Terms of Business

Why you should read this

For your own benefit and protection, you should read these terms carefully.  If you do not understand any point please ask for further information.

Terms highlighted in italics are explained in the Glossary.

You

To ensure you benefit from the highest level of regulatory protection, we will treat you as a Retail Client for investment advice or a Consumer for protection advice, unless you ask us not to.

Us

Page Russell Ltd is a limited liability company registered in England, registration number 3721291.

Our services

Before we start working for you we will agree the scope of work in a separate Client Agreement.

We offer a wide range of services, normally split into the following stages:

We advise

We will work with you to establish your financial objectives and then construct a financial plan designed to help you achieve them.  Our advice, which will be confirmed in writing, will consider your investment objectives, risk profile and any investment restrictions you place on us.

We arrange

If there is a financial product to arrange following our advice, you can either do this yourself or ask us to.

We review

Much of the work we do is on an on-going basis.  Please be aware that if no on-going client agreement is in place, any products we arrange for you will not be kept under review.

Our independence

We are independently owned and provide independent financial advice.

We provide independent advice on:

  • regulated insurance products based on a fair and personal analysis of the market; and
  • retail investment products by assessing a sufficient range of relevant products available which are:
    • diverse in terms of product type and provider to ensure your investment objectives can be met suitably, and
    • not limited by close links with any provider or contractual relationships which might impair the independence of our advice.

Our business is wholly-owned by the directors.  No financial product provider owns any part of Page Russell Ltd, or provides us with loans at discounted rates.

How we get paid

Our services are paid for almost exclusively by adviser charges, some of which may be subject to VAT.

Our services are paid for by either:

  • a pre-agreed fixed one-off charge; or
  • a pre-agreed monthly charge; or
  • a pre-agreed percentage of the portfolio to be invested.

The amounts and payment methods will be set out in a separate Client Agreement before starting any work.

Our services may be subject to VAT.  Where there is any doubt, we add VAT to our interim bills and then (if applicable) repay the VAT after our work is completed.  Our VAT registration number is 899 7979 00.

We do not receive commissions decided by product providers for advising on or arranging retail investments.  In nearly all other cases, any commission that could be paid is rebated back into the contract so you get a better deal or is refunded to you.  Any commission refunds will be accounted for and paid to you once a year.

We may receive commission for products we arranged for you before 31st December 2012, this is kept by us as payment for those past services.

Where applicable, we will issue you with an invoice which details what Adviser Charges you are due to pay.  Payment will be due within 14 days of the invoice date.  PageRussell reserve the right to charge interest at 3% above the Bank of England base rate on any Adviser Charges outstanding after 14 days.

Other costs and taxes

You may have to pay other costs, such as taxes, which are not paid or imposed via Page Russell Ltd, because of receiving our services.  Because these costs can depend on the performance of an investment, or are subject to change by Government legislation, we may not be able to quantify these costs in advance.

Client money

We do not handle client money.  This means we cannot accept a cheque made out to Page Russell Ltd (unless it is to pay an Adviser Charge) or handle cash.

Conflicts of interest

If we find out that our interests (or those of one of our other clients) conflict with your interests, 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.

Information supplied by you and others

We provide our advice based on the information supplied by you, product providers or other third parties.  If you apply for an insurance policy, it is vital you disclose all material facts.

We cannot be held responsible if the information you or other provide is later shown to be incorrect or incomplete.

Disclosure of all material facts means that you must answer all the questions carefully, to the best of your knowledge and belief.  Insurance companies check the information you give them if you make a claim, and they can refuse to pay your claim if the information you give them is wrong.

Best execution and plan documents

In transmitting orders on your behalf to third parties, we will take all reasonable steps to ensure the best execution of your order.  We will endeavour to arrange for all your investments to be registered in your name unless you ask us otherwise in writing.

All Policy Documents will be forwarded to you as soon as practicable after we receive them.  If there are several documents relating to a series of transactions, we will normally hold each document until the series is complete and then forward them to you.

