Financial Markets Conduct (Restricted Schemes—Custodian Assurance Engagement) Exemption Notice 2024
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Version as at 12 June 2025
Financial Markets Conduct (Restricted Schemes—Custodian Assurance Engagement) Exemption Notice 2024
(SL 2024/168)
Note
The Parliamentary Counsel Office has made editorial and format changes to this version using the powers under subpart 2 of Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019.
Note 4 at the end of this version provides a list of the amendments included in it.
This notice is administered by the Financial Markets Authority.
This exemption is granted by the Financial Markets Authority under section 556 of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 after being satisfied of the matters set out in section 557 of that Act.
Contents
Notice
1 Title
This notice is the Financial Markets Conduct (Restricted Schemes—Custodian Assurance Engagement) Exemption Notice 2024.
2 Commencement
This notice comes into force on 30 September 2024.
3 Revocation
This notice is revoked on the close of 30 November 2025.
Clause 3: amended, on 12 June 2025, by clause 4 of the Financial Markets Conduct (Revocation of Exemptions) Notice 2025 (SL 2025/130).
4 Interpretation
(1)
In this notice, unless the context otherwise requires,—
Act means the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013
administration period, in relation to a restricted scheme, means a relevant period, or a part of a relevant period, for which—
(a)
all administration of the scheme with respect to holding scheme property is contracted to an administration manager under section 146 of the Act; and
(b)
all keeping of scheme property records under section 158(1) of the Act is also contracted to that administration manager
eligible scheme has the meaning set out in subclause (2)
Regulations means the Financial Markets Conduct Regulations 2014
relevant date has the same meaning as in regulation 87(4) of the Regulations
relevant period has the same meaning as in regulation 88(4) of the Regulations
scheme bank account, in relation to an eligible scheme, means a bank account of the scheme other than an investment account
standard asset means—
(a)
a call debt security issued by a registered bank; or
(b)
a term deposit held at a registered bank; or
(c)
an interest in a registered scheme; or
(d)
an interest in a registered scheme within the meaning of section 9 of the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth of Australia; or
(e)
an interest in a wholesale managed investment scheme the custodian of which—
(i)
is resident or incorporated in, or established under the laws of, New Zealand or Australia; and
(ii)
has a place of business in New Zealand or Australia; or
(f)
a New Zealand Government bond; or
(g)
an interest in a UCITS fund
UCITS fund means an investment fund—
(a)
established in a member state of the European Union or another member state of the European Economic Area; and
(b)
authorised in that state under legislation implementing Directive 2009/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union
wholesale managed investment scheme means a managed investment scheme in which interests are offered to wholesale investors only.
(2)
In this notice, a restricted scheme is an eligible scheme if—
(a)
all of the scheme property is held directly by a single custodian that is a body corporate and that either—
(i)
is a trustee of the scheme; or
(ii)
has, as its directors, only persons who are trustees of the scheme; and
(b)
all administration of the scheme with respect to holding scheme property is contracted to a single administration manager under section 146 of the Act; and
(c)
all keeping of scheme property records under section 158(1) of the Act is also contracted to that administration manager; and
(d)
the administration manager—
(i)
is resident or incorporated in, or established under the laws of, New Zealand; and
(ii)
has a place of business in New Zealand; and
(e)
no more than 5% of the scheme property, as valued in accordance with generally accepted accounting practice, consists of investments other than direct investments in standard assets.
(3)
Any term or expression that is defined in the Act or the Regulations and used, but not defined, in this notice has the same meaning as in the Act or the Regulations.
5 Exemption from assurance engagement requirement
A custodian of a restricted scheme is exempted from regulation 87(1) to (2) of the Regulations in relation to the scheme for a relevant period if—
(a)
the period ended—
(i)
on or after 30 September 2024; and
(ii)
before 12 June 2025; and
(b)
the restricted scheme was an eligible scheme throughout the period.
