Authorised financial advisers sail through

The FMA granted 74 AFA licences and declined no one who applied in the 12 months to June 30. Photo / Thinkstock

It's been smooth sailing for authorised financial advisers and all who applied for a licence received a regulatory rubber stamp in the past 12 months.

It is the second year running in which all prospective authorised financial advisers, or AFAs, have been granted licences by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA).

The authority granted 74 AFA licences and declined no one who applied in the 12 months to June 30.

As well as this, not a single authorised financial adviser appeared before the profession's disciplinary tribunal during the year.

That body, the Financial Advisers Disciplinary Committee, has heard only seven cases since August 2013.

"The FMA has worked more directly with AFAs in the last year to promote and achieve compliance. Where we see any serious cases we refer them to the [tribunal]," said a spokesman for the authority.

There are no upcoming cases before the disciplinary tribunal and a recent Government issues paper has questioned whether its scope should be expanded.

The tribunal cannot, for instance, hear complaints about registered financial advisers (RFAs).

Professional financial advisers must either be authorised or registered. Authorised advisers must be licensed by the markets authority while registered advisers need only to be listed on an industry register.

To get authorisation, an applicant needs to provide proof of competence and pass a "good character" test.

If an applicant satisfies the relevant criteria, the markets authority must authorise him or her.

It has discretion only over the "good character" test and whether any criminal convictions an applicant may have would be relevant to their fitness as a financial adviser.

The most high-profile authorised adviser to have a licence cancelled was fraudster David Ross, who is serving a 10-year 10-month jail term.

Since 2011, about 2300 authorised advisers have been granted licences while only four have been rejected.