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Act · 2013 · Tier 3

Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013

Also known as: FMCA, the Financial Markets Conduct Act

Last verified against legislation.govt.nz on 17 April 2026.

What it is

The Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (FMCA) is the New Zealand statute that regulates financial markets, financial products, and the provision of financial advice. It is the umbrella statute that sits above a detailed regime of regulations and licensing requirements. The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) is the primary regulator.

For homeowner.org.nz, the FMCA matters because it defines where "general information" ends and "regulated financial advice" begins. Our content deliberately stays on the non-advisory side of that line. This rule page explains why, what the distinction is, and how we maintain the boundary.

What it covers

  • Financial products — debt securities, equity securities, managed investment products, derivatives. Rules on offering, disclosure, and licensing.
  • Financial advice regime (as amended by the Financial Services Legislation Amendment Act 2019, commencement 15 March 2021) — governs who may give regulated financial advice and under what conditions.
  • Market conduct — insider trading, market manipulation, misleading statements in relation to financial products.
  • Licensing and supervision of financial advice providers and other market participants.
  • Enforcement — pecuniary penalties, injunctions, criminal offences in severe cases.

What counts as "regulated financial advice"

The FMCA regulates "financial advice." Schedule 5 of the Act and associated Regulations define what is and isn't regulated financial advice. The short version:

Regulated financial advice is advice, given to a retail client, that a person should or should not acquire or dispose of a financial product, or on certain specific matters regarding financial products. Where such advice is given, the advice provider must be licensed (or operating under a Financial Advice Provider's licence) and must meet specific standards.

General information — including factual statements about markets, products, laws, and processes that do not constitute a recommendation to a specific person about a specific financial product — is not regulated financial advice.

The line matters because unlicensed provision of regulated financial advice is an offence. A website, publication, or service that crosses the line without holding the appropriate licence exposes its operators to enforcement action.

Why homeowner.org.nz content is deliberately non-advisory

We deliberately stay on the general-information side of the FMCA line. Concretely:

  • We do not recommend specific products. We do not say "choose Bank X's mortgage" or "invest in this property fund."
  • We do not recommend specific transactions. We do not say "sell now" or "buy this property."
  • We describe frameworks. We explain what the commission structure is, what a disclosure document is, what NZS 4306 requires. These are factual statements about how the market works.
  • We describe decision factors. We explain what questions to ask, what information to gather, what risks to consider. We do not advise on the decision itself.
  • We carry a consistent disclaimer on every page. Every page explicitly states that the content is general information, not legal advice, and not financial advice under the FMCA 2013.

The disclaimer is not a legal magic shield — if content is substantively financial advice, calling it "general information" does not save it. The disclaimer works because the content is also, in substance, general information. The labelling and the substance match.

Key concepts

Retail vs wholesale clients

FMCA rules on financial advice apply primarily to retail clients. Wholesale clients (sophisticated investors, eligible investors by certification, large entities) are subject to lighter requirements. Ordinary NZ homeowners are retail clients.

"Financial product" vs "financial advice"

Some residential property decisions involve financial products (mortgages, insurance, investment property) and some do not (a simple purchase of a family home with savings, without mortgage). Where mortgages, insurance, or investment-property financial products are involved, advice about those specific products is regulated. Where the decision is about the house itself as a home, it is not generally a financial-advice matter.

Code of Professional Conduct

Licensed financial advice providers operate under a Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services. The Code requires meeting client needs, acting with integrity, giving advice based on sound knowledge, and managing conflicts of interest.

What you should do when you need financial advice

For decisions about mortgages, insurance, investment properties, or other financial products, engage a licensed financial adviser. Advisers can be verified on the Financial Service Providers Register. Mortgage advisers, in particular, are licensed and regulated; their advice is FMCA-regulated and they must meet the Code.

homeowner.org.nz does not substitute for that advice. We can help you prepare — by explaining the NZ framework, helping you organise documents, identifying the questions to ask. The specific decision about which financial product to choose is your adviser's domain.

The disclaimer, explained

Every page on homeowner.org.nz carries this disclaimer:

This page is general information about New Zealand law, not legal advice. For advice on your specific situation, consult a lawyer. This page is also not financial advice under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013.

The disclaimer does two things:

  • It flags the content's nature explicitly. Readers know they are receiving general information, not personalised advice.
  • It references two specific statutes. The Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006 (for legal advice) and the FMCA 2013 (for financial advice). Both statutes define specific activities that require licences; the disclaimer makes clear that our content is not those activities.

Related rules

Authoritative sources

Our guides that reference this Act

  • Every page on this site references the FMCA in its disclaimer. The content is designed to sit inside the general-information framework the Act permits.