KAN Podcast

What does the FMA want to see when it looks at your advice business, and why is “no complaints in five years” not the badge of honour advisers think it is?In this episode, Warwick sits down with Romil Ghelani, Head of Financial Advice at the FMA, to break down what the regulator is seeing across the sector and how advisers can make compliance work for their business instead of gathering dust on a shelf. Romil pulls back the curtain on how FMA monitoring visits have moved from verification to bespoke, thematic reviews, why a 14-page complaints policy that nobody follows is a problem for a sole adviser, how conflicts of interest and changing trail and commission models are on the FMA’s radar, and why most firms still aren’t capturing complaints as much as they could. He also explains why the regime is deliberately principles-based, and what that flexibility means for the kitchen-table advice business.

How does someone go from the commercial team at BNZ to running a trans-Tasman finance business with licences on both sides of the ditch, after finding no one who could piece the two markets together?In this episode, Warwick sits down with Matthieu Olo-Whaanga, founder of Tasman Finance Partners, to break down what it really takes to run an advice business across New Zealand and Australia, and how the two lending markets compare. Matthieu pulls back the curtain on two compliance regimes and two sets of accreditations, why Australian commercial lending can go to 25 or 30 years where New Zealand tops out at 15, the stamp duty and foreign buyer surcharge that can add around $80,000 to a million-dollar purchase, and the “no gatekeeping” blueprint advice he picked up from his mentors. He also explains why Kiwis are slower to pay for advice, and why Australian investors keep looking at New Zealand property.

Why are 41% of Kiwis still sitting in a default fund, and what does that mean for the advisers who aren’t talking to them about it?In this episode, Warwick sits down with Dave Copson, Head of Growth at Booster, to break down why KiwiSaver belongs in your advice business and how to add it without overcomplicating things. Dave pulls back the curtain on the $300,000 to $400,000 gap a fund choice can make in retirement, the extra $20 a week that can change the outcome, the specialist and referral models more businesses are adopting, and the six-month check-in that turns a settled mortgage into a KiwiSaver conversation. He also admits he should have taken his own KiwiSaver seriously at $5,000, and didn’t.

How does someone go from doing admin at a mortgage brokerage to running the software business that now automates the same tasks he used to spend 40 minutes on?In this episode, Warwick sits down with Jacob Munoz, founder of Afterburner, to break down the buy versus build question every advice business is quietly asking, and where AI actually earns its place in the day-to-day.Jacob pulls back the curtain on the moment he almost automated himself out of a job at Float, his rule for only using AI where nothing else can do it, why Gen Z clients are quietly turning anti-AI, and the "no keyboard" advice business he thinks the whole industry is heading towards.

How do you go from a decade in the police to advising first home buyers on their mortgage in just four years?In this episode, Warwick sits down with Brad Whitfield from Discovery Financial Services to break down what a 10-year career in policing transferred straight into the advice business, and what he had to unlearn along the way.Brad pulls back the curtain on the interviewing framework he brought from the police to his client meetings, the pizza delivery moment that taught him everything about de-escalation, the emergency fund he tells every new adviser to build before making the jump, and why year two is when the referrals actually start rolling in.

How does a napkin-scrawled business plan at the pub become one of New Zealand's fastest-growing multi-product advice firms with IPO ambitions in just over four years?In this episode, Warwick sits down with Lucas Young, co-founder of Invicta, to break down the playbook behind scaling to 20+ staff across three cities and where he is planning to take the business next.Lucas pulls back the curtain on the 48-hour advice turnaround Invicta is chasing, why they hire ex-athletes and ex-real estate agents over experienced advisers, the LinkedIn discipline that turned into a recruitment pipeline, and the shareholder buy-in model built so managers cash out alongside the founders. He also talks about the move from Hong Kong to a Christchurch boarding school at 13 with no English, and the drive that has fuelled everything since.

How do you actually work out what an advice business is worth in a market where buyers are lining up but every firm gets valued completely differently?In this episode, Warwick sits down with Simon Rolland, CEO of Zurix, for his return to the KAN Podcast to break down what really moves the needle on an advice business valuation.Simon pulls back the curtain on the line between selling a book and selling a business, why the percentage of revenue tied to the principal adviser makes or breaks the multiple, how mortgage, KiwiSaver and insurance books each trade at very different numbers right now, and where the market is heading as retiring advisers with mature books meet younger advisers ready to buy.You can check out Zurix's website and business appraisal tool at zurix.co.nz. The tool is a lighter alternative to a full valuation and gives advisers a ballpark of where their business sits in today's market.

What does it take to bring a global insurance model into a market as small, tight and adviser-led as New Zealand's?In this episode, Warwick sits down with Len Elikhis, Chief Operating and Financial Officer of PPS New Zealand, to break down what the launch has actually involved and what it's taught him about how different our advice industry is from the rest of the world.Len pulls back the curtain on the mutual model that returns profits to members instead of shareholders, why NZ advisers still have the flexibility Australian advisers lost, the story behind severity-based trauma taking off here when it flopped across the Tasman, and where he sees retirement, income protection and health insurance heading as the worker-to-retiree ratio keeps shrinking.

How does someone in their mid-20s leave a corporate insurance role, start their own firm, and double the business every year to become a Broker of the Year winner?In this episode, Warwick sits down with Ethan Gerrard from Gerrards Insurance to break down exactly how he's built one of New Zealand's fastest-growing commercial insurance businesses.Ethan pulls back the curtain on the paid acquisition engine generating 25-30 leads a day, his unconventional approach to hiring (no Seek ads, ever) and the conviction behind "the best people don't need to be managed". He also discusses how staying out of life and health insurance turned into a referral pipeline most brokers would happily trade for.

How does a self-described introvert go from a bank employee with no clients to one of New Zealand’s top-tier, award-winning financial advisers in just five years?In this episode, Warwick sits down with Sanjeev Jangra from Loan Market Manukau to break down the exact blueprint that allowed him to scale his business rapidly. Sanjeev pulls back the curtain on the challenges of running an advice business and explains why many advisers hit a ceiling by trying to do it all themselves.