Client Agreement Service Proposition€¦ · Midwinter Financial Planning is an Appointed...

Client Agreement&

Service Proposition

Midwinter Financial Planning Limited (849415) is an Appointed Representative of ValidPath Ltd (197107) which is authorised and regulated by

the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

C O N T E N T S

Our Mission & Core Values 3-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------About 4-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Qualifications 5-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Financial Advice Process 6-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What Can Clients Expect To Receive 7-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Our Costs 8 - 9-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Terms & Conditions 10 - 14-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Declaration 15-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Data Protection Act 2018 16-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Client Fee Agreement - Design Fee 17-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Client Fee Agreement - Implementation 18-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Client Fee Agreement - Ongoing Service Charge 19-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“It’s really clear that themost precious resource

we all have is time.”- Steve Jobs -

Our Mission: Providing our clients more time to do what they enjoy doing.

Our Core Values: Our reputation is built on our core values of Simple, Effective and Personal. These values enable us to provide our clients with successful solutions that make a positive difference to their lives. We take pride in our personalised service and in building a friendly yet professional relationship with all our clients. It is important to us that our clients are delighted with the service we provide. Daniel believes if he does not recognise a client’s voice on the phone, he has too many clients and therefore unable to provide a personalised service.

O U R M I S S I O N & C O R E V A L U E S

Office: Suite 2 Granville House, Threshelfords Business Park, Inworth Road, Feering , CO5 9SE

A B O U T

Daniel Midwinter set up Midwinter Financial Planning to ensure a positive financial planning experience for all our clients. We are independent which means we are not limited to a restricted range of products and can advise on the best solution that meets our client's objectives. Daniel has been advising since 2006 and amassed a wealth of experience and knowledge. Daniel is the sole adviser as this ensures consistent and quality financial planning advice. He is supported by a team of experts which enables him to spend more time helping clients.

W H O W E A R E R I G H T F O RThose clients who wish to build a trusted relationship with a financial planner that will help them to achieve their financial goals. These goals can vary, for example many of our clients are focused on retirement planning.

We believe clients will receive the greatest benefit from receiving ongoing financial planning as client’s circumstances change, therefore we are not suitable for clients who do not want an ongoing relationship.

R O L E O F A F I N A N C I A L P L A N N E R

Daniel has three vital roles.1. Life Planner. Daniel will help you to identify where you want to be in the future andwhat is important to you.2. Financial Planner. Daniel will assess your resources, both available now and in thefuture, then establish what you will need to do to achieve your ideal life plan.3. Financial Adviser. Daniel will recommend and implement the products and investmentsolutions that will support your ideal life plan.

Q U A L I F I C AT I O N S


Daniel is a Chartered Financial Planner and a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society. This is asymbol of technical competence, commitment to ongoing development and signifies a public commitment to professional standards.

List of qualifications

- Fellowship- Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning- Diploma in Financial Planning- Certificate in Financial Planning- Certificate in Equity Release- Certificate in Discretionary Investment Management- Certificate in Mortgage Advice- Certificate in Life & Pensions- Award in Long Term Care Insurance

We believe all clients should receive fantastic advice, a personalised service and value for money. By outsourcing various back office roles, this helps us to focus all our expertise on our clients. Paraplanners write our suitability reports and conduct product and investment research, whilst the compliance function is overseen by Validpath. It means that many of the day to day requirements, such as regulatory reporting and compliance are completed by Validpath. It also means that we benefit from reduced costs on things like insurance, software and technical support. All this means that we can concentrate on what we are good at: delivering a great service to you, safe in the knowledge that there is a great team of experts in the network taking care of what they’re good at.

H O W W E D E L I V E R O U R S E R V I C E

F I N A N C I A L A D V I C E P R O C E S S


Meet and Greet

We provide an initial consultation without charge. During this consultation we will discuss your objectives and where you want to be in the future, gather information and ask you to complete a risk profile and expenditure questionnaire. This enables us to get to know you better and more clearly understand your position. This consultation gives us a chance to explain our position in more detail, but also allows you to ask us questions. At the end of our consultation we will present our initial view of your needs and the priority each should be given.