Communication

We ask you to instruct us in English, in writing via our client portal.

We ask you to instruct us in writing before we arrange any investment, insurance or pension arrangement for you.  At our discretion, verbal instructions may also be acceptable, but these must be followed up in writing.

We use the English language only in our communications.  We will not charge you extra to use a distance communication (such as the post, phone or e-mail).  We may record telephone conversations or face-to-face meetings with you.

Email and the post are not secure. We recommend you use our Client Portal wherever possible to share documents or send us your information or instructions.

Risk warnings

The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may not get back the full amount invested.

The price of investments we 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.

Product cancellation rights

In most cases you can exercise a right to cancel a contract regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

In general terms you will normally have a 30-day cancellation period for life insurance, pure protection, payment protection or pension policies and a 14-day cancellation period for other contracts.

The start of the cancellation period will normally begin, for pure protection policies, when you are informed that the contract has been concluded or, if later, when you have received the contractual terms and conditions.  In other cases, the cancellation period will begin on the day the contract is concluded or, if later, the day on which you receive the contractual terms and conditions.

Instructions for exercising the right to cancel, if applicable, will be contained in the product disclosure information issued to you.

If you cancel a single premium contract, you may have to pay for any loss reasonably incurred in cancelling it caused by market movements.  So, in some circumstances, you might not get back the full amount invested.

Who regulates us?

Page Russell Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Our registration number is 403031.  Our permitted business is advising on and arranging investments (including pension transfers and opt-outs) and insurance.  You can check this on the Financial Services Register by visiting the FCA’s website www.fca.org.uk/firms/systems-reporting/register, or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768.

We are not authorised by the relevant regulators to:

  • give legal advice or carry out a reserved legal activity;
  • audit accounts;
  • or provide advice on or arrange regulated mortgages.

If you are not happy

If you are not happy about any part of our service please contact us first.  If you cannot settle a compliant with us you may be able to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service and, if we cannot meet our obligations, you may be entitled to compensation from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

To register a complaint, write to the Complaints Officer, PageRussell, 14 Forbes Business Centre, Kempson Way, Bury St Edmunds, IP32 7AR; or call 0345 345 6282.  Our complaints procedure is available here.

If you cannot settle your complaint with us, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service by writing to Exchange Tower, London, E14 9SR; or calling 0845 080 1800.

Page Russell Ltd is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.  Further information is available by calling 020 7892 7300.  You may be entitled to compensation from the scheme if we cannot meet our obligations.

This depends on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim:

  • Cash deposits are covered for 100% of the first £85,000
  • Most types of other investment business are covered for 100% of the first £50,000.
  • Advising on and arranging insurance is covered for 90% of the claim, with no upper limit for the insurance products we advise on. (Some compulsory products, such as third-party motor insurance, may be covered for 100% of the claim with no upper limit).

Products and services not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority

Some services we provide or products we advise on and arrange are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, so they may not be subject to the same cancellation rights and may not be covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

These products or services include but are not limited to:

  • General financial planning – where we do not advise you to buy, sell or vary a regulated product;
  • Small self-administered schemes (SSASs) – although some assets owned by a SSAS will be regulated;
  • Advice to employers about workplace pensions – although advice to individual members of contract-based pension scheme is regulated;
  • Cash deposits – except cash-only ISAs and deposit-based Child Trust Funds;
  • Directly owned commercial property;
  • Commercial loans to businesses with an annual turnover of £1million or more; and
  • Loans made by the trustees of SSASs.
  • Unregulated collective investment schemes, such as funds of hedge funds.
  • Tax compliance and book keeping services.

Stopping our services

You or we may terminate our authority to act on your behalf at any time.

Notice of this termination must be given in writing and will take effect from the date of receipt.  Any transactions already started will be completed according to these Terms of Business unless otherwise agreed in writing.  You will be liable to pay for any transactions made prior to termination and any Adviser Charges outstanding, if applicable.

Changes

These Terms of Business are governed by the Laws of England & Wales.

Any material change to these Terms of Business will be notified to you in writing.