Conflict of Interest Policy
Effective 13 March 2026
NZXplorer is committed to providing independent, unbiased governance intelligence. This page discloses how we prevent conflicts of interest from affecting our scores, analytics, and research.
Independence Declaration
- No NZX stock holdings. The operators of NZXplorer do not hold shares in any NZX-listed company that is covered by our platform.
- No issuer payments for scores. No company pays NZXplorer for their Governance Risk Score (GRS), Insider Conviction Score (ICS), Dividend Safety Score (DSS), or any other analytical rating. Scores are calculated independently.
- No advisory fees from issuers. NZXplorer does not accept consulting, advisory, or sponsorship fees from NZX-listed companies or their directors.
- Revenue from subscriptions only. Our revenue comes from investor and institutional subscriptions (Pro, Enterprise, Institutional tiers) and API access. Companies do not pay to be included or excluded.
- No board positions. NZXplorer operators do not serve as directors, officers, or advisers of any NZX-listed company.
Methodology Independence
Our analytical scores are computed using transparent, rules-based methodologies. No score is manually adjusted for any company.
Governance Risk Score (GRS)
Multi-factor model scoring board structure, shareholder rights, audit risk, executive remuneration, and ESG disclosure. Applied uniformly to all 131 NZX issuers. Methodology available at /governance/methodology.
Insider Conviction Score (ICS)
Calculated from publicly disclosed insider trades (NZX SHINTR announcements). Weighting factors include trade size, clustering, direction consistency, and executive seniority.
Dividend Safety Score (DSS)
Based on payout ratio, earnings coverage, free cash flow support, dividend history, and leverage. Computed from audited financial statements.
IR Quality Score
Five dimensions aligned with OECD, CFA DQI, S&P T&D, NIRI, and Loughran-McDonald frameworks. Scored from public disclosures. Methodology at /docs/ir-quality-methodology.
All scoring methodologies are documented and available to institutional subscribers. We welcome independent review and feedback on our approaches.
Data Sources & Transparency
NZXplorer derives its data from publicly available sources. We do not use material non-public information.
| Data Type | Source | Update Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Company announcements | NZX Market Announcements Platform | Real-time |
| Financial statements | Annual & interim reports (public filings) | Semi-annual |
| Insider trades | FMA Disclose Register / NZX SHINTR | Daily |
| Director appointments | NZX announcements, annual reports | As announced |
| AGM results | NZX MEETING announcements | After each AGM |
| Regulatory actions | FMA, NZX Regulation, Companies Office | Monthly |
| Political connections | Parliament.nz, Electoral Commission, Gazette | Quarterly |
| Fund holdings | Fund manager factsheets, Disclose Register, Sorted | Semi-annual |
| Stock prices | NZX market data | Daily |
What We Do Not Do
- We do not provide financial advice or investment recommendations
- We do not accept payment from companies to improve or suppress scores
- We do not give companies advance notice of score changes
- We do not make manual adjustments to scores for individual companies
- We do not short-sell or trade on our own analytics before publication
- We do not share subscriber data or portfolio information with issuers
Potential Conflicts & Mitigations
We disclose potential conflicts even where we believe they do not materially affect our independence.
Subscription Revenue
Potential conflict: Institutional subscribers may include fund managers who invest in NZX companies we cover.
Mitigation: Subscription fees provide data access only. Subscribers have no influence over scoring methodology, data collection, or publication decisions. All subscribers receive the same data and scores simultaneously.
API & White-Label Partners
Potential conflict: Partners who embed our data (widgets, API, white-label PDFs) may have commercial relationships with NZX issuers.
Mitigation: Partners receive the same scores as all users. White-label branding does not affect underlying data or methodology. Partner agreements include a clause prohibiting score manipulation requests.
AI-Generated Content
Potential conflict: Our Copilot, Deep Research, and programmatic articles use AI models which may produce biased outputs.
Mitigation: All AI-generated content is clearly labelled. Research briefings include hedging language and disclaimers. AI outputs are grounded in our proprietary data, not external opinions. Users can verify claims against linked source data.
Reporting Concerns
If you believe NZXplorer has a conflict of interest that affects the accuracy or fairness of our data, please contact us:
hello@nzxplorer.co.nz
All concerns are reviewed within 5 business days. Material conflicts will be disclosed on this page.
This policy was last updated on 13 March 2026. We review and update this disclosure at least quarterly.