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Terms and conditions

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This agreement sets out the terms under which we’ll provide our services to you, so it’s important that you read it fully and in conjunction with our Client Agreement (what we do and how we charge) document. If there’s something you don’t understand please ask us to explain it.

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If you have a question or concern about any aspect of our services please contact us at:

• Telephone: 01753 622756
• Email: mail@centuryfp.co.uk
• Website: www.centuryfp.co.uk
• In writing: Century Financial Planning, St Stephens House, Arthur road, Windsor SL4 1RU

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Century Financial Planning is a trading name of Century Law Limited

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1. Independent Financial Advice

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We offer independent investment advice. This means that we consider a wide range of financial strategies and products. We are constantly reviewing the market to ensure that the services and products we offer are appropriate for our clients.

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Where we recommend particular investment strategies and products to you, these will be selected based on your personal circumstances, financial goals and objectives. We’ll consider a number of factors, including the services you need, the cost of investing, how much risk you are prepared to accept in an investment product and how much of a drop in its value you could withstand.

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The areas we can advise on include:

• Open ended investment companies
• Enterprise investment scheme
• Phased retirement & income drawdown
• Unit trusts
• Structured products, incl. structured deposits
• Term assurance
• ISAs
• Venture capital trusts
• Critical illness cover
• Investment bonds
• Pensions
• Income protection
• Exchange traded funds
• Annuities
• Long term care
• Investment trusts

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We don’t provide advice in relation to individual share holdings. If this is something you need assistance with, we can refer you to a stockbroker.

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We don’t provide advice on options, futures and other derivative contracts as we believe that these are unlikely to be suitable for our clients.

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Where we provide protection planning services we are an insurance intermediary and will provide advice which is based on a fair and personal analysis of the market. This means that we consider a wide range of financial strategies and products. We are constantly reviewing the market to ensure that the services and products we offer are appropriate for our clients.  

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Our obligations

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• Our initial meeting is at our expense and without obligation to you.
• Following our initial meeting we will write to you proposing how we would work for you and the costs associated with employing our services and for the creation of your financial plan.
• Before providing advice we’ll assess your needs, consider your financial objectives and discuss your attitude to any risks that may be involved. If you do not want us to review a particular area of financial planning, we can exclude it, if you instruct us to do so. This might of course have a bearing on the advice that might have been given.
• We’ll confirm any recommendations we make in writing (our financial plan or suitability report) along with details of any special risks that may be associated with the products or investment strategies we’ve recommended.
• Where we agree to provide you with a service that includes an ongoing review of the suitability of your financial plan, we’ll carry out this review at least annually. To do this we will need to make contact with you to assess whether the information we hold about you remains accurate and up to date. We’ll issue you with a report setting out the results of our assessment and, if relevant, any updated recommendations.
• 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 recommended 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 arrange are provided in the relevant product literature provided.
• We may, where appropriate, recommend holding some, or all, of your investments with a discretionary fund manager (DFM), a professional investment manager appointed to monitor your portfolio and make investment decisions on your behalf. In such cases we’ll explain the respective responsibilities of ourselves and the DFM in relation to your investments.  
• In some circumstances we may need to act as your ‘agent’ in relation to the part of your portfolio held with a DFM. This means that you won’t have a direct contractual relationship with the DFM and the DFM will instead treat our firm as its client. Before setting up this type of arrangement we’ll explain the implications to you.  
  

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Financial crime

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• We are obliged to put in place controls to prevent our business from being used for money laundering and other forms of financial crime.
• We’ll verify your identity before undertaking any business with you. Currently we do this by creating a copy of your passport or driving licence along with a recent utility bill or bank statement. In the future 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. An electronic check may leave a ‘footprint’ on your credit file but it will not affect your credit rating.

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Best execution

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• Where we send investment applications on your behalf to third parties (e.g. to put an investment into force), we’ll take all sufficient steps to ensure that we obtain the best possible result for you. This is referred to as ‘best execution’.
• We have a best execution policy. If you would like to see a copy of it please ask us.
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Conflicts of interest

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• Although we’ll always try to act in your best interests there may be situations where we or one of our other clients has some form of interest in the 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 own interests, we’ll write to you and ask for your consent to proceed before we carry out any business for you. We’ll also let you know the steps we’ll take to make sure you are treated fairly.
• We have a conflicts of interest policy. If you would like to see a copy of it please ask us.