Clause 5(a)(ii): amended, on 12 June 2025, by clause 5 of the Financial Markets Conduct (Revocation of Exemptions) Notice 2025 (SL 2025/130).
6 Condition that administration manager provided reports, obtains assurance engagement, and prepares certificate
The exemption in clause 5 is subject to the condition that, for each administration period within the relevant period,—
(a)
the administration manager who administered the eligible scheme with respect to holding scheme property provided the custodian with quarterly or more frequent reports (together covering the whole of the administration period) on—
(i)
scheme contributions, withdrawals, and other transactions during the administration period; and
(ii)
changes made to scheme records during the administration period; and
(b)
(c)
copies of the assurance report and certificate are provided to the custodian within 4 months of the relevant date; and
(d)
within 20 working days after the custodian receives the copies,—
(i)
the custodian advises the FMA in writing that the custodian is relying on the report and certificate in connection with the exemption in clause 5; and
(ii)
copies of the report and certificate are provided to the FMA, and to the manager of the scheme if different from the custodian.
7 Administration manager’s assurance engagement
An assurance engagement referred to in clause 6(b)(i) must—
(a)
be with a qualified auditor; and
(b)
be done in accordance with applicable auditing and assurance standards; and
(c)
expressly cover the administration period and the scheme property; and
(d)
determine whether, in the auditor’s opinion, there is reasonable assurance that throughout the administration period the administration manager’s processes, procedures, and controls—
(i)
were suitably designed to meet the objectives in regulation 88(3) of the Regulations; and
(ii)
operated effectively.
8 Administration manager’s certificate
(1)
A certificate referred to in clause 6(b)(ii) must specify the dates of the administration period and certify that throughout that period—
(a)
all administration of the scheme with respect to holding scheme property, in addition to all keeping of scheme property records under section 158(1) of the Act, was contracted to the administration manager; and
(b)
all contributions made to the scheme were paid into, and all benefits paid from the scheme were paid from, a scheme bank account; and
(c)
no one other than the administration manager—
(i)
was authorised by the custodian to operate a scheme bank account; or
(ii)
operated a scheme bank account; and
(d)
the scheme property was invested in compliance with clause 4(2)(e).
(2)
The certificate must also certify that the administration manager provided the custodian with the reports referred to in clause 6(a).
(3)
The certificate must be in writing and addressed to the FMA.
9 Condition regarding previous assurance reports
(1)
The exemption in clause 5 is subject to the condition that—
(a)
no previous assurance report in relation to the restricted scheme was qualified; or
(b)
if a previous assurance report obtained by an administration manager in relation to the scheme was qualified,—
(i)
the FMA was notified in writing of the steps taken by the administration manager to resolve the reasons for the qualification, and the auditor who prepared the report confirmed in writing to the FMA that those steps were satisfactory; or
(ii)
the custodian complied with regulation 87(1) to (2) of the Regulations in relation to the scheme for a subsequent relevant period.
(2)
In this clause,—
(a)
previous assurance report means an assurance report referred to in clause 6(c) of this notice or clause 6(c) of the Financial Markets Conduct (Restricted Schemes—Custodian Assurance Engagement) Exemption Notice 2020 (the 2020 notice) that—
(i)
relates to a previous administration period; and
(b)
an assurance report is qualified if it does not state that, in the opinion of the auditor who prepared it, there is reasonable assurance as mentioned in clause 7(d) of this notice or clause 7(d) of the 2020 notice.
Dated at Wellington this 15th day of August 2024.
Liam Mason,
General Counsel,
Financial Markets Authority.
Statement of reasons
Note: The following statement of reasons should be read in conjunction with the statement(s) of reasons appended to the:
This notice comes into force on 30 September 2024 and is revoked on 29 September 2029. It will replace, on substantially the same terms, the Financial Markets Conduct (Restricted Schemes—Custodian Assurance Engagement) Exemption Notice 2020, which is revoked on the close of 30 March 2025.
