Statement of Intent 2006 - 2009

Who we are and what we do

Our authority - role, functions and powers

The Securities Commission is New Zealand's main regulator of investments. The Commission is established under the Securities Act 1978 which determines its powers and functions. The Commission is an independent crown entity in terms of the Crown Entities Act 2004.

For details of other legislation the Commission works with see http://www.seccom.govt.nz/about/laws.shtml.

For a summary of the Commission's powers and functions see http://www.seccom.govt.nz/about/#5.

Vision and purpose

The Commission's vision is that investors can have confidence in New Zealand's securities markets so that the markets increasingly attract investment from New Zealand and overseas.

Our purpose is to strengthen investor confidence and foster capital investment in New Zealand by promoting the efficiency, integrity and cost-effective regulation of our securities markets.

The Commission's work contributes to robust and vibrant capital markets in which investors, both domestic and overseas, can have confidence. This in turn is important for New Zealand's sustainable economic development.

Outcomes

The outcomes we seek in our key result areas are:

• Enforcement - that bad market practice is seen to be unacceptable and the law is complied with, thereby contributing to the integrity of New Zealand's securities markets;
• Monitoring and market oversight - that the integrity of, and confidence in, the markets are improved;
• Exemptions and authorisations - that the regulatory environment is relevant and effective;
• Law reform - that the securities law regime is tailored to the needs of the markets;
• International - that New Zealand's markets and regulatory environment are respected internationally, creating a climate for increased investment and good relationships with overseas regulators;
• Public understanding - that public understanding of the law and practice of securities and the Commission's presence in the markets is increased.

The outputs chosen by the Commission to help achieve these outcomes are described in Part 2 of this statement of intent, under the statement of forecast service performance.

Ethics

The Commission promotes high ethical standards in New Zealand's securities markets. If the Commission is to succeed in this, and thereby strengthen confidence in the integrity of the New Zealand capital markets, it is essential that people have confidence in the integrity of the Commission itself.

The Commission has adopted a code of ethical standards and behaviour that it expects of its Members and staff. The code of ethics is published at http://www.seccom.govt.nz/about/code-of-ethics.shtml.

Commission Members

The Securities Commission has not less than 5 or more than 10 Members appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Minister of Commerce. Members hold office for a term not more than five years, but may be reappointed.

One member must be a barrister or solicitor of not less than seven years' practice. Members are chosen for their knowledge of, or experience in, industry, commerce, economics, law, accountancy, public administration or securities.

Currently there is a full complement of Members. The Chairman, Jane Diplock, works full time. The other nine Members are part time, attending one full Commission meeting per month and taking part in meetings of divisions (which have the full powers of the Commission) as required to handle the business of the Commission.

For names and profiles of current Commission Members see http://www.seccom.govt.nz/about/index.shtml.

Staff

The Commission currently has 39 staff. They include 15 lawyers, four accountants, a general manager, two investigators, two communications staff, two international officers, two library and information staff and 11 support staff. Five work full time for the Takeovers Panel, and several staff work part time for the Panel.

We work in a flexible structure which enables us to form cross-disciplinary teams to address particular matters.

In broad terms we divide our work into categories relating to the primary markets (i.e. the offers of new securities made to the public) and secondary markets (i.e. the trading of securities). We also give priority to processing applications for exemptions from securities law and authorisations under securities law.

Our stakeholders

The Minister of Commerce is the responsible minister, and the Ministry of Economic Development is the monitoring department in relation to the Commission. The Commission acts independently of government and others except as required by the Securities Act 1978 or the Crown Entities Act 2004. There are no matters on which the Commission is required to consult or notify the responsible minister before exercising its statutory functions and powers. However, we work with the minister and ministry as described in paragraph 3.6.

The Commission's other stakeholders include:

• investors;
• securities markets participants (i.e. issuers of securities, brokers, futures dealers, market analysts, stock and futures exchanges, investment advisers, financial intermediaries, debt security trustees and statutory supervisors of participatory securities);
• advisers to market participants (lawyers, accountants and auditors);
• other New Zealand regulators and enforcement agencies (i.e. the Companies Office, Takeovers Panel, Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Serious Fraud Office, Commerce Commission, New Zealand Police);
• overseas regulators;
• employees;
• Parliamentary Counsel Office;
• the general public;
• the news media;
• suppliers of goods and services.

Our policy on stakeholders is published at www.seccom.govt.nz/about/stakeholder-policy.shtml