26 years in NZ finance. One firm of his own since 2014.

Why he left the bank

Craig joined ANZ in 2000 as a 22-year-old who didn't know what he didn't know. He spent four years on the phones and at the counter learning how Kiwis actually use money, before moving to BNZ in 2004. Over the next decade he worked his way up: call centre, personal banker, Personal Manager Investments, then Investment Manager, then BNZ Private Banker by 2007.

The Private Banker role was the one that broke the spell. "I had clients who'd been told by their bank they couldn't restructure a mortgage when actually their bank just didn't want them to. I had clients sitting on KiwiSaver funds that were obviously wrong for their stage of life. The advice was always going to favour the bank that paid me. After a while you can't unsee it."

In 2014, with his wife Fiona, Craig started Wealth Health out of their kitchen in Papamoa. The idea was simple: one adviser, all four pillars (mortgages, KiwiSaver, insurance, investing), no product bias, plain English. Twelve years later, that's still the deal.

"It's not complicated. Most Kiwis don't need a wealth manager. They need someone who's read all the fine print and can tell them, in plain English, which lever to pull next." Craig Coupland, paraphrased from NZ Herald, February 2023 · verbatim quote to be pulled from the original article before publish

What CFP means (and why it matters)

The Certified Financial Planner designation is held by a small minority of NZ advisers. It's not a tick-box. It requires a postgraduate qualification, a body of advice work that's been peer-reviewed, an ethics code that's enforceable, and continuing professional development every single year. Most NZ "financial advisers" are technically just product representatives; CFPs are required to give holistic advice across your whole money picture.

In practice, the difference shows up at decision time. A mortgage broker will optimise your mortgage. An insurance broker will optimise your cover. A KiwiSaver adviser will optimise your fund. A CFP is supposed to ask whether all four of those decisions actually fit together. That's the job.

The career, dated

• 2000 — ANZ
  Joined as a 22-year-old. Call centre, counter, personal banking. Learned how Kiwis actually use money before learning how banks sell it.
• 2004 — BNZ, personal banker
  Moved across to BNZ in Tauranga. First taste of mortgage structuring and KiwiSaver setup for actual households.
• 2005 — Personal Manager, Investments
  Promoted into investments. Started the Massey GradDip in Personal Financial Planning by correspondence at night.
• 2007 — BNZ Private Banker
  Managing high-net-worth Bay of Plenty clients. The closest a bank role gets to a real adviser. Also the role that made it obvious the bank model was the wrong model.
• 2014 — Founded Wealth Health Limited
  Started the firm with Fiona out of their kitchen in Papamoa. One adviser, four pillars, plain English. First clients were ex-BNZ colleagues, ex-BNZ customers, and friends-of-friends.
• 2017 — Awarded the CFP designation
  Certified Financial Planner. The full top-tier designation for NZ advisers.
• 2021 — Full FAP licence granted
  FMA granted Wealth Health a full Financial Advice Provider licence (FSP 523606) under the new regime. Held without conduct issues.
• 2023 — Quoted in NZ Herald on holistic advice
  Featured in an NZ Herald piece on why the average Kiwi household needs whole-of-life planning, not point-of-sale broking.
• 2026 — Today
  Wealth Health is a team of four — Craig, Fiona, Jared Frampton and Caro. Client numbers and book size to be confirmed before publish.

How Craig actually works

If you book a first call, here's what happens. Twenty minutes, on the phone or over a coffee in Papamoa. You talk, he listens, takes notes. There's no pitch. By the end of the call you'll have a one-A4-page summary of what you said, with one or two things he thinks are worth checking properly. Most of the time, that's enough. If it isn't, you book a longer meeting and he digs in across whichever pillars are relevant.

Most clients come back once a year for a review. Some come back the day before they sign a mortgage they're nervous about. Some haven't talked to Craig in three years until their fixed rate is rolling off. All of it is fine.

Outside of work

[Personal bio section to be filled with Craig's real story — family, sports, hobbies, community involvement. The current placeholder text is illustrative only.]