Money Matters (NZ) Ltd

07/10/2026

A financial planner, an accountant and an ethics doctor walk into a comedy club.

They’re all me. And I’m booked to perform.

Today is World Financial Planning Day, highlighting the value of financial planning and working with a planner committed to competence, ethics and putting clients’ interests first.

Financial planning can help us align our money with what matters to us and bring greater confidence and peace of mind.

Humour can make learning about financial planning more engaging, so I recently signed up for a stand-up comedy course. Four weeks later, I joined my fellow graduates on stage for our graduation show at the Classic Comedy Club, performing to a full house.

The photos capture a last-minute appeal to the comedy gods—and suggest conditional approval may have been granted.

As a financial planner, I help people understand risk. Performing stand-up was a risk I’d never imagined taking. I opened by announcing I was a financial planner, accountant and ethics doctor. There are some risks even diversification can’t help with! I also shared stories from the Money Doctor reality TV show in which I appeared.

Watch my seven-minute stand-up debut:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T288J1a-06M

Past performance is no guarantee of future punchlines.

This day also has a personal significance. I’m a CFP professional and, around 30 years ago, played a key role in bringing the CFP designation to New Zealand. As Education Director and then Chairman of the New Zealand Association of Investment Advisers and Financial Planners, I represented New Zealand at meetings in Canada and the USA, where we explored the possibility of establishing what later became the Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB).

Today, the profession is exploring new territory. FPSB’s 2026 Impact of AI on Financial Planning report finds that 83% of respondents believe AI will help them better serve clients. Privacy, cybersecurity and the accuracy of AI-generated information remain leading concerns.

For me, this reinforces the importance of human judgement, ethical responsibility and care for the people affected—including through the companies we invest in.

My latest blog, ‘Ethical Investing in the Age of AI’, introduces the Ethical Investment Guide to Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights and three new Money Matters video podcasts.

Read the blog:
https://www.moneymatters.co.nz/blog-feed/ethical-investing-in-the-age-of-ai

Watch the interviews:
https://www.moneymatters.co.nz/podcast

Download the Guide:
https://www.moneymatters.co.nz/resources

Russell Investments’ new 2026 Value of an Adviser Report also highlights the financial and human value of advice: choosing appropriate investments, navigating market uncertainty, weighing life’s financial choices, and bringing knowledge, judgement and empathy to important decisions.

Two short FPSB videos explore what this can mean in everyday life:

How does financial planning help people in their everyday lives?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYalJJayGWc

What’s one benefit of financial planning that people often overlook?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIFeHd-ejxM

To conclude this post, the Money Doctor has called in a poet for a second opinion.

As a line often attributed to Lord Byron puts it: ‘Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine.’

08/10/2025

I’m honoured to share that I’ve been named Best Ethical Financial Adviser 2025 - completing a trilogy of national awards for Making Money Matter.

As World Financial Planning Day (8 October) draws to a close here in New Zealand and as World Investor Week (6–12 October) continues internationally, alongside Ethical Investment Week here in Australia and New Zealand, it feels especially fitting to share this news and my gratitude.

Back in the 1970s, when I first began exploring ethical investing, it was seen as idealistic - even radical. Special thanks to my wonderful pioneering mother, Melba (now 90), who championed my activism from an early age and guided me to marvellous mentors.

I am deeply grateful to share this journey with Chellie, whose wisdom, love, and leadership continue to inspire me every day.

Thank you to all my clients, colleagues and friends who believe that prosperity and purpose can go hand in hand. Together, we’re proving that money can truly matter for people and the planet.

In my new blog, I reflect on:
• What this trilogy of awards represents - from Financial Planner of the Year to Best Ethical Adviser (Business) and now Best Ethical Adviser (Individual)
• How my ethical investment journey began in 1983, with award-winning university research on Corporate Social Responsibility - decades before ESG became mainstream
• The role of World Financial Planning Day and World Investor Week in promoting confidence, competence and trust in financial planning
• How Ethical Investment Week, led in Australasia by the Ethical Advisers Co-op, builds on those foundations - showing how our collective choices can help grow a better future
• The legacy of ethical investors, including New Zealanders who used their shareholder voices during apartheid to help change the world

When a journalist recently described me as “the Godfather of Ethical Investing in New Zealand,” it made me smile because while money always matters, the real question is whether it matters for good or for harm.

You can read the blog here at this link:

Written by Dr Rodger Spiller

06/10/2025

To mark the start of Ethical Investment Week 2025 (6–12 October), I had the privilege of interviewing Tom King, Chief Investment Officer and a Director of Nanuk Asset Management.

Tom’s journey - from winning Olympic gold in sailing for Australia to steering a leading ethical investment firm - offers a unique perspective on how strategy and adaptability shape success in both sport and investing:

“There are some very close similarities between picking wind shifts in a sailing race and picking stocks in investment markets. It’s about positioning yourself in relation to what’s likely to happen in the future - in an environment that’s constantly changing and where the future is unknown.”

