Everything you want to know about Opes Partners (but were too scared to ask)

If you’re thinking about working with Opes Partners you are likely have many questions. Some of these include how we get paid and how our companies fit together.

As part of our licence we also legally need to let you know how we work.

So, here is everything you need to know about us (but were perhaps too scared to ask).

Are you allowed to give financial advice?

Yes. Our legal name is Opes Partners New Zealand Limited, but we often just call ourselves Opes Partners – that’s our “trading name”.

We are licensed to give financial advice. You can look us up using our financial service provider number, which is FSP740071.

We fall under the Financial Advice Provider (FAP) licence of Opes Group Holding Company Limited (FSP774012).

That’s what legally lets us give financial advice.

If you ever want to contact us, you can:

Call: 0800 676 737

Email: [email protected]

Write to: Level 2, 236 High Street, Christchurch 8011

What sort of financial advice do you give?

Our advisers give financial advice by designing you an investment plan.

We use our own software (My Wealth Plan) to create these plans.

As part of this, our advisers will look at your goals and your personal and financial situation.

Then they will see whether investing in property is a way you could achieve your goals. If property is not the right fit for you, we’ll let you know. That’s the right thing to do.

As part of this we may recommend that you invest in a property listed by Opes Licensee Services Limited. Their trading name is Opes Property and are one of our related companies.

So Opes Partners gives financial advice and Opes Property has properties you might invest in.

Our financial advisers at Opes Partners don’t provide financial advice on specific products like mortgages, or insurance.

But we do have other financial advisers at our related companies (like Opes Mortgages and Opes Insurance) that do provide this financial advice.

If you need help in these areas we may refer you to a financial adviser who can give you advice in that area.

Effectively, we have lots of financial advisers you can talk to. Each is a specialist in their own area. So we want you to talk to the right adviser based on what you need. That way you’ll get better advice.

How much does it cost to work with you?

We don’t charge you a fee to use our Wealth Plan Programme. Our investment planning service comes at no cost to you.

Instead, Opes Property gets paid by the developer if you decide to invest in a property we recommend. Opes Partners then gets paid a marketing fee. Though, if you choose to invest in a property we recommend there are some costs.

You’ll pay the developer for the property. You'll also have to pay legal fees and other regular costs that come with buying a property.

How do you handle conflicts of interest?

There are two main conflicts of interest you need to know about. The first is how we are paid. The second is about our related companies.

Commissions

If you decide to invest in a property we recommend, we receive a commission.

Opes Licensee Services Limited T/a Opes Property charges the developer of your property an agency fee. Then we charge Opes Property.

We mostly get the same flat-rate commission (marketing fee) no matter what property you choose.

This is regardless of what property developer you choose or the value of any property you invest in.

Whether you decide to invest in a $400k or a $800k property, we usually get paid the same marketing fee.

That way you know that we’re not recommending you a more expensive property just to get paid more money.

Occasionally we may negotiate a lower commission than our usual flat rate, and we will tell you if we do.

When we recommend a property to you, you’ll get a disclosure statement with the exact fee we’ll earn if you own the property.

That way any conflicts of interest are out in the open.

Our advisers are also paid a salary. They then receive a flat rate commission if you buy a property based on their investment recommendation.

Paying them a salary means they’re less incentivised to “sell a property at all costs”. That’s not the kind of the incentive we want to create.

We want to do the best by you.

Again, we’ll tell you the exact commission both we and the financial adviser earn once we know which properties might suit your needs.

Of course, you can always work with us, and then decide not to buy any property we recommend.

If you want to learn more, Ed (our economist) talks more about it in this video:

Related companies

As well our property advice business, our shareholder (Opes Group Holding Company Limited) also owns shares in the following property-related businesses:

• Two property management businesses: 1) Opes Property Management South Limited. 2) Opes Property Management North Limited.
• A real estate business: Opes Licensee Services Limited T/a Opes Property.
• A mortgage and insurance business: Opes Mortgages Limited.
• A property coaching business for first home buyers: Opes First Home Limited.
• Investment magazines: Informed Investor and the NZ Property Investor (Opes Media Limited).
• A property accountancy business (Opes Accounting Limited).

It sure is a lot of companies! We’ve put together this group to give you a one-stop shop. That way you can get all the property services you need in one place.

So, if you choose to work with Opes Partners we may refer you to these companies.

After all, when you buy investment property you need a few other services too.

Apart from the marketing fee mentioned above, Opes Partners doesn’t receive any referral fee or commission from our related companies.

So, if we refer you to Opes Mortgages or Opes Property Management, they don’t pay us for that referral.

Of course, if you choose not to use these companies, that’s OK too. It’s your choice.

Non-monetary benefits from other product providers

Some developers may provide our company and advisers with certain non-monetary benefits that support our business.

These benefits are usually small. It might include bottles of wine during Christmas, tickets to sponsored events, or the occasional meal.

We’re careful not to let this sway our investment recommendations. At the end of the day, we’re here for you.

But it’s important to mention this, just so you know. We’d rather have everything out in the open. That way you have the information to make the right decision for you.

How do we manage conflicts of interest?

We want to make sure our advisers put your interests first. That’s why:

• We follow an advice process to make sure our recommendations are appropriate for your goals and financial situation.
• Most of our meetings are online and recorded. A selection are then reviewed by management to make sure our advisers are doing right by you.
• All our advisers undergo annual training on how to manage conflicts of interest.
• We maintain registers of conflicts of interest and the gifts and incentives we receive. These registers are monitored regularly, and additional training is provided as required.
• If you do decide to act on our recommendations, we receive a flat rate commission that is not based on the value of the property or developer you choose.
• We undertake an annual independent Compliance Assurance Review.

How do I make a complaint?

Feedback is important to us. So if you have a complaint, we want to hear about it. Please tell us as soon as possible.

You can either:

Call: 0800 676 737

Email: [email protected]

Write to: Level 2, 236 High Street, Christchurch 8011

What happens when I make a complaint?

Here’s what happens when you make a complaint.

We will consider your complaint and let you know how we intend to resolve it.

Where possible, we try to resolve your complaint immediately.

If we can’t resolve your complaint immediately, we will acknowledge your complaint within 2 business days. We may contact you to get further information.

We aim to resolve complaints within 10 working days of receiving them. If we need more time to investigate, we will let you know when you can expect to receive a response.

We will contact you by phone, email or letter to let you know whether we can resolve your complaint and what we propose to do.

If we cannot agree on how to fix the issue, you can contact our external dispute resolution scheme, Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL).

This is an independent company that helps resolve issues between clients and financial advisers. FSCL provides a free and independent dispute resolution service that may help to resolve your complaint.

To contact FSCL:

Call: 0800 347 257

Email: [email protected]

Visit: www.fscl.org.nz

What we legally need to do

Opes Partners and our advisers have duties under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 relating to the way we give advice.

We are required to:

• Give priority to your interests
• Exercise care, diligence, and skill
• Meet standards of competence, knowledge and skill. This is set by the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services
• Meet standards of ethical behaviour, conduct and client care. This is set by the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services.