What we do
Velocity provides holistic financial advice to individuals, businesses, and not for profit organisations. We help clients meet their needs today while staying focused on long term goals, whether that’s securing a home, protecting a business, or supporting meaningful community initiatives. We work alongside our clients over time to build confidence, resilience, and sustainable wealth, creating positive impact for the communities we serve.
Areas of financial advice provided
Velocity Financial Ltd only provides personalised financial advice in the following areas:
- Mortgage and property investment advice
- Personal insurance products*
- Tailored business planning for business owners, including cashflow modelling, debt management, asset and liability protection, succession planning, and protection strategies such as share purchase/succession policies, debt and guarantee cover, business overheads protection, and key person or locum plans.
- KiwiSaver advice
- Investment and wealth management for individuals, businesses and not for profit business organisations and trusts
- Employee Benefits Programs; KiwiSaver and group insurance products provided through employers to staff.
- Cash flow modeling and full financial planning, including retirement planning.
*They include personal insurance products like life, trauma, permanent disability, income protection and health insurance, and do NOT include general insurance product lines (e.g. house, contents, car, liability protection). The Velocity Financial associated company Caveo provides specialist General Insurance advice.
Product providers we work with
Velocity Financial provides financial advice across mortgages, personal insurance, KiwiSaver, and investments. We work with a range of product providers, which are listed below.
Mortgages: ANZ, ASAP Finance, ASB, Avanti, Basecorp, BNZ, Cressida Capital, DBR Property Financiers, Go Home Loans, Kiwibank, Liberty, Pepper Money, Prospa, SBS Bank, The Co-operative Bank, Unity, Westpac.
Personal Insurance: AIA, Asteron Life, Booster, Chubb, Fidelity Life, nib, Partners Life, Resolution Life, Southern Cross, UniMed.
KiwiSaver: Booster, Evidential, Generate, Milford.
Investment: Booster, Consilium, Generate, Milford, Select Wealth Management.
Important information about our advice
How we select providers
We do not work with every provider in the market. Our advisers recommend products from the providers listed above based on your individual circumstances, goals, and needs, and the availability of suitable products within our approved provider panel.
Limits on our advice
Because we only provide advice on products from the providers listed, our advice is limited to those providers. This means there may be products available elsewhere in the market that we do not recommend or advise on.
Access to providers
Not all advisers at Velocity Financial can access all of the providers listed. Your adviser will explain which providers they work with and why a particular provider or product is being recommended to you.
Your best interests
Our advisers are required to give advice that prioritises your interests. Recommendations are made after considering your financial situation, objectives, and needs, and we will explain the reasons for our advice.
Costs of advice
Investment fees
Some investment providers pay commissions, and some may have fees which are based on the value of your funds under management; these are usually up to 1% (+GST if applicable). The provider deducts adviser fees from your funds monthly. Specific costs will be confirmed and agreed before any product is put in place.
Charges
If the product you choose (Mortgage or Insurance) is discontinued within 27 months, a percentage of our commission will be charged to us to pay back; this is called a “claw back”. If this occurs, we reserve the right to retrospectively compensate ourselves for the time we have spent. Our hourly rate is $300 (+GST)/hour, and any cost incurred to the client will be limited to the smaller of the two options, the cost of the claw back or $3000 (+GST).
Investment, business and financial planning fees
Fees for investment, business, and financial planning services will be outlined and agreed upon before any work is undertaken. Ongoing mentoring or support options can also be arranged as part of the agreed proposal.
Commissions
The gross amount of commission payable to Velocity Financial Ltd on any recommendation will be disclosed prior to implementation of any product or plan.
As a general indicator of the range of commissions which may be paid, Velocity Financial Ltd receives standard commission terms from all lenders, insurers and KiwiSaver providers we work with (there are no preferential terms over and above any other adviser in the market), which are:
- Mortgages, up to 0.85% of the loan amount and up to 0.20% of the loan balance as an ongoing commission.
- Personal Insurance products, up to 230% of the first year's premium paid by a client, with an ongoing commission up to 20% of the annual premium.
- Group Insurance products, typically up to 20% of the annual premium, continuing annually.
- KiwiSaver, up to 0.5% of the annual balance as a commission.
- Westpac, up to 0.90% of the annual balance as a commission.
We are almost always able to provide our service to you without charging as our product suppliers provide us with a commission when we use their products. This commission may be an upfront commission, an ongoing “renewal”, or a combination of both. The commission is not added to the cost of your mortgage or insurance; however, please note: non-bank loan providers will charge a fee, and our “brokerage” may be included in this fee.
In a small number of situations, we may charge a fee; any remuneration arrangements will be negotiated directly with every potential client before any engagement with that client is agreed to. We may charge fees AND commissions depending upon the scope of the engagement agreed to by a client.
Compliance
Disciplinary history you should be aware of
None. There have been no professional indemnity insurance or negligence claims, dispute resolution actions, or disciplinary actions. Ever. We take all complaints seriously and we also take all clients’ suggestions seriously too. If you think there are areas for improvement in our business, we would value hearing them. Feedback is welcomed.
Conflicts of interest
We have no financial interest in any mortgage lender, insurance, KiwiSaver or Investment company or any other general conflicts of interest in forming a professional opinion or delivering financial advice.