Together, we explore Nanuk’s Purpose, Principles, Practices and Performance Measurement - and how disciplined investing can be deeply aligned with environmental sustainability and ethical integrity.

“Our aim,” says Tom, “is to help clients manage the risks and seize the opportunities that come from the global shift toward sustainability.”

See the podcast https://lnkd.in/gBxnKgPS and/or read my blog. https://lnkd.in/gcB_dzgi

Ethical Investment Week, an initiative of the Ethical Advisers Co-op, highlights how ethical investing helps grow generational wealth that truly matters — financial, environmental, social, cultural and spiritual.

22/04/2025

🌍Investors as Kaitiaki (Guardians): Meeting the Earth Day Challenge

On this 55th Earth Day, I'm excited to share our latest contribution to ethical investment thinking. With Professor Chellie Spiller and Dr. Amber Nicholson, I've co-authored a new article, "Consciousness-Centred Stewardship: An Indigenous Standpoint," published in this month’s Humanistic Management Journal. The article provides unique guidance for how Māori wisdom, especially kaitiakitanga (guardianship), can be applied to transform investment and leadership.

We highlight that true environmental stewardship requires developing our own consciousness. As Bob Kegan notes, "We are never going to solve our problems with the same order of consciousness that created them."

As we mark Earth Day 2025, let’s aim higher. Let’s take up the challenge of attending to inner development, aspiring to be self-transforming kaitiaki. As we do this, we can better be catalysts whose money matters in bringing about the sustainable development changes required with solutions for environmental, social, and economic problems. Let’s become more effective kaitiaki—the world needs us.

Read the blog and access the link to the article and other resources on our website.

Celebrate Earth Day 2025 (April 22nd)! Learn about "Consciousness-Centered Stewardship: An Indigenous Standpoint," a new article exploring Māori philosophy (kaitiakitanga) for ethical investment, leadership, and sustainability. Discover resources for inner development and ethical investing

20/03/2025

My latest Money Matters blog shares insights relating to United Nations International Happiness Day, and the World Happiness Report 2025 published today, with the theme ‘Caring and Sharing’.

The report includes a ranking of the world’s happiest countries based on asking over 100,000 respondents to: Please imagine a ladder with steps numbered from zero at the bottom to 10 at the top. The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time? Today might be a good day to ask yourself that question.

Check out my latest blog to learn more about how Gallup groups answers to wellbeing questions as thriving, struggling, or suffering; the origins of the World Happiness Report, now in its 13th year; which countries lead the rankings (New Zealand is 12th, unhappily lagging Australia at 11th. The United States (24th) falls to its lowest-ever position, with the United Kingdom (23rd) reporting its lowest average life evaluation since the 2017 report); the impact of caring and sharing on people’s happiness; a local example of caring and sharing; launch events for the World Happiness Report, and Money Matters resources providing guidance for wealth AND wellbeing.

P.S. A friend in the USA told me I shared my birthday with World Happiness Day as we were planning a catch up call on 20 March in the USA. My birthday is 21 March in NZ. It was an early birthday gift to explore the online resources for World Happiness Day including the World Happiness Report – those insights shared in my blog have given me even more reasons to be happy!

Written by Dr Rodger Spiller

16/12/2024

The Ethical and Sustainable Business Awards 2024 from Money Matters and Catalyst Leadership Development marks the occasion of 25 years since New Zealand’s first ethical and sustainable business awards were created by Dr Dr Rodger Spiller.

The 2024 awards honour eight companies—three from New Zealand and five international—recognised for their ethical and sustainable practices in wealth and wellbeing creation. Nominated by leading fund managers, these exemplars of catalyst leadership have achieved substantial social, environmental and financial impacts. They demonstrate phenomenal transformation, showing how businesses can make good money and a positive difference. Congratulations, and thank you to our winners for proving how ethical money matters for a sustainable future.

This year saw the addition of humour awards, recognising a NZ winner and an international winner for bringing more light to the very serious matter of helping you make your money matter.

To learn more, visit our dedicated awards page and watch a video of the awards event.

Infineon Technologies AG Edwards Lifesciences ANDRITZ 株式会社 島津製作所 - Shimadzu Corporation Voltronic Power Infratil Summerset Retirement Villages Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Circability Make My Money Matter

The Ethical and Sustainable Business Awards The Ethical and Sustainable Business Awards 2024 from Money Matters and Catalyst Leadership marks the occasion of 25 years since New Zealand’s first ethical and sustainable business awards were created by Dr Rodger Spiller. The 2024 awards honour eight c...

17/10/2024

🎙️Join us on an inspiring journey in our latest edition of the Money Matters blog, featuring highlights from an enlightening Ethical Investment Week interview with Christine Gallagher of the Wide Open Air Exchange program.

📚 Dive into the blog to discover how Rodger’s upbringing shaped his lifelong commitment to integrating investment with social and environmental responsibility. Explore the powerful impact that early influences can have on a life dedicated to ethical leadership and positive change.