Design

We will develop and design a financial plan tailored to your specific resources, needs andobjectives. This can take time, typically around 4-6 weeks. We’ll write off to your existinginvestment and pension providers to gather all the information we require and search the entire marketplace for the perfect solution for you.

Agreement and Implementation

After 4- 6 weeks we will meet again. This time we’ll show you all our work and clearly explain the reasons behind the recommendations we’re making to you to improve your life and how this will help you to achieve your life plan. We aim to present our advice in clear and straightforward terms, answering any questions you may have and providing clarity if needed.


We want all our clients to receive excellent financial planning advice and service to match. Clients will be provided with the following documents which shows their own financial plan.

Suitability Report – this a detailed report and covers everything you need to know,including:

Summary of your existing financial position.

Cash Flow Report – This helps to answer the big questions such as:

How much money will I need for retirement?

Withdrawal Policy Statement – This specifically concentrates on clients who are inretirement and focuses on actions that can be taken to help maintain the sustainabilityof their retirement income.

Annual Review Report – At least once a year, all clients are provided with a reporthighlighting the tweaks, if any, required to the original plan.

W H AT C A N C L I E N T S E X P E C T T O R E C E I V E

Our recommendations of what changes/actions need to be taken and thereasons why.

How long will my money last?What are the risk factors?

W H AT ’ S N E X T

Things change. Whether it is tax legislation, a new job or the loss of a loved one, life happens.It’s therefore of paramount importance that you regularly update us, and we’ll look after you to ensure you are still on track for your life plan. Even when there are no changes to your situation or government legislation, we provide the following benefits – our “six financial planning fundamentals” as part of our ongoing service.

Review Asset Allocation – This is the overwhelming factor determining investmentperformance.

Rebalance – This ensures your investment portfolio maintains the appropriate level of risk.

Review Costs – One factor to improve investment returns.

Behavioural Coaching – Avoid costly mistakes of greed and fear.

Maximise Tax Allowances – Tax efficient investments are key to getting best results.

Cash Flow Report – Helps to map out your life plan and answer important questions such as,do I have enough money and when will my money run out (if at all)?

Design Your Financial Plan

O U R C O S T S

We know how important it is to provide clients with a clear and fair renumeration structure at the earliest opportunity. Therefore, this client agreement sets out what our clients pay and the ser-vice and benefits they will receive.

Our ‘Adviser Charge’ fees take account of the degree of skill and responsibility involved and the time necessary to complete the work, as well as the value of the work itself. Where the circum-stances make it appropriate, a higher charge rate may be applied, but we will always agree this with you before proceeding. Because we agree a fee for the work undertaken at outset, it does not matter whether this is paid directly by yourself, or indirectly from the product concerned, if that is an available option.


Implementation Fees for Pension and Investment Advice

£500. This fee reduces to zero if you move toimplementation.

£1,750A further £250 is charged for every addi-tional investment and/or Pension we areswitching/moving or advise on. This reflects the additional work involved.

For Example

A client investing £200,000 from a Bank or Building Society Account will pay £1,750 which is 0.875% of the fund value.

A client consolidating two pensions worth a combined value of £200,000 would pay us £2,000 which is 1.00% of the fund value.

How much money will I need for retirement?How long will my money last?What are the risk factors?

O U R C O S T S


Ongoing service charge

For Example

A client who has invested £200,000 would pay £1,500 per annum or 0.75%

A client who has invested £1,000,000 would be capped at £4,000 per annum which is 0.40%

0.75% per annum of any invested assets (subject to a minimum of £750 per annum andcapped at £4,000 per annum)

Insurance Related Products

For all insurance products we will receive a commission from the product provider. Thesetypically include term assurance, critical illness and income protection policies. When we receive commission, you pay us indirectly through product charges. It is important that you understand this, and this will be disclosed to you prior to proceeding with any application.

Ongoing Service

Once your plan has been set up, things change. Therefore, all our clients will benefit from our “six financial planning fundamentals” as set out on page seven. In addition, all clients receive:

Unlimited access to Daniel via telephone, email, zoom etc.

