Sorted header abstract pattern
Sort my 6 Steps Tools Guides Blog More
Search Icon search small

back iconBack

Start here

Sort my...
A man and woman are walking together outdoors and looking happy

back iconBack

Start here

6 steps to get your money Sorted

back iconBack

All tools

Tools

back iconBack

View all

back iconBack

View all

back iconBack

More Sorted Info

Blogs
View all

Budgeting

Top 5 things to expect when you’re dealing with finance people

28 February 2017
Reading time: 3 minutes


Posted by Tom Hartmann , 0 Comments

Sometimes you just need to stand up for yourself. You know, fight for your rights and all that.

Of course, there aren’t typically human rights issues involved when we deal with finance professionals. You know, people like bank staff, insurers, advisers, fund managers, share brokers and many others who make and sell things like KiwiSaver, insurance or investments.

But there is certainly an imbalance between us and the experts. In this game, they hold the cards – at first.

But we hold the cash! And before we fork it over, there are a few key things that we’re entitled to and can demand from licensed providers. Here are the top five:

1. They’d better know what they’re doing.

We can expect competence, skill and experience for them to offer us the right service or product we need. But they’re not all-powerful, so we should also expect them to let us know the limits of what they can do for us.

2. They’d better treat us right.

We can expect to be treated honestly and fairly, and they need to put our interests first.

They also need to tell us about any conflicts of interest they have. Many providers only get paid if you buy, sell or change something, since they’re paid for transactions or on commission. Are we being told? Or sold?

3. They’d better not leave anything out.

We can expect them to inform us and let us know all our options. This is about making more informed decisions with our money, so they should be encouraging us to weigh up the pros and cons before we act.

4. They’d better tell us how much things cost.

We can expect them to explain clearly what we’re paying for and how much – both now and down the line.

Financial services and products are somewhat different from typical things we buy. Often the more they cost, the worse they become! Pay more for an investment, for example, and your results go down by just as much. Pay more for a loan, and it makes the terms worse for us.

So knowing the true cost of what we’re getting into can’t be too much to ask.

5. They’d better do right by us.

We can expect them to deal with our problems and complaints properly. And after they respond constructively and try to handle it, if it’s still not resolved they must point us towards the dispute resolution scheme they belong to.

That’s how the good ones roll.

Licensed providers that we deal with these days shouldn’t be surprised by any of these great expectations. To be fair, the good finance pros out there are already doing all five.

And thanks to new protections we now enjoy since December, the Financial Markets Authority (the “guard dog” and “guide dog” over the country’s financial markets) has been going out to all financial service providers and letting them know what’s expected of them.

Turns out we’re not just fighting for our rights all by our ourselves – we’ve got some backup.

Comments (0)

Comments

No one has commented on this page yet.

RSS feed for comments on this page | RSS feed for all comments

Tags
Kids and money Budgeting Goals Scam alert Money mindset KiwiSaver Managing debt Money tips Investing

Recent Comments

Who’s teaching your daughter (or niece, or granddaughter) about money?
1 Comment

My Money Sorted: Hilary Barry
2 Comments

My Money Sorted: Ben
3 Comments

My Money Sorted: Daniel
1 Comment

8 ways to hack Christmas when you’re stretching the budget
6 Comments

6 ways to shop smarter this Black Friday
1 Comment

sign up bar pattern
sign up bar icon

Want help with your money coming straight to your inbox? Sign up to Sorted.