🎧 And don’t forget to listen to the full interview for more profound insights. Check it out here: https://wideopenairexchange.com/2024/09/30/ethical-investment/



https://www.moneymatters.co.nz/blog-feed/pioneering-change

Extracts from an Ethical Investment Week interview where Christine Gallagher, host and producer of the Wide Open Air Exchange program delved into Rodger’s early inspirations. The interview explores Rodger's early interests, particularly how they were shaped by his upbringing in a socially consciou...

11/10/2024

🌍 World Investment Week Sees Regulators Highlight Sustainable Finance🌿

This week (7th to 13th October), the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) celebrates World Investor Week, empowering investors with insight into critical areas like sustainable finance. As a former member of the New Zealand Securities Commission, I’m heartened to see a focus on how sustainable finance is revolutionising investment opportunities, albeit with challenges.

As part of World Investor Week, IOSCO hosted a webinar highlighting sustainable finance. Kris Nathanail, IOSCO’s Director of Policy, acknowledged a challenge for investors:
“The statistics here in Europe suggest that only 14% of funds that market themselves as ESG are actually complying with that ESG marketing when it comes to their investment strategy.”

This underscores the importance of independent, ethical investment advice – as discussed in my blog on 9th October marking World Financial Planning Day, an initiative supported by IOSCO.

The panellists, João Pedro Nascimento, Chair of the Brazilian Securities Commission, and Julia Leung, Chief Executive Officer of the Securities and Futures Commission Hong Kong, were introduced as “CEOs of two of the biggest jurisdictions in the world in terms of the impact they can play.”

João highlighted Brazil’s leadership in sustainable finance. In October 2023, it was the first country to formally adopt the IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) sustainability standards. Brazil’s annual issuance of $2 billion in ESG bonds demonstrates further leadership.

Julia noted that large, listed companies, that comprise 70% of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s market capitalisation, must “comply or explain” in 2025 based on IFRS Sustainability Disclosures, which will be mandatory from 2026. This will have a positive chain reaction as they require businesses in their supply chains to report and reduce carbon emissions.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime economic shift in the economy,” Kris reflected. “Perhaps in a few decades or centuries, they'll think of this time as equivalent to the Industrial Revolution.”

Read more from this webinar in our latest blog for further insight into how sustainable investment of money matters.

The International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) celebrates World Investor Week (Oct 7-13) empowering investors with insights in critical areas including sustainable finance. It is heartening to see the spotlight on how sustainable finance is revolutionising investment opportunities,

08/10/2024

World Financial Planning Day (WFPD) on 9 October is a global initiative designed to raise awareness about the value of financial planning. It offers a prime opportunity for individuals and families to take positive steps aimed towards increased wealth and wellbeing. According to global research, the top five benefits of working with a financial planner reported by clients are:
1️⃣ Improved financial wellbeing and peace of mind
2️⃣ Better financial decision-making confidence
3️⃣ Help to explain and simplify financial matters
4️⃣ Saves time and effort organising finances
5️⃣ Feel more satisfied with their wealth

Want to know how financial planning can benefit you? Read our latest blog then consider booking a meeting with Dr Rodger Spiller, a Certified Financial Planner who played a crucial role in bringing this prestigious designation to New Zealand. Discover how quality financial advice can transform your money and your life.

Financial Advice New Zealand

World Financial Planning Day (WFPD) is a global event to help raise awareness of the value of financial planning. It is a perfect opportunity for individuals and families around the world to take positive steps toward controlling their financial lives—now and in the future.   WFPD is organ

03/10/2024

Learn more about how ethical investment advisers can help you clarify your vision and values for your ethical investment plan and portfolio, then implement practices such as exclusions (avoidance), inclusions (support) and engagement. Consider key sustainability issues, from environmental matters to human rights, and where you sit on the ethical investment spectrum. Hosted by sustainable investment educator Alexandra Brown of Ethical Invest Group, this webinar involves three financial advisers who are all members of the Ethical Advisers' Co-operative - Rodger Spiller from Money Matters (NZ), Karen McLeod from Brisbane-based Ethical Investment Advisers and Justin Metcalf from Sydney-based Ethinvest.

💸🌍 Ethical Investment Week 🌍💸

Do you know all the different ethical, social, and environmental issues you can consider in your portfolio? Now's the time to use your investments for good!

Join us for a webinar and live Q&A this Ethical Investment Week to learn how to align your investments with your values, and drive positive change through your super and KiwiSaver.

You’ll hear from:

🗨️ Dr Rodger Spiller from Money Matters on ethical investing with a New Zealand lens.

🗨️ Karen McLeod from Ethical Investment Advisers on helping clients invest in alignment with their values.

🗨️ Justin Medcalf from Ethinvest sharing insights on important impact topics.

🗨️ Alexandra Brown on what ethical and sustainable investing involves.

📅 4th October 2024
🕑 3:30 PM (AEST)
🔗 https://www.ethicalinvestgroup.com/eiw2024webinar

Let’s create a better future by making informed, ethical investment choices!

This event is part of Ethical Investment Week.
Check out the Ethical Advisers' Co-op for events near you: https://www.ethicaladviserscoop.org/ethical-investment-week.html