At least one face to face meeting each year

Annual Review Report

Withdrawal Policy Statement (where applicable to those clients in retirement)

Quarterly Performance Report

Quarterly Newsletter Letter


T E R M S & C O N D I T I O N S

Authorisation

Midwinter Financial Planning is an Appointed Representative of ValidPath Ltd which isauthorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Number 197107. MidwinterFinancial Planning is an independent intermediary authorised to provide ‘whole of market’advice in relation to investments, non-investment protection contracts and home financeproducts and has considerable skill, knowledge and experience in this field. The Client wishes to engage the Firm to provide financial advice, and the Firm agrees to accept this engagement based on the terms set out in this Agreement.

Client Classification

Unless we notify you in writing to the contrary, we will be treating you as a ‘retail client’ forinvestment business, a ‘consumer’ for insurance business and a ‘customer’ for mortgagebusiness. This means you are afforded the highest level of protection under the regulatorysystem and have the right to take any complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Communications

We will communicate with you in English, both verbally and in writing. We may communicate with you by telephone, post, e-mail or in person. Any advice given to you by us shall be in writ-ing. We prefer our clients to give us instructions in writing, to aid clarification and avoid future misunderstandings. We will, however, accept oral instructions provided they are confirmed in writing. We may, at our discretion, refuse to accept instructions although such discretion shall not be exercised unreasonably.

We will endeavour to make arrangements for all your investments to be registered in your name unless you first instruct us otherwise in writing. All policy documents will be forwarded to you as soon as practicable after we receive them. If there are a number of documents relating to a series of transactions, we will normally hold each document until the series is complete and then forward them to you.

Disclosure and Accuracy of Information

The Client is fully responsible for all disclosures made, and the accuracy of information provided within documentation supplied by the client, which may include Client FactFinds, forms, applica-tions or proposals signed by the Client, notwithstanding any assistance given by the Firm, its staff or advisers. The Firm shall also not be liable for the actions, omissions or defaults of any third parties, whether or not such parties were introduced by the Firm or not.

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Client Money

Midwinter Financial Planning does not handle clients’ money. We never accept a cheque made out to us unless the cheque is in settlement of charges or disbursements for which we have sent you an invoice, nor do we handle cash.

Anti-Money Laundering

We are required by the anti-money laundering regulations to verify the identity of our clients, to obtain information as to the purpose and nature of the business which we conduct on their behalf, and to ensure that the information we hold is up to date. For this purpose, we may use electronic identity verification systems and we may conduct these checks from time to time throughout our relationship, not just at the beginning.

Material Interests & Professional Ethics

We will act honestly, fairly and professionally, with a focus on our ‘Clients’ best interest’. We will be open, honest and transparent in the way we deal with you, we will not place our interests above yours, we will seek to communicate clearly and without jargon, and we will always seek your views in order to best meet your expectations.

If we become aware of a connected party or a conflict of interest in relation to business that we are transacting on your behalf, we shall cease such work and disclose the matter in full to you. However, we do recognise that occasionally situations may arise where we or one of our other clients have some form of interest in business transacted for you. If this happens or we become aware that our interests or those of one of our other clients conflict with your interest, we will write to you and obtain your consent before we carry out your instructions, and detail the steps we will take to ensure fair treatment.

Rights to Change or Cancellation

In relation to any specific financial transaction, we will inform you of your statutory right tocancel. The ‘Distance Marketing Directive’ normally grants you 30 days in which you may cancel a life or pension contract. However, there will be occasions where no statutory rights are granted, however this will be explained before any contract is concluded. If you cancel a single premium (investment) contract, you may be required to pay for any loss you might reasonably incur in cancelling it, which is caused by market movements. This means that, in certain circumstances, you might not get back the full amount you invested if you cancel the policy. The Terms laid out in this Agreement are subject to change from time to time and any new Terms published by us will automatically supersede all others, once a copy has been sent to you, except for changes to our charges and fees which will take effect one month after we have notified you of such changes.

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Cancellation of Ongoing Service

The authority to act on your behalf may be terminated at any time without penalty by either party giving seven days’ notice in writing to that effect to the other, but without prejudice to the completion of transactions already initiated. Any transactions effected before termination and a due proportion of any period charges for services shall be settled to that date. This Agreement will terminate automatically if:

Either party commits a material breach of the terms thereof;

The Firm ceases to be regulated by the FCA or another appropriate regulatory authority (except for the purpose of amalgamation or reconstruction);

Either party becomes bankrupt or goes into liquidation, except for the purpose of amalgamation or reconstruction.

