisers
Financial Advice New Zealand (FANZ) has entered a new international partnership with the Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa (FPI), aimed at lifting professional standards and creating collaboration opportunities for financial planners across both regions, including those working in mortgage advice.
FANZ represents advisers across planning, mortgages and insurance. The timing is notable: licensed financial advisers grew almost 9% year-on-year to 9,197, meaning the pathway lands amid a genuinely expanding workforce.
MOU signed at inaugural policy summit
The partnership was formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding signed at FANZ's first Advice Policy Summit in Auckland. The agreement sets out a five-year framework covering professional development, thought leadership, policy issues, and international best practice, with both bodies committing to work toward the advancement of the global financial planning profession.
FANZ chief executive Nick Hakes (pictured) said the partnership reflects the increasingly international nature of financial advice work.
"Financial advice is increasingly part of a connected global profession,” Hakes said. “While each country has its own regulatory and operating environment, the principles that underpin quality financial advice, including professionalism, ethics, competence and acting in clients' best interests, are universal."
He added the arrangement gives New Zealand advisers direct exposure to international thinking.
"This partnership gives our professions an opportunity to learn from one another, share knowledge and strengthen professional capability," Hakes said.
Cross-border credential recognition on the table
FPI chief executive Lelané Bezuidenhout said the agreement responds to a shift toward more internationally mobile clients and professionals.
"Current financial planning trends point to the need for closer collaboration in areas where professional overlap and the cross-border movement of South Africans and CFP professionals are increasing," Bezuidenhout said, noting that clients increasingly hold assets, family interests, and financial obligations across multiple countries.
Beyond the immediate scope of the MOU, the two organisations plan to develop a longer-term framework examining whether education, exam results, and certification held by CFP professionals in one jurisdiction could gain formal recognition in the other. This work remains at an early, exploratory stage rather than a settled arrangement.
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