1. Lamb Financial
Lamb Financial are permitted to advise on and arrange (bring about) deals in investments.
With regard to investments which we have arranged for you, these will not be kept under review unless we agree that this is a service we have agreed to provide, but we will advise you upon your request. However, we may contact you in the future by means of an unsolicited promotion (i.e. where you had not expressly requested it) should we wish to contact you to discuss the relative merits of an investment or service which we feel may be of interest to you.
Lamb Financial do not handle clients’ money. We never accept a cheque made payable to us or handle cash (unless it is payment in settlement of adviser charges or disbursements for which we have sent you an invoice). If you do send us money, this may delay your transaction as we may have to return this money to you.
2. Regulatory Status
Lamb Financial, Unit 1 Meadowfield Court, Ponteland, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE20 9SD is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Our Financial Services Register number is 782092.
You can check this on the Financial Services Register by visiting the FCA’s website – http://www.fca.org.uk/firms/systems-reporting/register or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768.
3. Client Categorisation
In providing investment services to you, we will categorise you as a ‘retail client’. The type of client category will determine the level of protections afforded to you under the regulatory system. As a ‘retail client’ the regulatory protections available to you are determined by this category and will be the ‘highest available’.
Where we have categorised you other than as a ‘retail client’ (see above), you may request re-categorisation under a client category which benefits from a higher degree of protection. However, we reserve the right to agree to such a re-categorisation on a case-by-case basis, and where we agree to do so it does not necessarily mean that you will have a right of access to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
4. Services Provided
As independent financial advisers, we provide the following services:
Lifestyle Financial Planning
- Aiming to help you achieve and maintain your desired lifestyle and maintaining you and your family’s standard of living in the event of you suffering a critical illness, being incapacitated and being unable to work due ill health or dying.
Wealth Planning
- Creating, monitoring and reviewing your savings and investments so that they can support your lifestyle, both now and in the future.
- Managing the risk profile of your portfolios so that they operate within your personal risk tolerances.
Retirement Planning
- Pre retirement capital accumulation
- At retirement planning options
- This will also include building, monitoring and reviewing pension funds so that help fund your lifestyle in retirement.
- Managing the risk profile of your portfolios so that they operate within your personal risk tolerances.
Contingency Planning
- Aiming to help you to maintain you and your family’s standard of living in the event of you dying, suffering a critical illness or being incapacitated and being unable to work due ill health.
Estate Planning
- Passing your wealth down the family generations as tax efficiently as possible.
We will consider other services upon request.
5. Conflict of Interests
We will endeavour always to act in the best interests of you our client. However, circumstances can arise where we or one of our other clients may have some form of interest in business being transacted 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 write to you and obtain your consent before we carry out your instructions, and detail the steps we will take to ensure fair treatment.
6. Best Execution Policy
It is in the interests of our clients and Lamb Financial that we obtain the best possible result when placing orders with other firms (e.g. third party brokers) for the execution of client orders or when transmitting orders on behalf of clients for particular investments – e.g. shares. We are required under the Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority to take all reasonable steps to provide ‘best execution’ when carrying out such transactions.
Where we place or transmit orders for such investments on behalf of our clients, we may utilise the services of a third party broker and base our decision to place or transmit an order on the price and cost of execution of the order. For orders in collective investment schemes (e.g. unit trust), however, the price of units or shares in the scheme is normally set by the scheme operator or manager and as such we have little influence over the price available.
7. Termination
We may decide to stop providing services to you at any time; if we do so we will write to you to confirm this.
You can ask us to stop providing any services to you at any time, without penalty, but you must do so in writing.
We will keep a copy of this agreement on our files so that we have a copy of the terms on which we acted for you. Notices given by you under this agreement must be sent in writing by post. Notices will be treated as having been received by us on the second business day after you have posted the notice to us.
We will have no authority to act for you after this agreement is ended.
If the agreement is ended while we are providing services to you, we will finish providing the agreed services unless you ask us not to.
You have to pay any outstanding charges for advice or services already provided, even if this agreement has ended. Any fees outstanding at the date of termination will be due within 14 days of the termination date.
If you have elected to pay for the initial advice via instalments, the full amount of the initial advice a charge will need to be paid irrespective of whether:
- the recommended product(s) is/are cancelled before the amount if fully paid; and/or
- you subsequently decide to transfer your business to another firm/financial adviser
Upon receipt of your instructions to cancel an ongoing service, we will, if relevant;
- arrange for the refund of any payments made in advance for ongoing services that are no longer to be provided; and
Any refund of payments already made in advance will be refunded to you via cheque. This payment will be forwarded to you within 21 business days of receiving your written instructions.
If you receive any payments for any ongoing services that are no longer provided, we will arrange for the relevant payment (S) to be refunded to you via cheque. Any refunds will be forwarded to you within 21 business days of receiving the actual payment.
