'Low-ball' offers for shares have pushed the government to move the Retirement Commissioner and office into the Commerce portfolio in a bid to improve financial literacy for "mum and dad" investors.
'Low-ball' offers for shares have pushed the government to move the Retirement Commissioner and office into the Commerce portfolio in a bid to improve financial literacy for "mum and dad" investors.
Commerce Minister Simon Power announced the move - effective from July 1 - last night at a speech to the Institute of Finance Professionals NZ awards dinner in Auckland.
He said the prevalence of ‘low-ball', or unsolicited offers in recent months showed that financial literacy is an area the Government should focus on.
"The work on financial literacy complements our work to improve the quality and consistency of information received by investors as part of the regulatory reform programme. With that in mind, Cabinet has decided that the functions and objectives of the Retirement Commissioner align better with the Commerce portfolio than with Social Development," he said, adding he would be working with the public and private sectors in the next few months to identify further steps to enhance investor literacy.
He noted that no matter how much the Government improves financial literacy or changes regulation, it cannot remove all risk from investment decisions, and nor does it intend to try.
"However, the Government is determined to provide the regulatory settings that produce the best choices and outcomes for investors and issuers, and an environment that encourages capital markets and growth," Mr Power.
