This notice comes into force on 6 November 2020 and continues the exemptions in the Financial Markets Conduct (Offers of Financial Products Through Authorised Financial Advisers Supplying Personalised DIMS) Exemption Notice 2015, which is revoked at the close of 5 November 2020.

This notice applies to offers of financial products through authorised financial advisers (AFAs) under the Financial Advisers Act 2008 who are providing discretionary investment management services (DIMS) that are personalised DIMS.

The notice exempts persons making those offers from compliance with the disclosure requirements in Part 3 of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (the FMC Act).

The notice also provides that the offers exempted by this notice are not regulated offers under the FMC Act provided that the only investors who are able to acquire, and who do acquire, the products are investors to whom disclosure under Part 3 of the FMC Act is not required.

This means that other requirements of the FMC Act, or other Acts, that apply to regulated offers (such as the governance and financial reporting requirements) will not apply to the offer. Any other financial market conduct obligations the entity may have, including obligations under Part 2 of the FMC Act, are not affected.

In effect, this notice puts offers made through AFAs providing personalised DIMS in the same position as offers made through persons who are licensed under Part 6 of the FMC Act to provide DIMS. Offers made through the latter persons are exempted from the disclosure requirements in Part 3 of the FMC Act by clause 7 of Schedule 1 of the FMC Act.

When the Financial Services Legislation Amendment Act 2019 comes fully into force, all DIMS will be covered by the FMC Act, so the exemption granted by this notice for personalised DIMS will no longer be required. That Act will come fully into force on 15 March 2021 (seethe Financial Services Legislation Amendment Act Commencement Order 2020). This notice is therefore revoked on that date.

The Financial Markets Authority (the FMA), after satisfying itself as to the matters set out in section 557 of the FMC Act, considers it appropriate to grant the exemption because—

• offers of financial products made through AFAs providing personalised DIMS under the Financial Advisers Act 2008 should be treated in a similar manner to offers of financial products made through DIMS licensees, given the similar assessment criteria and process for both AFAs under the Financial Advisers Act 2008 and DIMS licensees under the FMC Act:

• offerors should be able to offer financial products through an AFA providing a personalised DIMS under the Financial Advisers Act 2008 without having regard to whether that AFA’s client is a wholesale or retail investor, as the investment decision to acquire the financial products is made by the AFA, and the AFA is a finance professional with the necessary skills and qualifications to make the investment decisions to acquire that product on behalf of the retail investor.

As such, the FMA is satisfied that the granting of the exemption is desirable in order to promote the purposes of the Act.

Specifically, the notice will—

• enable offerors to avoid the unnecessary compliance costs of complying with the requirements of the FMC Act that apply to offers to retail investors if the offer is made through AFAs providing personalised DIMS under the Financial Advisers Act 2008; and

• enable AFAs to avoid the unnecessary cost of assessing whether their clients are capable of taking part in unregulated offers; and

• promote the informed participation in the financial markets of offerors, retail investors, and AFAs providing personalised DIMS under the Financial Advisers Act 2008 by clarifying that the status of the AFA’s client (whether wholesale or retail) is not relevant in this context.

The exemption requires that offers must be made through an AFA who is authorised to provide personalised DIMS under the Financial Advisers Act 2008 and who decides whether to acquire financial products in the course of supplying a personalised DIMS under that Act. This ensures that the person making the investment decision to acquire the financial product (being, in this case, the AFA) is an appropriate person to make that decision. The FMA is satisfied, therefore, that the extent of the exemption is not broader than is reasonably necessary to address the matters that gave rise to it.