8. Payment Instructions
We can receive payment by bank transfer or cheque (but only when made payable to the firm).
We do not accept payments by cash in any circumstances.
If we agree for your adviser charges to be deducted from your investments, we will confirm separately the exact details.
You must pay our fees in accordance with the payment terms stated on our invoices. In the absence of payment terms on our invoices, payment will be due within 14 days of the invoice date. If you fail to pay our adviser charges when they are due, you will be in breach of this Agreement and we may enforce our rights against you.
Our bank details will be provided on our invoice.
9. Hourly Rate
Our current hourly rate is £165.
Please Note:
Meetings after 6.00pm with be charged at 1.5x standard rate.
10. Travelling
We are happy to see you at a location convenient for you and will charge 45 pence per mile, based upon a starting point of our office, alternatively, we offer Skype meetings for your convenience or meetings at our office.
11. Cancellation Rights
In most cases you can exercise a right to cancel by withdrawing from the contract. In general terms, you will normally have a 30day cancellation period for a life, pure protection, payment protection or pension policy and a 14 days cancellation period for all other policies.
For pure protection policies the start of the cancellation period will normally begin 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 relevant product disclosure information which will be issued to you.
If you cancel a single premium 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.
12. Investment Risk
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 we recommend will be confirmed to you in your suitability report.
13. Paying for our Services
You will pay for our services on the basis of an adviser charge (an agreed payment from the investment product), a fee (payable direct from you), commission, or a combination.
We will discuss your payment options with you and answer any questions you have. We will not charge you until we have agreed with you how we are to be paid.
We will discuss with you the basis of our charges, based on the types(s) of work we are asked to undertake for you.
We will discuss with you when you will have to pay our fees, both initial and ongoing.
All fee amounts quoted below are exclusive of VAT, expenses and disbursements; these will be added to the invoice if applicable.
14. Fee Options
14.1 Professional
We will charge you purely for our time. We will confirm in our service and payment agreement how long we estimate the work to take.
Our current hourly rate is £165.00
Please Note: Meetings after 6.00pm with be charges at 1.5 x standard rate.
14.2 Fixed Fees
We will charge you an agreed fixed fee to provide you with our service, based upon our hourly rate.
You will be provided with our service and payment agreement that relates specifically to the service you request from us at that time.
Please see attached for our latest fee menu.
14.3 Traditional
We will charge you 2.5% of any amount invested, excluding direct deposit-based accounts, for which there will be no charge if part of a mixed portfolio of products.
Fees will be paid, as an ‘adviser charge’ by the product provider to ourselves. You will not pay us directly.
14.4 Ongoing Investment Risk Management, Monitoring and Reviews
This service is automatically part of any service we provide where money is invested unless you request otherwise; please speak to your adviser if you do not wish to include ongoing services.
We will provide you with an ongoing administration service, monitor and review your investments on an ongoing basis. The service we provide will include:
| Service |
Portfolio value |
|||
| Under £50,000 | £50,001-£100,000 | £100,001-£350,000 | £351,000+ | |
|
Portfolio Performance Report, including a benchmark comparison |
x | x | x | x |
|
Recommendation and implementation of fund switches, if appropriate. |
x | x | x | x |
| Investment Risk Analysis | x | x | x | |
| Amending your portfolio to match your attitude to risk, if required. | x | x | x | |
| A review meeting at our office, if required | x | x | ||
Based on a fund value of £100,000, an ongoing charge of 0.0834% of this amount would mean that it would cost £83.40 per month to provide an ongoing service (£100,000 x 0.0834% = £83.40). If the fund value increases over time, the ongoing charge then increases accordingly, for example if your investments increased by 10% to £110,000, this amount would increase to £91.74. Conversely, if the fund value decreases over time, then the ongoing charge will reduce for example if your investments decreased by 10% to £90,000 this amount would reduce to £75.06.
14.5 Protection Advice
14.5.1 Professional
We will charge a fixed fee based upon purely amount of time we estimate it will take to provide you with our service. This fee will be payable in three monthly instalments.
Our current hourly rate is £165.00
Any commission generated from a protection policy(ies) we recommend will be used to reduce your monthly premium.
14.5.2 Traditional
We will be paid a monthly commission by a product provider for any policies we recommend, and you proceed with, which will then be used to offset our fee.
Please note that should you cancel the policy within (up to) 48 months, and the commission paid does not cover the fee we would have charged, we will invoice you for the balance.
We reserve the right to retain any excess commission payable above our fee.
We will provide you with illustrations with and without commission.
15 Information about other Costs and Associated Charges
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 third-party documentation, for example a Key Features Document.
16 Issuing Reports and Financial Plans
For data protection purposes, all reports and financial plans will be issued via email, password protected. Should you wish to receive a hard copy of these documents we will charge a fixed fee of £15 to cover the cost of sending by recorded delivery.
17 Other Benefits We May Receive
From time to time we may attend training events funded and /or delivered by product providers, fund managers and platforms. These events are designed to enhance our knowledge and ultimately therefore enhance the quality of service we provide to our clients. Further details are available on request.
18 Accounting to You
We will confirm to you in writing the basis or our reason for recommending the transaction executed on your behalf.
We will also 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.
19. Nominee & Safe Custody Services
Lamb Financial does not safeguard or administer client assets, but we may arrange business through platforms, which will provide custody services for your assets. Where this is the case, the legal title of investments will be registered in the name of the third party’s nominee.
Transactions will be transmitted to the fund supermarket, investment wrap platform, or similar third party investment institution for them to execute. Money or transferred assets will be placed immediately with that third party for investment – we will never hold the assets for you. We will provide you with the relevant account opening details for the identified third party such as their Terms & Conditions, Nominee and Safe Custody Service, Best Execution Policy, Execution Venues and Conflicts of Interest Policy (or equivalent documents). The legal title of investments will be in the name of the third party’s nominee.
For non-platform business we will make arrangements for your investments to be registered in your name unless you first instruct us otherwise in writing.
20. Investment Objectives and Restrictions
Following the issue of this document, any subsequent advice or recommendation offered to you will be based on your stated investment objectives, agreed level of risk you are prepared/able to take and any restrictions you wish to place on the type of investments or policies you are willing to consider. Details of your stated investment objectives will be identified during our discussions with you and confirmed within the suitability report that we will issue to you to confirm our recommendation(s). Unless confirmed in writing, to the contrary, we will assume that you do not wish to place any restrictions on the advice we give you.
21. Mode of Communication
We will enter into communication with you through whatever means are convenient to you and us, including face-to-face, telephone, e-mail and other acceptable electronic communication methods.
Where possible, for data protection, environmental and cost reasons, we will communicate to you via email unless you specifically request us to send written documentation. Any confidential information will be password protected, using your client reference number, which is Client Number. Should you prefer a printed version or our reports or suitability letters, we will post this, recorded delivery. We will make an additional charge for this, which is detailed in our services and payment agreement.
22. Complaints
If you wish to register a complaint, please contact us:
In writing: Write to David Lamb, Lamb Financial, Unit 1 Meadowfield Court Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, NE20 9SD. [email protected]
By phone: Telephone 01661 860 438
If you cannot settle your complaint with us, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
23. Financial Services Compensation Scheme
We are covered by the FSCS. 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. Most types of investment business are covered up to a maximum of £50,000. Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS
24. Data Protection
Please refer to the separate Data Protection Statement that we have issued to you that sets out how we collect and use data about you.
25. 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
For your protection, we require all instructions to encash investments to be confirmed both verbally and in writing.
26. Legal Advice
We are not solicitors and cannot advise on legal matters or take responsibility for the drafting of legal documents. If required, we can advise on the financial or taxation implications of certain legal documents, for example wills or trust deeds.
Whilst every care will be taken in the advice we give in relation to any information contained in documents, such advice and/or comment should not be taken as settling the documents, which would have been drafted and settled by your legal advisors. Accordingly, we cannot accept any liability or responsibility for any loss or damage suffered as a result of any defect in legal documents arising from the drafting, preparation, completion, or the mechanics of putting them into effect.
27. Tax Advice
We may suggest you structured transactions in ways that appear to be more efficient for tax purposes, but we are not tax accountants or tax barristers. If we introduce you to tax accountants, tax barristers or other tax professionals, we cannot be held responsible for any advice you may take from them.
You recognise the tax law changes and we cannot be held responsible for any changes in law or revenue practice between suggesting tax efficient transactions and those transactions taking place.
28. Your Responsibilities
These include:
- To review these Terms of Business and satisfy yourself that they are acceptable to you before you sign it. If any points are not absolutely clear, you should discuss them with us.
- To advise us in writing if at some future date the terms of the Statement become unacceptable to you.
- To read any data or investment literature provided for you by us or by the managers of your investments and to notify us if there are any points which you do not understand. You retain absolute discretion over all investment and implementation decisions.
- To advise us of any changes in your circumstances for example a new address, marital status, employment status.
- To act in an open, honest, understanding and courteous manner.
- To reasonably follow our processes to ensure that all work stays within budget quoted and minimise the risk of errors.
- To commit to completing Agreed Actions and schedule time to do so. If you do not provide information or documents within an agreed timescale, we will send you a reminder via email. Please ensure that our emails are not sent into your spam folder. We will not charge for the first reminder. Please advise us if you need to revise timescales
- To provide at least 24 hours’ notice if a meeting needs to be cancelled. Failure to do this will incur a cancellation fee.
Please note:
We reserve the right to terminate our relationship if these responsibilities are persistently ignored. Any fees accrued up to termination will be payable.
