ISI rebrands as Financial Services Council in bid to unify industry voice

Wednesday 14th March 2012

The Investment Savings & Insurance Association has officially rebranded itself as the Financial Services Council as it seeks to cut the number of competing industry voices.

FSC chair Jenny Shipley launched the rebranding yesterday in Wellington, saying the new group wants to tackle issues of importance to the New Zealand economy rather than merely lobbying for industry. At the moment, industry’s voice is fragmented, and the new body aims to grow its representation beyond just fund managers and insurers.

“The FSC members now overwhelmingly agree that there is a much bigger job to do and will be seeking opportunities to work with others in the sector to increase our effectiveness within the resources available,” Shipley said. “Our main purpose in establishing the FSC is to increase the wealth of New Zealanders and we intend to strive to do just that.”

The rebrand was flagged in October last year, with the former ISI looking to transform itself into an industry-wide lobby group rather than adding to the proliferation of voices vying for policymakers’ attention.

The new entity will have 20 full-time members and 18 associate members managing $60 billion and providing services for some 1.8 million investors.

FSC chief executive Peter Neilson said the group will release research into New Zealand’s long-term savings and underinsurance in the coming months.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

Comments from our readers

No comments yet