Recommendations and Risks

We will confirm to you in writing the basis of our recommendations along with details of any risks associated with the products recommended.

All investments carry a degree of financial risk. It is important not only that you understand the potential risks associated with any investment we recommend, and that degree of risk is accept-able to you, but that any potential losses could be tolerated when considering your overall finan-cial objectives. Please be aware that investments can fall, as well as rise, and that you may not get back the full amount invested. The price of investments we may recommend may depend on fluctuations in the financial markets, or other economic factors, which are outside our control. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance.

Specific warnings relevant to the investments, investment strategies or other products werecommend will be confirmed to you in your suitability report. Under the terms of this agree-ment we may, if appropriate, advise you on investments which are not ready realisable. We would draw your attention to the risks associated with these investments, as there is a restricted market for them. In some circumstances it may therefore not be possible to deal in the invest-ment or obtain reliable information about its value.

Record Keeping

We will record all transactions on our files, along with copies of relevant documentation. These records will be maintained indefinitely. You have a right to inspect copies of our records relating to your transactions.



Tax Advice and Assignment

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. Each party irrevocably waives any right it may have to object to any action being brought to those courts, to claim that the action has been brought to an inappropriate forum or to claim that these courts do not have jurisdiction.

All advice given by the Firm considers taxation and other legislation applying in England and Wales only. We accept no responsibility or liability for any financial or other loss incurred by you through our advice or otherwise due in any way to other taxation, regulatory or legislative regimes. If you think you might be subject to any tax or legislative regime outside of England and Wales, then we recommend you seek specialist advice, before you proceed with any recommendations made by us. You shall not be entitled to assign or trans-fer the benefit of the terms contained in this agreement. We are entitled to assign or transfer the benefit of the terms. A person who is not a party to these terms shall have no right under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any part of these terms. This clause does not affect any right or remedy of any person which exists or is available otherwise than pursuant to the Act.

Force Majeure

The Firm shall not be in breach of this Agreement and shall not incur any liability to you if there is any failure to perform its duties due to any circumstances reasonably beyond its control.

Value Added Tax (VAT)

The charges quoted in this Agreement exclude VAT when properly chargeable. Under current legislation, our services are not subject to VAT, but should this change in the future, and where VAT becomes due, we will notify you before conducting any further work.

Client Satisfaction

If at any time you would like to discuss with us how our service could be improved, please do not hesitate to contact us. If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of our service, please contact us immediately and ask to speak to a Director. If you have a complaint about financial loss, material inconvenience or material distress, please refer this to the Complaints Officer at the Firm and we will investigate the matter in full, providing you with a formal analysis of our findings. If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to refer the matter to the Financial Ombuds-man Service (FOS) within 6 months of the date of our letter.



We reserve the right to reclaim costs and expenses reasonably incurred in defending anycomplaints to the Ombudsman or Courts or similar system which are of a frivolous or vexatious nature. This applies to circumstances surrounding any products or advice given from this point, as well as previously. If the complaint is not upheld we will recover whatever costs, if any, are allowed.

The Firm is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). You may be enti-tled to compensation from the scheme if we cannot meet our obligations. This depends upon the type of business and the circumstances of the claim. Our authorising Network (ValidPath Ltd) holds compliant Professional Indemnity Insurance that satisfies FCA requirements.


This is our client agreement upon which we intend to rely. For your own benefit and protection, you should read these terms carefully before signing them. If you do not understand any point, please ask for further information.

Unless otherwise agreed, these Terms of Business apply to any future instructions you give to us. Your continuing instructions will amount to your acceptance of these Terms of Business. We do ask though that you sign and date one copy of this letter for retention on our files. This is to ensure we can be confident that you understand the basis of our relationship.

- I/we acknowledge that the client agreement will come into effect once it has been signedby all parties and will remain in force until terminated.

DECLARAT ION

Client Name

Signature

Date

Client Name

Signature

Date


D ATA P R O T E C T I O N A C T 2 0 1 8

Protecting Your Personal Information

To provide our services properly we’ll need to collect information about your personal andfinancial circumstances. We take your privacy seriously and will only use your personal informa-tion to deliver our services.

