NZX Adviser study guide
NZX Adviser · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The NZX Adviser Examination is a knowledge assessment for professionals seeking to become accredited advisers under the New Zealand exchange's adviser accreditation regime. It is typically taken by people who advise retail clients on equities, debt securities, managed funds, ETFs, and derivatives, or who wish to move into those roles. The NZX Adviser study guide has 8 sections and about 2,963 words.
01Regulatory framework and market conduct
This domain tests whether you can place any piece of advice inside the New Zealand licensing architecture - who may give advice, under whose licence, subject to which rules - and whether you can spot conduct that is prohibited in the market itself. The Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (FMC Act) is the backbone statute.
407 words, about 2 min02Client onboarding, suitability and disclosure
Onboarding is where the exam tests the link between what you know about a client and what you are allowed to recommend. Expect questions on information gathering, suitability, the content and timing of disclosure, record keeping, and anti-money-laundering obligations.
353 words, about 2 min03Equities and the NZX cash market
This domain covers how cash equities trade in New Zealand: the market structure, order and settlement mechanics, corporate actions, and the disclosure and takeover rules that surround listed companies. NZX operates the Main Board for equities and the Debt Market, alongside a derivatives market.
367 words, about 2 min04Debt securities and fixed income
Fixed income questions test whether you can translate a bond's terms into risk and return for a client: what is promised, by whom, for how long, and what happens to the price when rates or credit quality move. A bond promises a coupon (fixed, floating or zero) and repayment of face value at maturity.
376 words, about 2 min05Managed funds, ETFs and portfolio construction
This domain asks whether you can choose and combine collective investments sensibly: how they are regulated, what they cost, how ETFs differ from unlisted funds, and how asset allocation drives client outcomes. Managed investment schemes are Part 4 FMC Act products.
366 words, about 2 min06Derivatives and risk management
Derivatives questions test whether you understand what a derivative actually does - transfer risk at a price - and whether you can tell a hedge from speculation and explain both to a retail client without overselling. Forwards and futures lock in a price for future delivery; futures are standardised, exchange-traded and cleared, forwards are bespoke and carry counterparty exposure.
359 words, about 2 min07Taxation and retirement planning
This domain tests the New Zealand tax settings that shape advice and the retirement framework clients are saving into - where there is no broad capital gains tax, but there are accrual regimes that catch the unwary. Personal marginal rates step up to 39% above $180,000.
391 words, about 2 min08Ethics and professional standards
Ethics questions are behavioural: they describe a realistic pressure and ask what a competent, honest adviser does. The exam expects you to reason from the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services rather than from personal instinct.
344 words, about 2 min