Financial advice can make a real difference to people’s financial wellbeing but not everyone in New Zealand is able to access it.

In this episode of 5 mins with the FMA, we talk with Romil Ghelani, Head of Financial Advice at the FMA, about the findings from the FMA’s Access to Financial Advice Review.

The review looks at:

• How many New Zealanders are accessing financial advice
• Why some groups are under‑represented
• What consumers think financial advice is — and what stops them from using it
• The role of technology and innovation, including AI
• Opportunities for the sector to improve access and outcomes

The review is based on research with 1,000 New Zealanders and extensive engagement with the financial advice industry. It forms the basis for the FMA’s ongoing conversations with industry about how we can collectively improve access to financial advice for New Zealanders.

Find the full reports and more information on our website: https://www.fma.govt.nz/library/reports-and-papers/access-to-financial-advice-in-new-zealand/

In this episode of Jess Learns to Invest, Jess sits down with Tom Hartmann, Personal Finance Lead at Sorted, to unpack one of the most important concepts in investing: portfolio diversification.

Together, they break down what a portfolio actually is, why diversification matters, and how spreading your investments across different assets, industries and regions can help manage risk over time. They also explore how diversification works inside managed funds and KiwiSaver, the difference between diversification and asset allocation, and why “set and forget” doesn’t mean “never check”.

In this episode, you’ll learn:
• What a portfolio is (and why it’s more than just one investment)
• What diversification really means and how it helps manage risk
• The difference between diversification and asset allocation
• How managed funds and KiwiSaver can help you diversify from day one
• Why rebalancing matters and how fund managers do it for you
• Common diversification mistakes and how to avoid them
• Why fees matter over the long term

🎧 Jess Learns to Invest is a podcast helping New Zealanders understand investing in a clear, practical way.

🔗 Find tools mentioned in this episode at sorted.org.nz

This podcast is general information only and is not financial advice.

Jess Learns to Invest is back for Season 2! In Episode 1, Jess is joined by Dr Pushpa Wood, Director at Massey University, to unpack investment psychology and explore how emotions and biases influence the way we make money decisions.

This episode covers loss aversion, anchoring, and herd behaviour along with practical, behaviour‑based strategies to keep investing aligned with your goals.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How emotional investing can impact money decisions
• The most common decision-making biases (and what they look like in real life)
• How to avoid FOMO investing

Important: This episode is for general information only and is not financial advice.

#JessLearnsToInvest #Investing #FinancialWellbeing #InvestmentPsychology #FOMO #BehaviouralFinance