Processing of your personal data is necessary for the performance of our contract for services with you and in meeting our obligations to preventing money laundering or terrorist financing. Generally, this is the lawful basis on which we intend to rely for the processing of your data. (Please see the reference to special categories of data below). Our policy is to gather and process only that personal data which is necessary for us to conduct our services appropriately with you and to prevent money laundering or terrorist financing.

We adopt a transparent approach to the processing of your personal data. Sometimes, we may need to pass your personal information to other organisations. If you apply to take out a finan-cial product or service, we’ll need to pass certain personal details to the product or service pro-vider.

We may engage the services of third-party providers of professional services in order to enhance the service we provide to you. These parties may also need to process your personal data in the performance of their contract with us. Your personal information may be transferred electroni-cally (e.g. by email or over the internet) and we, or any relevant third party, may contact you in future by what we believe to be the most appropriate means of communication at the time (e.g. telephone/ email /letter etc.).

The organisations to whom we may pass your details also have their own obligations to deal with your personal information appropriately. Sometimes a product or service may be administered from a country outside Europe. If this is the case, the firm must put a contract in place to ensure that your information is adequately protected.

We will issue you with our Privacy Notice. This is a separate document which provides moreinformation about the nature of our personal data processing activities and includes details of our retention and deletion policies as well as your rights of access to the personal information that we hold on you.

As part of this agreement we’ll ask you to consent to the transfer of personal information inaccordance with the protections outlined above.

Special categories of personal data: there are certain categories of personal data that aresensitive by nature. The categories include: data revealing racial or ethnic origin, politicalopinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership and data concerning health. Depending on the nature of the products and services that you engage us for we may need to obtain your sensitive personal data particularly in relation to health. Our policy is that should we require any special category of personal data we will only gather this with your explicit consent.

If you are concerned about any aspect of our privacy arrangements, please speak to us.


C L I E N T F E E A G R E E M E N T – D E S I G N F E E

This agreement is made between:

Midwinter Financial Planning (‘the firm’)

and ____________________________________________________________________ (the client(s)) and supersedes any previous Client Fee Agreement made with the firm.

Design Fee - £500

It is agreed that:1. The client(s) are engaging the firm to produce a suitability report that provides adviceand recommendations relating to:

____________________________________________________________________

2. The firm have discussed the Client Agreement and have agreed with the client(s) howthe firm is to be paid for the services provided. The payment option agreed is tickedbelow: Direct payment by the client(s) only Deduction from the policy only

3. Should the client agree to implement recommendations made, the design fee is reduced from £500 to £0.

Client Declaration

Client Name

Signature

Date


It is agreed that:

1. The client(s) are engaging the firm to implement the recommendations made in thesuitability report dated _________________________________________________________________

2. The total fee payable to implement the recommendations is__________________________

3. The firm have discussed the Client Agreement and have agreed with the client(s) how the firm is to be paid for the services provided. The payment option agreed is ticked below:

Direct payment by the client(s) only Deduction from the policy only Client Declaration

I/we, the client(s) agree to the content and agree to pay the fees as set out in this agreement.

C L I E N T F E E A G R E E M E N T – I M P L E M E N TAT I O N

Client Name

Signature

Date


It is agreed that:

1. The client(s) are engaging the firm to service and provide ongoing advice for all fundsunder advice.

2. The firm will act in accordance with the terms set out in the Client Agreement whenservicing and providing ongoing advice for all funds under advice.

3. The firm have discussed the Client Agreement and have agreed with the client(s) howthe firm is to be paid for the services provided. The payment will be deducted from thepolicy.

4. Should any further chargeable work be required outside of this fee agreement, the firmwill issue a new agreement so that no misunderstanding can arise.

Deduction from the policy only option

The client(s) have chosen for the fee to be deducted from the policy and agreed to pay a fee of:

________________________ % of funds (e.g. £________________) under advice from the firm to service and provide ongoing advice.

Client Declaration

I/we, the client(s) agree to the content and agree to pay the fees as set out in this agreement.

C L I E N T F E E A G R E E M E N T – O N G O I N G S E R V I C E C H A R G E

Client Name

Signature

Date

Client Agreement Service Proposition€¦ · Midwinter Financial Planning is an Appointed...

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