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Tom Barnes

Partner
Tom Barnes is articulate and quickly understands and communicates issues to his client base and I have complete trust in the advice that he supplies.
— Chambers & Partners Asia-Pacific 2025
Wellington
About

Tom Barnes is partner in the financial services and funds management team. He has over 15 years’ experience advising on a broad range of financial services issues including product structuring, fund formation, regulatory compliance and transactional work.

Tom has detailed technical knowledge, strong client relationships and deep understanding of the New Zealand market. He uses these to help blue-chip, boutique and start-up clients achieve their legal, strategic and commercial objectives.

He is particularly experienced in the structuring, establishment and business as usual operation of open-ended investment funds, including in the regulated retail market.

Tom assists offshore fund managers gain access to the New Zealand retail and institutional markets through a variety of mechanisms such as master-feeder structures, wholesale market exemptions and interjurisdictional mutual recognition arrangements.

Tom also has a strong focus on regulation and compliance and assists clients to understand and comply with the regulatory regime and to respond to and manage their relationships with regulators.

Areas of FocusFinanceFinancial ServicesInvestment Management and Funds
Professional QualificationsBarrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand, 2007

EXPERIENCE

  • Regulatory liaison. Advised financial service providers in their interactions with the suite of regulatory bodies including the Financial Markets Authority, the Registrar of Financial Service Providers, the Inland Revenue, the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Internal Affairs.
  • Compliance. Advised clients on domestic financial services requirements including financial service provider registration, retail investor dispute resolution scheme membership, distribution chain and financial advisory rules, anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism legislation, the NZ implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and the Common Reporting Standard/Automatic Exchange of Information.
  • Mutual Recognition of Financial Product Offerings. Advised on offers of financial products between New Zealand and Australia by local and international fund managers under the mutual recognition regime for financial product offering between New Zealand and Australia.
  • UK pension transfers. Provided specialist advice to a number of providers on the rules for the establishment, operation and maintenance Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes or QROPS, being retirement savings vehicles able to receive UK pension transfers.
  • Acted for a major Australasian financial services firm on the sale of its New Zealand business. Acted for a local fund manager on the sale of one of NZ’s largest fixed income funds.
  • Advises a number of large public sector superannuation schemes on all aspects of their operations.
Languages
  • English
Education

  • Victoria University of Wellington, LLB, 2006

Awards

  • Ranked as Up-and-Coming, Chambers & Partners 2022-2025
  • Ranked as Next Generation Partner, Legal 500 Asia-Pacific 2019-2025

Prior Experience

Tom joined the firm in September 2010 from a public sector background in capital markets regulation.

Memberships And Affiliations

  • New Zealand Law Society
  • Institute of Financial Professionals New Zealand, Inc.

My latest insights

Publication

Consultation Alert: FMA seeks feedback on mass exemption review

30 May 2025 .4 minute read

Publication

Budget 2025, the Growth Budget

22 May 2025 .3 minute read

Publication

FMA signals proactive use of CoFI powers and board-level engagement

16 April 2025 .4 minute read

View All

Connect

Phone

+64 4 474 3211
(Work, Wellington)
+64 21 800 319
(Mobile, Wellington)
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