Terms of Business

Introduction

Clarendon Financial Planning Limited (Clarendon) is a firm of independent advisers with Chartered status. This document explains the services offered, the manner in which they are provided and our costs. Please ensure that you read this carefully and if you do not understand any of the points covered, please ask for clarification. The Client Agreement will take effect from the date of acceptance and will continue in force until it is cancelled by you or us, or an updated Client Agreement replaces it.

Services

Clarendon is permitted to advise on and arrange deals in investments and non-investment products including advising on and arranging bank and building society investments and National Savings products.

We will agree with you whether or not you would like us to keep your arrangements under review. If you do not wish us to do this, we will not provide any further advice unless requested to do so. However, we may contact you in the future should we wish to discuss the relative merits of an investment or service that we feel may be of interest to you.

We do not handle clients’ money. We only accept cheques or bank transfers (not cash) made payable to us in settlement of fees or disbursements for which we have sent you an invoice.

Regulatory Status

Clarendon is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and is bound by its rules. Our registration number is 540286. Our permitted business is advising on and arranging investments and non-investment insurance products. You can check this on the Financial Services Register by visiting the FCA website www.fca.org.uk/register or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768.

Client Satisfaction

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, in all our dealings on investment matters you will be treated as a Retail Client affording you the highest level of protection under the regulatory system overseen by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

You may request a different classification if you wish but you should be aware that if you are reclassified you may lose some regulatory protection. Further information on the FOS is available on its website www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.

Your Objectives

We offer an initial discussion (without charge) where we will outline our services and explain the fee options. Before we provide any advisory services, we will complete a fact find and your objectives will be agreed. The fact find allows us to gather information about your circumstances and needs. On agreement to proceed, we will analyse your personal situation (finances, needs, objectives etc.) and make recommendations in writing via a suitability report/letter. This will be discussed and agreed with you and we will then arrange any relevant investments or non-investment products.

Investment Objectives & Restrictions

Following the return of this document, any subsequent advice or recommendations will be based on your stated objectives, acceptable level of risk and any restrictions you wish to place on the type of investments or products you are willing to consider. Your stated objectives will be identified during our discussions and confirmed in the suitability report/letter. Unless confirmed otherwise in writing, we will assume that you do not wish to place any restrictions on the advice we provide to you.

Best Execution

We have given due consideration to the relative merits of different investment products and funds. We consider the sources that are most relevant to our type of firm (including direct from fund managers and/or via fund supermarkets and platforms).

For clients for whom we provide an ongoing review service involving a range of funds, we consider that the additional services provided by a platform justify the additional execution costs that may be incurred. For clients requiring an ad-hoc or single investment, we select bespoke funds that meet their particular requirements.

Where we select bespoke funds, these compare favourably in cost terms with a range of similar funds, and we review our preferred funds regularly. For execution-only orders, we take instructions directly from the client and may not be able to adhere to our policy for obtaining the best results. We review our execution policy at least annually and whenever a material change occurs that affects our ability to adhere to our execution policy.

Investment Risk

You should be aware that investments can fall and rise in value and you may not get back the full amount invested. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. Before entering into any investment agreement, we will explain the risks to you but you must tell us if you do not understand the risks involved or if you do not want to accept that level of risk.

Accounting To You

We will arrange for all investments to be registered in your name(s) unless you 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 relates to a series of transactions, we may retain each document until the series is complete and then forward them to you. In some cases documentation may be sent direct from the product provider.

Right To Withdraw

In the case of some investments, a right to withdraw or cancel the contract within a specified period is provided. Details of such rights are ordinarily contained in the product literature. Please note that you may not get back the full sum invested if an investment is cancelled.

Communication And Instructions

We will enter into communication with you in whatever way is convenient to you and us including meetings, telephone, post and email. All application forms, investment instructions and other transactions must be given in writing. A verbal instruction to make, switch or sell an investment will not be accepted.

Personal Interests

We undertake not to transact business in which we or one of our other clients or any director or employee has a known interest, or if we become aware that any interest could conflict with your own, unless we have disclosed that interest to you in writing and we have received your written consent to proceed.

Occasionally we receive commission from another intermediary that does not form part of the remuneration arrangements agreed with you. If we receive such benefit we will inform you and will tell you the precise amount received.

Safeguarding Your Investment

For your protection, Clarendon is registered under the Data Protection Act, and maintains professional indemnity insurance that meets FCA requirements. We are also covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). You may be entitled to compensation from the scheme if you make a valid claim and we cannot meet our obligations. This depends on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim. The current limits are shown below (June 2016).

• Most types of investment business are covered up to a maximum limit of £50,000.
  
• Insurance advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the claim, without any upper limit.
  
• Mortgages and equity release advising and arranging are covered up to a maximum limit of £50,000.
  
• Bank & building society deposits are protected up to a maximum limit of £85,000.
  

Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS at www.fscs.org.uk

What To Do If You Have A Complaint

We take every care to provide the highest standards of service. However, should you ever have a concern or a reason to complain, please contact Frederick Hervey-Bathurst, Director and Compliance Officer, Clarendon F.P. Ltd, The Coach House, Somborne Park, Nr Stockbridge, Hampshire, SO20 6QT. Telephone: 01794 388594
See Your Protection for more details.

What Products Do We Offer?

Investment
We offer products from the whole market.

Non-investment insurance contracts
We offer products from the whole market for Life Cover, Critical Illness and Income Protection.

Client Identity Verification

In order to comply with the Money Laundering Regulations, we are required to verify the identity and place of residence of all clients. We also request that you inform us as to the source of investment funds. This process will require sight of certain documentation, and we do not take responsibility for any delay in investing where we are awaiting such verification. In the event that you are unable to provide verification documents to us in a timely manner after we have received completed application forms, the application(s) and any monies may be returned to you un-invested. If false or inaccurate information is provided and we suspect fraud or money laundering we will report this.

Our Remuneration

We offer initial and ongoing services and will discuss our payment options and answer any questions. We will not make a charge until we have agreed with you how we are to be paid. The agreed advice fees will be confirmed in a separate fee agreement. We will also confirm if VAT is payable.

There may be other costs, including taxes, that are payable through other parties (such as the product provider) that we may not be party to. Such charges are normally disclosed in relevant documentation. The method of payment for services provided is contained in the Fee Agreement.

Investment services – hourly rate

The fee is payable for our advice and services and is based on the time taken to complete the work. The fee becomes payable on the completion of the work and is payable irrespective of whether a product is bought or not. You may ask us for an estimate of how much in total we might charge, and you may ask us not to exceed a given amount without checking with you first. Our typical hourly rates are:

• Director/Financial adviser: £200-£250 per hour dependent on nature of work
  
• Administration: £75 per hour

Investment services – percentage option

If you invest a lump sum following on from our advice we may charge an initial adviser fee calculated as a percentage of the investment amount. This will typically be between 1% and 3% depending on the nature of the advice and amount being invested.

• An indicative initial adviser fee for a standalone ISA investment of £15,240 will be £457.20
• An indicative initial adviser fee for a pension transfer of £200,000 will be £2,000

For ongoing services, we will provide regular valuations and hold annual review meetings for which we will charge up to 0.75% per annum of the value of funds under management, subject to a minimum of £750 p.a.

In most cases it is possible for our adviser charge to be taken from your investment and reimbursed to us from the product provider, rather than you paying us directly. We will tell you whether this is possible and explain any tax or other implications so that you can make an informed decision.

Non-investment services

We do not charge a fee for advising on and arranging insurance policies. We are paid by commission from the insurance companies we use. You will receive an illustration which will tell you about any other fees relating to any particular insurance policy.