Disclosure Statement for Finax Limited

(trading as Finax Mortgages & Insurance)

Here is some essential information about Finax to help making an informed and confident choice when engaging us.

Licensing information

Finax Limited (Finax) holds a Full Financial Advice Provider(FAP) license (Class2) issued by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) to provide financial advice services. Our Financial Services Provider (FSP) number is FSP763671.

The full FAP license was obtained on 19th Jan 2022.

A Class 2 licence covers the service of a financial advice provider (whether the licence holder or any authorised body) providing regulated financial advice to retail clients:

• on the financial advice provider’s own account
• through one or more financial advisers

There are no conditions attached to this licence on the financial advice that may be given under our licence from the FMA.

You can find more information about our individual advisers on our website, under ‘MEET THE TEAM’ section.

Contact Details

You can reach us at:

Address: Level 2/205 Great South Road, Greenlane, Auckland.

Phone: 09 258 4988

Email: support@luciaxiao.co.nz

Website: www.finax.co.nz

Financial Advice and Product Providers 

Finax provides financial advice on Lending and Insurance products. The product types an individual adviser can give advice on, and the relevant product providers will be disclosed at an adviser level in the Disclosure Guide (Hello Book). Our Financial Adviser will provide their Disclosure Guide to you when you engage with them, or you can request a copy from us at any time to see the list of product providers. The product provider and products we advise on are listed below.

For lending, we work with the following banks and non-bank lenders:

Banks	Non-Banks
ANZ	ASAP Finance Limited
Westpac	Avanti Finance
BNZ	Cressida Capital
ASB	DBR
Sovereign	First Mortgage Trust
Heartland Bank	Liberty Financial
The Co-operative Bank	NZCU Baywide
Heartland Bank	Zip Business
SBS Bank	Basecorp Finance
Bank of China	CFML
China Construction Bank	Southern Cross Partners
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China	Pepper Money
	RESIMAC
	Bluestone

The main bank lenders that we do not have agencies with: KiwiBank, TSB.

For life and health insurance, we work with the following companies:

• AIA
• NIB
• Fidelity Life
• Cigna

In providing you with financial advice, we will consider existing term life, trauma, income protection and health insurance policies.

Limitations: We will not provide advice on existing whole of life or endowment products, so you will need to consult a product specialist if you would like advice on those products.

Commissions

If you proceed with a product based on financial advice received from one of our Financial Adviser, Finax usually receives commission from the applicable product provider. The commission is generally of an upfront nature but may also include a renewal or trail commission. For any loans facilitated through us, the commissions from the lender are paid to the NZ Financial Services Group Limited (KAN). These commissions are then transferred to Finax.

This commission is used to remunerate the Financial Adviser that provides the financial advice to you, and to pay the expenses associated with running our business including any rent, staff costs and IT resources. The Financial Advisers at Finax are paid a salary and are eligible for a bonus based on various criteria. Any commissions received are paid to the FAP either directly or through KAN.

Finax may also receive a referral fee or commission payment if we refer you to our referral partners (listed below).

• Tower – F&G
• Asset Finance
• UK Pension Transfers
• XE Money

We will give you more information about how the referral fee or commission is calculated, before proceeding.

For services in relation to insurance and loan products, commissions may be paid by the product provider as follows:

• Initial commission – a percentage of the value of your loan balance or insurance premiums
  
• Ongoing commission – a percentage of the value of your outstanding loan amount or premiums, usually calculated at the end of each month in which you hold the loan, or on renewal of insurance products.
  

Fees and Expenses

Generally, Finax does not charge you any fee for the advice and transactional solutions provided to you. This is possible because we receive commission from the applicable product provider as described above. There are three exceptions to this general position which are explained below.

You may be charged a one-off fee in the following situations:

1. No commission: If you request that we provide services in relation to a product or service and we do not receive a commission from provider. Any such fee would be agreed and authorised by you in writing before we complete the services.
2. Repayment of commission: If a product or service provider requires that we repay commission within 28 months of settlement of your mortgage. Any such fee is determined on a prorate basis, depending on the length of time the loan product has been in place. It would be no more than NZ$2,500 (Plus GST, if any) and would be calculated based on a rate of NZ$250 (plus GST, if any) per hour of the Adviser and his/ her team’s time spent providing Services to you in connection with the applicable mortgage. The fee we charge you will not exceed the amount of commission we have to repay to the lender. This may arise in very limited circumstances, such as if you have repaid a loan in full within 28 months.If applicable, you agree to pay the fees set out above, within 30 days of receipt of a valid invoice from us.

Conflicts of Interest and Incentives

As noted above, Finax usually receives commissions from the providers on whose products we give financial advice (the insurers, banks and non-banks). If you decide to take out insurance or a loan, the provider will pay a commission to Finax. The amount of commission is based on the amount of the premium or loan.

From time to time, product providers may also reward us for the overall business we provide to them. Some examples may include but not be limited to: tickets to sports events, coffees, meals, or free conferencing and travel.

Finax takes serious steps to ensure that the receipt of commissions or other incentives does not in any way influence the financial advice given to you and that our Financial Advisers prioritise your interests by recommending the best product for your purpose regardless of the type and amount of commission that may be received. These steps include:

• Ensuring our Financial Advisors follow the six-step advice process that ensures the Financial Adviser understands your needs and goals and that their recommendations meet those needs and goals.
• Ensuring our Financial Advisers receive regular training on how to manage conflicts of interest.
• Providing you with a schedule showing commission rates and types by product provider. This schedule is contained within each Financial Advisor’s personalised Disclosure Guide. Your Financial Adviser will provide you with more information about commissions during the advice process.
• If there are any conflicts of interest, apart from commission, that could potentially influence the financial advice given to you; these will be shown in your Financial Adviser’s Disclosure Guide.
• We maintain registers of conflicts of interests, and the gifts and incentives we receive. Finax monitors these registers and provides additional training where necessary.
• Finax performs an annual review of our compliance programme.

Complaints and Dispute Resolution

If you have a complaint that relates to us, or if you are unhappy with how our Financial Adviser has dealt with you or our financial advice service, you can contact Finax’s internal complaints service by emailing us at support@Finax.co.nz with the heading Complaint – (Your Name), or by calling 09 258 4988.

Please set out the nature of your complaint, and the resolution you are seeking.

When we receive a complaint, we will consider it following our internal complaints process:

• We aim to acknowledge receipt of this within 24 hours and record your complaint in our Complaints Register.
• We may want to meet with you to better understand your issues.
• We will then investigate your complaint and provide a response to you within 7 working days of receiving your complaint. If we need more time to investigate your complaint, we’ll let you know.
• If we cannot agree on a resolution, you can refer your complaint to our external dispute resolution service, Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL).

FSCL provides a free, independent dispute resolution service that may help investigate or resolve your complaint if we have not been able to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction.

You can contact FSCL by emailing complaints@fscl.org.nz or calling FSCL on 0800 347 257. Alternatively, you can complete their complaints form available on www.fscl.org.nz.

Our Duties

Finax and the financial advisers providing financial advice on behalf of Finax are bound by and supports the duties set out in the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013. These duties are:

• Meet the standards of competence, knowledge, and skill set out in the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Providers.
• Meet the standards of ethical behaviour, conduct and client care set out in the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Providers.
• Give priority to your interests.
• Exercise care, diligence, and skill.