Important information about our financial advice services

1. Who we are

Cass Advice Limited is a licensed Financial Advice Provider regulated by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA). We operate the Ask Cassie service.

Contact: hello@askcassie.co.nz

FSP Number: FSP1011194 · Company Number: 9429053215376

Your adviser: Rhiannon McKinnon (FSP1012222)
Qualifications: CFA Charterholder, NZ Certificate in Financial Services Level 5 (Investment)

2. How our advice is provided

Ask Cassie is a digital advice service. Your advice is generated by our advice system from the information you give us, using the methodology and rules Rhiannon McKinnon has set as our responsible financial adviser. She is accountable for the advice you receive.

Nobody reviews your individual report before it reaches you. If you would like to talk your advice through with a person, you can book a session with an adviser.

Rhiannon McKinnon sets and signs off the methodology behind every recommendation, and the rules it follows are documented and reviewed. She reviews a sample of reports regularly to check the system is doing what it should.

3. What we advise on – and what we don't

We provide regulated financial advice on:

• Which KiwiSaver fund type suits your circumstances, including when your current fund is already right
• Your contribution options – what different rates or amounts would mean for your projections, shown as comparisons rather than a specific recommendation
• Securing the annual government contribution
• When to move your deposit money to a lower-risk fund setting, if you're saving for a first home

We do not advise on:

• Which KiwiSaver provider to use, or products outside our Approved Product List
• Investments outside KiwiSaver
• Insurance, lending, or tax structuring
• Recommendations that depend on interest-rate or market timing
• Debt management, individual shares, legal matters, or property investment

Each report sets out the scope of that particular piece of advice. Acting on our recommendations is your decision.

4. Our fees

Our fees are fixed and published before you buy. You will always see the price before you pay, and there are no other charges from us.

Our free KiwiSaver assessment costs nothing and is not regulated financial advice.

We charge fees for service only. We receive no commissions, referral payments, or incentives from product providers. You may incur fees from product providers (fund managers, platforms) when you act on our advice; these are not paid to us.

5. Our duties to you

We must:

• Put your interests first when providing advice
• Provide suitable advice based on your circumstances and objectives
• Exercise care, diligence, and skill in our recommendations
• Ensure you understand the advice and its limitations
• Meet standards of competence and ethical behaviour under the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services

6. Conflicts of interest

Ask Cassie is fee-only and independent. We receive no commissions, referral fees or other payments from product providers, and we don't manage your money.

Rhiannon McKinnon, who founded Ask Cassie, is a director of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and of The Curve Investments. Neither role gives us any incentive to recommend a particular product or provider, and she will never use confidential information from those roles in our advice. Because the Reserve Bank regulates banks, we've chosen not to recommend a bank's KiwiSaver scheme – a limitation we've set to manage that conflict, not a judgement about those schemes. We've drawn this line across all bank-owned schemes rather than case by case, because a clear rule is easier to apply consistently than a judgement made scheme by scheme.

The Approved Product List we recommend from is a shortlist of three schemes – one passive, one active, one DIY – each PIE-domiciled, with no active regulatory concerns and demonstrated value in its category. Being absent from it doesn't mean a scheme is poor, and you don't need to change provider to act on our advice. Members of our team may hold their own KiwiSaver with these providers.

If any conflict arises that could affect your advice, we'll tell you, explain how we're managing it and, where necessary, refer you elsewhere.

7. Making a complaint

Contact us first: complaints@askcassie.co.nz

We'll acknowledge your complaint within 1 business day and respond within 10 working days.

Still not satisfied? Contact our independent dispute resolution scheme, which is free for you:

8. Your privacy

We collect your personal and financial information only to provide suitable advice and meet legal obligations. We never sell it or use it for third-party marketing.

Your report and the documents you signed are kept for 7 years, as the law requires. A copy of your report is archived in New Zealand.

The system that runs the service is hosted in the United Kingdom. Your report and answers are cleared from it 90 days after your advice is delivered; your name and email stay while our record-keeping obligations run.

We also use overseas services to take payment, send email and generate your report. They don't keep your information.

You can access or request correction of your information at any time. We can't delete the record of advice itself – the law requires us to keep it.

9. Important information

No disciplinary history: Neither Cass Advice Limited nor Rhiannon McKinnon has any disciplinary history, regulatory action, adverse findings by a court or dispute resolution scheme, insolvency proceedings, or criminal convictions to disclose.

Regulator: Financial Markets Authority (FMA) · www.fma.govt.nz · 0800 434 566

This disclosure complies with the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 and the Financial Markets Conduct (Regulated Financial Advice Disclosure) Amendment Regulations 2020.