There are no material conflicts of interest to disclose in the form of incentives. We will accept an occasional glass of wine or cup of coffee from an insurance, mortgage, KiwiSaver or investment company representative. We attend suppliers' training sessions that can include a meal. On very rare occasions we are invited to supplier hosted events, such as sporting events.
Should any actual or potential conflict of interest arise during any engagement with a client, we will bring that to your attention promptly and then seek to manage or avoid the conflict. If management or avoidance of a conflict to your satisfaction is not possible, then we will resign from the engagement with you and professionally assist with the appointment of a replacement and more suitable adviser.
Caveo is an associated company wholly owned by the Principals of Velocity Financial Ltd. Although it operates independently and offers specialist advice in its own capacity, any profitability generated by Caveo ultimately benefits the Principals of Velocity Financial Ltd.
The Kaitiaki Foundation is a philanthropic initiative funded by Velocity Financial Ltd. Although it operates independently and does not provide financial advice, it may introduce charities or community organisations to Velocity Financial Ltd for licensed financial advice. Any organisation introduced is under no obligation to engage Velocity Financial Ltd, and alternative advisers may be used. Where an organisation chooses to engage Velocity Financial Ltd, standard advice fees or commissions may apply.
Your privacy
When working with you, we collect personal information in order to provide personalised financial advice and related services, and to meet our legal and regulatory obligations. This information may include details about your identity, personal circumstances, health (for insurance advice), financial situation, goals, and the instructions you give us.
We may collect personal information directly from you and from third parties where necessary to provide our services or meet our obligations. This may include insurers, KiwiSaver and investment providers, lenders, credit reporting agencies, referrers, other advisers, and service providers who support our business.
We collect and use this information for purposes that include:
- assessing your needs and financial situation
- providing financial advice and recommendations
- arranging and managing financial products on your behalf
- meeting our legal, regulatory, and compliance obligations.
In accordance with the Privacy Act 2020, you have the right to request access to, and correction of, any personal information we hold about you. If you request a copy of your information, we will provide this to you. We retain records for legal and compliance purposes.
If we obtain private or confidential personal information about you from a third party (rather than directly from you), we will notify you as soon as reasonably practicable. This notification will explain what information was collected, who it was collected from, the purpose for which it was collected, who the information may be shared with, and your privacy rights and how to contact us.
Personal information is stored securely at our premises and within secure electronic systems. Access is restricted to Velocity Financial Ltd staff who are directly involved in providing services to you.
In addition to our staff, your personal information may be shared where required or authorised by law, or for the purpose of providing advice in accordance with your instructions or our agreed Scope of Service. This may include insurers and other product providers, market regulators and statutory authorities, and professional compliance, audit, technology, and administration service providers who support our regulatory obligations.
If you have a complaint about how we handle your personal information, you can utilise the Velocity Financial Complaints process. You may also contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, PO Box 10 094, The Terrace, Wellington 6143, phone 0800 803 909 or email enquiries@privacy.org.nz.
Complaints with Velocity Financial’s service
If you are dissatisfied in any way with Velocity Financial’s service we want to know about it. We always want to get it right for you.
We have a formal internal complaint handling process and will try to reach a satisfactory resolution with you as soon as possible.
You can make your complaint verbally, by email or letter. We will acknowledge your complaint within 2 working days and will try to resolve your complaint within 10 working days. We may need to ask you further information, or agree on an extension, if the issue is complex or there are issues outside our control.
To make a complaint, please contact us by calling 0800 448 879, emailing hello@velocityfinancial.co.nz, or writing to PO Box 6685, Marion Square, Wellington.
If we cannot agree on a resolution regarding our financial services, you can contact our independent external dispute resolution scheme, Financial Dispute Resolution Service.
The Financial Dispute Resolution Service is an external financial dispute resolution scheme approved by the Minister of Consumer Affairs under the Financial Service Provider (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008. The scheme can be contacted at www.fdrs.org.nz or 0508 337 337.
They will investigate your complaint and work to facilitate an agreed resolution. If this is not possible the Scheme may make a formal decision which is binding on Velocity Financial Ltd, but not unless you accept the decision. The process is free to you and the Scheme will assist you lodging your complaint.
Duties
Velocity Financial, and anyone who gives financial advice on our behalf, have duties under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 relating to the way that we give advice. We are required to:
- Give priority to your interests by taking all reasonable steps to ensure our advice isn't influenced by our own interests.
- Exercise care, diligence, and skill in providing you with advice.
- Meet standards of competence, knowledge and skills set by the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services (these are designed to ensure we have the expertise needed to provide you with advice).
- Meet standards of ethical behaviour, conduct and client care set by the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services (these are designed to make sure we treat you as we should, and give you suitable advice).
This is only a summary of the duties that we have. More information is available by contacting us, or by visiting the Financial Markets Authority website.
Financial Advice Provider
Velocity Financial Ltd
FSP95466
Class 2 Licence issued by the Financial Markets Authority on 13 April 2022
38 Vivian Street, Wellington
PO Box 6685, Marion Square, Wellington
Phone: 0800 448 879
Email: hello@velocityfinancial.co.nz