NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business / Companies / Banking and finance

'You're largely on your own' - Financial Markets Authority warning to wholesale investors

Anne Gibson
By Anne Gibson
Property Editor·NZ Herald·
7 Oct, 2021 04:25 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Paul Gregory of the FMA. Photo / supplied

Paul Gregory of the FMA. Photo / supplied

"You're largely on your own" - that's the Financial Markets Authority director of investment management's warning to people considering putting money into wholesale schemes.

Paul Gregory spoke to the Herald today after the authority told Auckland property developer and investor Du Val to remove advertising for a mortgage fund which gave the impression it was low risk.

Offers to wholesale and eligible investors can have far fewer protections than other types of offers, Gregory warned, so people need to consider them harder and ask more questions.

Kenyon Clarke, Du Val chief executive, said today his business raised $20 million via a mortgage offer to wholesale investors and no one had complained. Du Val has refused to supply the Herald with a copy of the information memorandum for that offer.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

But the authority said Du Val said its fund had "the best of both worlds", with high security and high return and comparing it favourably with bank term deposits but without a balanced view of the risks.

Gregory warned people to take many steps before they invested money in wholesale schemes, which differ markedly from retail schemes.

"In a regulatory sense, you're largely on your own," Gregory warned of wholesale offers.

People can self-certify that they have sufficient experience to put money into such wholesale schemes, he explained.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"This is about you saying you can do this. You can assess the merits of the transaction. You can assess how much information you need about the transaction and you can assess how adequate the information being provided to you is."

Wholesale investment offers can promise attractive returns but don't have the same protections as retail investment offers, he stressed.

Such offers are aimed at experienced investors, often with large sums of money to invest. Unless you are a very experienced investor, you should proceed with caution and talk to a financial adviser before investing in a wholesale offer, Gregory stressed.

Kenyon and Charlotte Clarke of Du Val. Photo / supplied
Kenyon and Charlotte Clarke of Du Val. Photo / supplied

Investing in a wholesale offer may mean people don't get a product disclosure statement which tells of the risks and features of the investment in clear, concise and effective language that is aimed at a prudent but non-expert investor. Such statements are not mandatory for wholesale offers.

Discover more

Business Reports

Mood of the Boardroom: A Covid caveat for business

06 Oct 03:59 PM
Banking and finance

FMA moves against Du Val Group on $20m fund

06 Oct 08:30 PM

The authority said today Du Val's statements about its mortgage fund breached fair dealing provisions because they gave the impression that the investment was low risk.

"In fact, property development including associated finance is inherently risky," the FMA said today.

Gregory said that the mortgage fund was not the only one to concern the authority. Some agricultural land offers were also to wholesale investors and the authority had said some months ago it planned to "take a broad look at this area".

He asked whether people with $250,000 or $750,000 if putting their money into a wholesale fund was in their best interests: "Does that really make you experienced or sophisticated? Or to understand about property development?"

People should ask if they were happy with lower thresholds in terms of information and protections.

"What's so great about this investment that I'm prepared to do that? Do I have to sign anything to get the detail and if so, why? Are there more risks? With property development, of course, there are. How easy is it for me to get my money out? Is my money locked up for a certain period? There's a lot of really fundamental questions people should ask themselves if they want to participate in a wholesale offer," Gregory said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

If they had any concerns around these issues "they should just walk away".

Owen Culliney, a Du Val Capital Partners director, said today: "The FMA has determined that some of Du Val Group's historic social media advertising relating to wholesale investment products, which invited potential investors to simply make an enquiry, did not comply with Section 19 of the FMC Act."

Culliney said the business was "disappointed by the FMA's approach to the use of social media advertising", saying it is "out of step with other jurisdictions and modern communication and marketing channels".

• More information is at the FMA's website under "investments for wholesale and eligible investors".

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Banking and finance

Business|companies

House prices to be 20% lower in real terms by mid-2030s - forecast

18 Jun 08:42 PM
Business|companies

Major banks halt over-counter deposits into others' accounts

15 Jun 07:37 PM
Interest rates

Final big bank drops home loan rates after OCR cut

12 Jun 05:52 AM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Banking and finance

House prices to be 20% lower in real terms by mid-2030s - forecast

House prices to be 20% lower in real terms by mid-2030s - forecast

18 Jun 08:42 PM

House prices will be 20% lower in real terms by the mid-2030s than in 2021.

Major banks halt over-counter deposits into others' accounts

Major banks halt over-counter deposits into others' accounts

15 Jun 07:37 PM
Final big bank drops home loan rates after OCR cut

Final big bank drops home loan rates after OCR cut

12 Jun 05:52 AM
ASB offers $150,000 interest-free loans for farm solar systems

ASB offers $150,000 interest-free loans for farm solar systems

09 Jun 11:51 PM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP