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Retail Client Agreement
Commencement date
This Client Agreement comes into effect on the date you receive it from us.
About us
We offer independent advice for investments. We are therefore able to offer products from the whole of the market place.
We will provide advice from a range of insurers for Term Assurance, Critical Illness Cover, Personal Health Insurance and Private Medical Insurance.
How are we regulated
We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Our FSA number is 461555. The Financial Services Authority regulates the financial services industry in the UK and their address is 25, The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5HS. You can check this on the FSA’s Register by visiting the FSA website www.fsa.gov.uk/register or by contacting the FSA on 0845 6061234.
Permitted Business
Our permitted business is advising on and arranging investments, pension transfers & opt-outs and non-investment general insurance products.
Client Categorisation
Each client with whom we do business is categorised as a ‘Retail Client’ for investment purposes.
Communication
We will communicate with you in English both verbal and written for the sending and reception of orders.
What we offer
We offer a free initial meeting, when we will describe our services more fully and explain our payment options to you.
If you decide to go ahead we will:
- gather and analyse personal information about you, your finances, your needs and objectives.
- recommend and discuss any action we think you should take and, with your agreement, arrange relevant products for you.
How we act for you
We will confirm any advice we give you and our understanding of your objectives in writing, as soon as practicable after they have been ascertained. Such letters will also confirm if there are any restrictions on the type of investment or market in which you wish to invest.
Rights to Cancel
Where any recommendation we make, or transaction we undertake for you, results in a right to cancel the policy under certain conditions, we will advise you of these rights. We will also tell you if you do not have a right to cancel the arrangement.
Conflicts of Interest
Occasions can arise where we, or one of our other customers, will have some form of interest in business which we are transacting for you. If this happens, or we become aware that our interests, or those of one of our other customers, conflict with your interests, we will inform you and obtain your consent before we carry out your instructions.
Investment documents
When we arrange investments for you we will register these in your name unless otherwise agreed in writing. Additionally, we will ensure you receive either a contract note, documents of title, or certificates evidencing title. All such paperwork will be forwarded to you by post as soon as possible after we receive them. Where a number of documents relating to a series of transactions is involved, the documents will normally be retained until the series is completed.
Contact
We normally ask our clients to give written instructions before we act for them but, at our discretion, oral instructions will also be acceptable.
Once we have provided you with advice, we will not provide further advice or services unless there is a prior arrangement to do so. It is important that you review your financial arrangements regularly. Where we are providing advice on an ongoing or retained basis, we will confirm the details to you separately and in writing. We will be pleased to advise you at any time should you require further assistance.
Investment risk
All investments carry a degree of financial risk which will tend to increase in proportion to the potential rate of return on the investments. Any product which is directly or indirectly invested in assets which may fall in value (for example equities) may itself fall in value along with any decrease in value of those assets. Before entering into any investment agreement, you must ensure that you understand the risk associated with the product and are content to accept that level of risk.
Client Money
We do not handle client monies. Crossed cheques for premiums or investment monies can only be made payable directly to the product provider. No premiums or investment monies of any kind should be paid or made payable to anyone else. You should therefore decline to give any money to, or write cheques payable to Mulberry Financial Ltd other than payment of a fee due to them, for advice and/or services you have received.
How are we paid
We can be paid by fees, commission or a combination of both. Certain types of advice do not generate any commission, (for example, the production of an estate planning report) and in these instances we will charge a fee for our services.
The method of payment will be agreed with you before any work is undertaken.
Paying by Fee only
We will agree the fee we will charge before beginning work. All fees are payable upon completion of our work and within 7 days of the invoice date. We will tell you if you have to pay VAT. Our fees are based on typical hourly rates as follows:
| Specialist Pension Advice | £150 - £200 per hour |
| Financial Advice | £100 - £150 per hour |
| Administration | £50 per hour |
If our advice results in you buying a product, the full value of any initial commission that may become payable to us will be passed back to you in one or more ways. For example, we could reduce our fee; or reduce your product charges; or increase your investment amount; or refund the commission to you.
We reserve the right to charge interest on late payments at 3% above the current Base Rate of Barclays Bank plc. If Mulberry Financial Ltd has to appoint debt recovery agents or solicitors to recover amounts under this agreement, all charges incurred will be passed on to the client.
Paying by Commission only (through product charges)
If you buy a financial product, we will normally receive commission on the sale from the product provider. Although you pay nothing to us up front, that does not mean the service is free. You still pay us indirectly through product charges. Product charges pay for the product provider’s own costs and any commission. These charges reduce the amount left for investment. If you buy direct, the product charges could be the same as when buying through an adviser, or they could be higher or lower. We will tell you how much the commission will be before you complete an investment, but you may ask for this information earlier.
The amount of commission we receive will vary depending on the amount you invest and (sometimes) how long you invest or your age. The following table demonstrates our usual rates of commission however, if it is proposed that the amount to be charged is greater than this amount written confirmation will be provided.
| Regular Contributions | Based on payment by you of £100 pm |
| Collective Investment | 5% of all payments. For example £60.00 each year |
| Whole of Life | 100% of each of the first 12 months payments plus 2.5% of all payments from month 49. For example £1,200 initially plus £30.00 each year from month 49. |
| Personal Pension and Stakeholder Pension | 59% of each of the first 12 months payments. For example £708 initially |
| Lump Sum | Based on a payment by you of £20,000 |
| Collective Investment | 3% of the amount you invest. For example £600 initially. |
| Investment Bonds | 3% of the amount you invest. For example £600 initially. |
| Personal Pension and Stakeholder Pension | 3% of the amount you invest. For example £600 initially. |
| Annuities | 3% of the amount you invest. For example £600 initially. |
| Income Drawdown | 3% of the amount you invest and 0.5% of the fund value each year from year 1. For example £300 plus £50 each year from year 1. The actual amount will vary in line with your fund value. |
• These are examples, the actual amount payable will be fully disclosed at the time of the advice.
• These commission examples do not include payment for ongoing reviews of your investments.
Paying by a combination of fee and commission (through product charges)
We will charge you a combination of fee and commission. The actual amounts will depend on the service provided to you, but will be in line with the arrangements set out in the sections headed “Paying by Fee” and “Paying by commission (through product charges)
Insurance
We do not charge a fee for Term Assurance, Critical Illness Cover, Personal Health Insurance and Private Medical Insurance. We will issue with a quotation which will tell you about any other fees relating to a particular insurance policy.
If you have a complaint
If you are not happy with the service or advice we have provided and wish to make a complaint, please either write to Helen Ditcham at Mulberry Financial Ltd, Waters Green House, Waters Green, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK11 6LF. Alternatively you can call on 01625 427522.
If you are not satisfied with our response to your complaint, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
Where can you go if we are unable to pay a claim
We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). If we cannot meet our obligations, you may be entitled to compensation from the FSCS. This depends on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim.
Investments – Most types of investment business are covered for 100% of the first £30,000 and 90% of the next £20,000 so the maximum compensation is £48,000.
Insurance – 100% of the first £2,000 plus 90% of the remainder of the claim, without any upper limit.
Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS.
Data Protection
Mulberry Financial Ltd is registered under the Data Protection Act 1998. 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.
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 at our 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 other than for a legitimate purpose. Steps will be taken to ensure that the information is accurate, kept up to date and not kept 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.
We will supply on request, copies of entries in our records relating to your transactions, although we reserve the right to make a charge for any expenses incurred. We undertake to maintain such records for at least three years (many documents we retain for a significantly longer period) from the date of each transaction.
Termination of this agreement
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 by first class post. It will be deemed to be received 2 business days after being posted.
Any business currently being completed will be completed unless we receive your instructions to the contrary.
Any fees outstanding at the date of termination will be due within four weeks of the termination date.
Law
This Client Agreement is governed and shall be construed in accordance with English law and the parties shall submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.