Public disclosure

When you work with Prosper Group you can be confident you’re dealing with a slick operation that meets all of the regulatory guidelines.

Prosper Group Limited (FSP81063), trading as Prosper Group holds a licence issued by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) to provide financial advice. We know all the rules and regulations inside out, and we stick to them. There are also some associated companies approved by Prosper Group (Authorised Bodies) who operate and give advice under our transitional licence.

It’s our duty to share with you the rules we play by. So, you can find the full scope of our business, information about how we work, and details of our complaints and disputes processes below. If you want to learn more (and you don’t shy away from a bit of legal speak) read on.

About our business

Prosper Group Limited FSP81063 (trading as Prosper Group) is a membership group of financial services businesses and financial advisers. Members pay fees to be a member of our group and for the services, they receive from us.

• Business members of Prosper Group provide financial advice to their clients and may trade under their own business name or brand.
• Individual financial advisers who provide financial advice directly on behalf of Prosper Group, will provide financial advice under the Prosper Group name and brand.

Licence status and conditions

Prosper Group Limited FSP81063 (trading as Prosper Group) holds a licence issued by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) to provide financial advice.

Some members of Prosper Group are authorised under this licence and some members have their own licence from the FMA.

Authorised bodies

The conditions on our licence authorise specific members of Prosper Group to provide financial advice under Prosper Group’s licence from the FMA. These businesses are called ‘Authorised Bodies’.

• A full list of the Authorised Bodies is located on the FSPR (search ‘Prosper Group Limited’ and view the list of Authorised Bodies under the ‘Financial Services’ tab).

Own licences

Some Prosper Group members are authorised to provide financial advice under their own licence from the FMA. These members receive services from Prosper Group which may include access to product providers, IT support, compliance reviews, marketing assistance etc.

Contact details

Prosper Group Limited (FSP81063, trading as Prosper Group) is the Licensed Financial Advice Provider. You can contact us at:

Nature and scope of the financial advice given

Prosper Group members provide financial advice to their clients about their life, disability and health insurances; home loans, KiwiSaver and investments.

Each authorised body and/or financial adviser has their own area of financial expertise they advise on and will be accredited with a range of product providers.

Please review the information provided on our website about each member to locate a financial adviser that best suits your needs. From there they will discuss their areas of expertise and range of providers.

Product providers we work with

As noted above, your financial adviser will confirm which product providers they are accredited with, this will be detailed within the Client Agreement between the client(s) and adviser or disclosed during the process of giving the required service and advice.

Common providers that advisers are accredited with or whose products they advise on include:

Fees or expenses

Lending and insurances
Prosper Group generally does not charge fees, expenses, or any other amount for the initial lending or insurance advice provided to clients.

Prosper Group and the acting financial adviser may charge a service fee where a client cancels a loan or a life or health insurance policy within two years of inception. A service fee may also be agreed to when there is no provider remuneration to the acting adviser. Whether a service fee will be charged and the way it will be charged, will be advised and agreed to prior or at the time when the advice is provided to the client.

KiwiSaver
Prosper Group generally does not charge fees, expenses, or any other amount for the initial KiwiSaver advice provided to clients.

Prosper Group and the acting financial adviser may charge a service fee where there is no provider remuneration to the acting adviser. If a service fee is required, the way it will be charged will be advised and agreed to prior to any commitment from a client.

Investments
For investment advice, Prosper Group and the acting financial adviser may charge a service fee. Whether a service fee will be charged and the way it will be charged, will be advised and agreed to prior to any commitment from a client.

How we are remunerated

Prosper Group and the acting financial adviser receive commissions or fees from the product providers on whose products we give advice. If you decide to take out insurance, home loan or invest in a KiwiSaver or investment product, the product provider will pay a commission or fee to Prosper Group and your financial adviser. The amount of the commission or fee is based on the amount of the product, and its specific attributes. Further information will be disclosed during the process of giving the required service and advice.

How we manage conflicts of interest and/or incentives

To ensure that our financial advisers prioritise the client’s interest above their own, we follow an advice process that ensures our recommendations are made based on the client’s goals and circumstances.

All our financial advisers undergo annual training about how to manage conflicts of interest. We undertake regular compliance audits and obtain an independent review of our compliance programme annually by a reputable compliance consultancy firm.

From time to time, product providers may also reward us for the overall business we provide to them. They may give us tickets to sports events, conferences, hampers, or other small incentives. Prosper Group has a Gift Policy which limits the value of these types of gifts.

Our duties

Prosper Group, and anyone who gives financial advice on our behalf, have duties under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 relating to the way that we give advice. We are required to:

• give priority to your interests by taking all reasonable steps to make sure our advice isn’t materially influenced by our own interests
• exercise care, diligence, and skill in providing you with advice
• meet standards of competence, knowledge and skill set by the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services (these are designed to make sure that we have the expertise needed to provide you with advice)
• meet standards of ethical behaviour, conduct and client care set by the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services (these are designed to make sure we treat you as we should and give you suitable advice).

This is only a summary of the duties that we have. More information is available by contacting us, or by visiting the Financial Markets Authority website at https://www.fma.govt.nz.

The Code of Conduct standards can be read here: https://www.fma.govt.nz/assets/assets/code-of-professional-conduct-for-financial-advice-services.pdf.

Internal complaints process

If you have a problem, concern, or complaint about any part of the financial advice or service you have received from us, you may contact us using any of the following means:

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

• We will consider your complaint and let you know how we intend to resolve it. We may need to contact you to get further information about your complaint.
• We aim to resolve complaints within 10 working days of receiving them. If we cannot, we will contact you within that time to let you know we need more time to consider your complaint.
• We will contact you by phone or email to let you know whether we can resolve your complaint and how we propose to do so.
• If we cannot resolve your complaint, or you aren’t satisfied with the way we propose to do so, you can contact Financial Disputes Resolution Scheme.

Dispute resolution process

We are a member of the Financial Disputes Resolution Scheme, an approved dispute resolution scheme.

If our internal complaints process does not resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you can contact our external independent dispute resolution scheme.  This service is free and may help investigate or resolve the complaint.

You can contact the Financial Disputes Resolution Scheme at:

Click here to download a copy of our Public Disclosure