The notice exempts certain custodians of eligible restricted schemes from the requirement in regulation 87 of the Financial Markets Conduct Regulations 2014 (the Regulations) to obtain an assurance engagement from an auditor that covers the assurance engagement matters specified in regulation 88 of the Regulations.
A scheme is an eligible scheme for the exemption if, during the relevant period,—
its custodian is a body corporate that directly holds all of the scheme property; and
the custodian or all of the custodian’s directors are trustees of the scheme; and
all administration of the scheme with respect to the holding of scheme property, in addition to all keeping of scheme property records under section 158(1) of the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 (the Act), is contracted to a single, New Zealand-based administration manager at any given time; and
no more than 5% of the scheme property consists of investments falling outside particular New Zealand, Australian, and European asset classes.
In order for the custodian to benefit from the exemption, each administration manager with respect to the holding of scheme property during the relevant period must—
provide the custodian with regular reports; and
obtain an assurance engagement from an auditor that covers certain matters similar to those specified in regulation 88 of the Regulations; and
prepare a certificate confirming various details regarding the administration manager’s role, the scheme’s bank accounts, and the investment of scheme property.
The assurance report and certificate must be provided to the custodian and copies must be forwarded to the Financial Markets Authority (the FMA), and to the scheme manager if different from the custodian.
If the assurance report is qualified, the custodian will not be able to rely on the exemption for the scheme again until certain steps have been taken to resolve the reasons for the qualification or the custodian has complied with regulation 87 of the Regulations for a subsequent period.
The FMA, after satisfying itself as to the matters set out in section 557 of the Act, considers it appropriate to grant the exemption because—
all restricted scheme custodians are required under the Act and the Regulations to obtain custodian assurance engagements; and
where the performance of all administration functions and relevant record-keeping functions with respect to the holding of scheme property is contracted to an administration manager, the custodian assurance engagement is in practice largely comprised of the assurance engagement obtained by the administration manager that assesses functions performed by the administration manager; and
in that case, the information contained in the administration manager’s assurance engagement report about the controls in place to protect scheme property, accompanied by the certificate required by the exemption, is sufficient to provide reasonable assurance regarding custody of the scheme’s property, and so the benefits of requiring the custodian to obtain a custodian assurance engagement are outweighed by the costs; and
the exemption is conditional on a copy of the administration manager’s assurance engagement report and certificate being given to the FMA; and
as such, the FMA is satisfied that the granting of the exemption is desirable in order to promote the purposes of the Act. Specifically, it will ensure that appropriate governance arrangements apply to financial products that allow for effective monitoring and reduce governance risks, while avoiding unnecessary compliance costs; and
given that the exemption is only available in relation to a class of restricted schemes for which the benefits of obtaining a custodian assurance engagement are outweighed by its costs, the FMA is satisfied that the exemption is not broader than is reasonably necessary to address the matters that gave rise to it.
Note: The preceding statement of reasons should be read in conjunction with the statement(s) of reasons appended to the:
Date of notification in Gazette: 21 August 2024.
Notes
1 General
This is a consolidation of the Financial Markets Conduct (Restricted Schemes—Custodian Assurance Engagement) Exemption Notice 2024 that incorporates the amendments made to the legislation so that it shows the law as at its stated date.
2 Legal status
A consolidation is taken to correctly state, as at its stated date, the law enacted or made by the legislation consolidated and by the amendments. This presumption applies unless the contrary is shown.
Section 78 of the Legislation Act 2019 provides that this consolidation, published as an electronic version, is an official version. A printed version of legislation that is produced directly from this official electronic version is also an official version.
3 Editorial and format changes
The Parliamentary Counsel Office makes editorial and format changes to consolidations using the powers under subpart 2 of Part 3 of the Legislation Act 2019. See also PCO editorial conventions for consolidations.
Amendments not yet incorporated
The most recent version of this secondary legislation does not yet have amendments incorporated from: