TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS
¨ Authorisation
¨ Asset Management IFA Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and as such is bound by its rules. We are independent from all other financial institutions and will provide advice from the whole market. This means that we can be totally impartial when we act on your behalf in advising you on, and arranging or effecting transactions in regulated investments, non investment insurance contracts, mortgages, pensions, pension transfers and opt out business. This is explained in more detail in our Keyfacts Guide About Our Services.
¨ Unless otherwise confirmed to you in writing we will treat you as a Private Customer as defined by the Financial Services Authority.
¨ Investment Objectives and restrictions
¨ Following the issue of our terms and conditions of business, any subsequent advice or recommendation offered to you will be based on your stated investment objectives, an agreed acceptable level of risk and any instructions you may wish to make regarding the type of investments or policies you are willing to consider. Details of your stated investment objectives will be included in the suitability letter we will issue confirming our recommendations.
¨ Under normal circumstances we will assume that you do not wish to place any restrictions on the advice we give you. Where a request for advice to be restricted is received from you we will confirm our understanding of that restriction to you in writing within our suitability letter.
¨ Investment Risk
¨ All investments carry a degree of financial risk that will usually increase in line with the potential rate of return on a particular investment (i.e. the higher the level of potential return, the higher the level or risk one may have to take.) Any investment linked to assets that may rise and fall in value (such as equities) may itself fall or rise along with the value of these assets. You should ensure that you are fully aware of the risks associated with the product and are content to accept that risk.
¨ Mortgage Advice
¨ The Financial Services Authority regulates mortgage activity in the United Kingdom where the borrower is an individual or trustee and the lender takes first legal charge over the property. In addition lending for home improvements, debt consolidation, some business lending and secured overdrafts are also covered by this regulation.
¨ The Financial Services Authority does not regulate some types of mortgage lending and where this is the case we will advise you separately.
¨ We offer independent financial advice to assess products and solutions most suitable for you. We will constantly review the mortgage market in order to select the appropriate lender and mortgage product to meet your individual circumstances and needs and we will therefore be acting on your behalf.
¨ During our initial meeting we will complete a detailed questionnaire to enable appropriate advice to be given to you on your mortgage requirements. This will also provide you with information relevant to your mortgage needs, covering such items as an explanation of the main repayment methods and the implications of taking out a mortgage.
¨ Once we have made our recommendation to you, we will confirm our advice in writing. You should keep this, as it will be a record of the transaction and our discussions. Details of the loan will be confirmed in your lenders formal offer.
¨ Disclosure of interest
¨ We offer independent financial advice but occasions can arise where we, or one of our other clients, will have some form of interest in business that we are transacting for you. If this happens, or we become aware that our interests or those of one of our other clients conflict with your interests, we will inform you and obtain your consent before we carry out your instructions.
¨ Remuneration
¨ We can derive income for our services in two ways, either charging you a fee or through commission received which is explained in more detail in our Keyfacts Guide About the Cost of Our Services.
¨ Commission
¨ We can derive income from commission paid to us in respect of transactions in life assurance, mortgages, pensions, unit trusts, ISA’s and other regulated collective investments scheme, and in investment trust companies shares held via a PEP or regular savings scheme. You will receive from the life office or operator in question, or from us, information about the commission that we receive. We shall tell you the amount of the commission payable to us on any such arrangement. If we receive commission or any other form of benefit from the issuer of a security or from another intermediary, we will inform you. We reserve the right to share any commission or fees received by us on any such investments.
¨ Fees
¨ Prior to assessing your financial circumstances and transacting any business on your behalf, we will discuss a proposed fee with you and confirm this in writing in the form of a fee agreement before any chargeable work is undertaken. The fee charged will take account of the nature and extent of the service provided. If the fee to be charged is calculated on an hourly basis you will be informed of this within the fee agreement.
Client Records
¨ You have the right to inspect copies of contract notes, vouchers and entries in our books, files or computerised records relating to your transactions, if covered by the Data Protection Act 1998. We keep records of our business transactions for at least six years. We reserve the right to provide copies of your records if to do so otherwise would allow access to files containing records about other clients.
¨ Client Money
¨ ASSET MANAGEMENT IFA LIMITED DOES NOT HANDLE CLIENT MONEY. We never accept a cheque made out to us (unless it is a cheque in settlement of charges or disbursements for which we have sent you a bill) or handle cash.
¨ Instructions
¨ We require our clients to give us instructions in writing to avoid possible disputes. We will however, accept oral instructions provided they are subsequently confirmed in writing.
¨ Further contact & advice
¨ When we concluded our advice for which you have given instructions, we will not give you any further advice unless you request it or it has been confirmed by separate written agreement that we will do so, but will be glad to advise you at any time you ask us to do so. We will make arrangements for all your investments to be registered in your name unless you first instruct us otherwise in writing. We will forward to you all documents showing ownership of your investments as soon as practicable after we receive them; where a number of documents relating to a series of transactions is involved, we will normally hold each document until the series is complete and then forward them to you.
¨ You, or we, may terminate our authority to act on your behalf at any time, without penalty. Notice of this termination must be given in writing and sent by recorded delivery and will be deemed to be effective from the date of receipt. Termination will not prejudice the completion of any transactions already initiated on your behalf or any rights or obligations already arising.
¨ Legal Governance
¨ These Terms of Business are governed and shall be construed in accordance with English Law and the parties shall submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.
¨ Data Protection
¨ The information you have provided is subject to the Data Protection Act 1998 (the “Act”). By signing this document you consent to us or any company associated with us for processing, both manually and by electronic means, your personal data for the purposes of providing advice, administration and management.
¨ “Processing” includes obtaining, recording or holding information or data, transferring it to other companies associated with us, product providers, the FSA or any other statutory, governmental or regulatory body for legitimate purposes including, where relevant, to solicitors and/or other debt collection agencies for debt collection purposes and carrying out operations on the information or data.
¨ We may also contact you or pass your details to other companies associated with us to contact you (including by telephone) with details of any other similar products, promotions, or for related marketing purposes in which we think you may be interested.
¨ The information provided may also contain sensitive personal data for the purposes of the Act, being information as to your physical or mental health or condition; the commission or alleged commission of any offence by you; any proceedings for an offence committed or alleged to have been committed by you, including the outcome or sentence in such proceedings; your political opinions, religious or similar beliefs, sexual life; or your membership of a Trade Union.
¨ Please tick this box to confirm your consent to us or any company associated with us processing any such sensitive data.
¨ If at any time you wish us or any company associated with us to cease processing your personal data or sensitive personal data, or contacting you for marketing purposes, please contact The Data Protection Officer on 02380 420606 or in writing at our registered address.
¨ You may be assured that we and any company associated with us will treat all personal data and sensitive personal data as confidential and will not process it other than for a legitimate purposes. Steps will be taken to ensure that the information is accurate, kept up to date and not kept for longer than is necessary. Measures will also be taken to safeguard against unauthorised or unlawful processing and accidental loss or destruction or damage to the data.
¨ Subject to certain exceptions, you are entitled to have access to your personal and sensitive personal data held by us. You may be charged a fee (subject to the statutory maximum) for supplying you with such data.