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Communicating with you

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• Our normal ways of communicating with you are by telephone, post, e-mail, SMS text message, via our online portal or in person. Our communications will be in English.
• We may ask you to confirm your instructions to us in writing as this helps to avoid any future misunderstandings.

Your obligations

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This section sets out your obligations in agreeing to receive our services.

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Providing information about your circumstances

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• Our advice will be based on the information that you give so it’s important that you provide us with accurate and up to date information when we request details about your circumstances and objectives. This will allow us to provide you with suitable advice. If the information you provide is inaccurate or if you limit the information provided this could affect the suitability of the advice we give.

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Payment for services

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• We aim to make our fees clear and transparent and will provide you with a personalised (what we do and how we charge) agreement for your consideration.
• All fees and charges will be detailed within the agreement in writing prior to the commencement of our work. By signing the agreement you are agreeing to pay the charges for our services. Your selected payment method will also be confirmed in the agreement. We’ll tell you if any payments are subject to VAT.
• We separate our Financial planning into three phases, planning, implementation and ongoing services.
• Our planning charges are payable once we’ve completed our agreed work, provided you with your planning report and must be settled within 14 days.
• In some limited circumstances (for protection planning business only) you have the option to pay our charges via a commission payment from the product provider. If the commission payment relates to a regular contribution policy and you stop paying premiums on that policy we may be obliged to refund the commission received back to the policy provider. In such cases, we reserve the right to request the full payment of any outstanding balance of charges for our services.
• Any products we have implemented for you will only be kept under review as part of an ongoing service for which you have agreed to pay. Our ongoing services are optional, but if you agree to purchase an ongoing service, unless otherwise agreed, the ongoing service will be provided as a follow up to the Planning phase.
• Our charges for ongoing services will start at the point where we take on the responsibility for ongoing management.
• Our ongoing services can be paid by retainer, percentage of your funds under management, paid directly or facilitated by the product provider or a combination of the above.
• The fees received by us for providing an ongoing service will be detailed in writing to you annually.
• Ongoing services can be cancelled at any time by informing us in writing with one month written notice, but please note that we do reserve the right to charge you for services we have provided before cancellation.
• Where our charges are based on a % of your investments, the amount of our ongoing charges may increase as the size of your fund grows.
• In some circumstances we may receive ongoing payments (commission) from product providers relating to existing investments you hold. Such payments may be taken into account when determining the charges for ongoing services. We’ll discuss and agree this with you where relevant.

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Legal and accounting advice

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• We are not qualified to provide legal or accounting advice or to prepare any legal or accounting documents. This means that the onus is on you to refer any point of law or accountancy that may arise during the course of discussions with us, to a solicitor or accountant.

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Useful information about our services

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Who authorises us to advise you?

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• We are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), 12 Endeavour Square, Stratford, London, E20 1JN. www.fca.org.uk. Our firm reference number is 474899
• Our permitted business is advising on and arranging pensions, savings and investment products, non-investment insurance contracts and mortgages.
• You can check our details 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.
• Unless we tell you otherwise, we’ll treat you as a retail client for investment business. This means that you are given the highest level of protection available under the UK’s regulatory system.
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What if things go wrong?

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• If you are unhappy with our advice or any aspect of our services, we encourage you to contact us as soon as possible. We’ll do our best to resolve your concerns.
  ­- Telephone: 01753 622756
  ­- Email: abird@centurylawlimited.com
  ­- In writing: Alan Bird, Century Financial Planning, St Stephens House, Arthur Road, Windsor SL4 1RU
• We have a complaints procedure and we can provide further details on request. If you do have a complaint, and you are not happy with our response, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) may be able to help. The FOS settles disputes between financial services business and their clients. Full details are available at www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.

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Additional piece of mind

• The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is the UK’s statutory compensation fund for customers of authorised financial services firms who are unable to pay claims against them, usually because they have gone out of business.
• You may be able to claim compensation from the FSCS if we can’t meet our obligations. The amount of compensation available will depend on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim. We can provide more specific information on request, but as a guide:
  Investments - eligible claims related to most types of investment business are covered for 100% od a claim up to a maximum of £85,000 per person per firm.
  Insurance - in the majority of cases, eligible claims about the advising and arranging of protection products are covered for 90% of the claim, without any upper limit.
• Further information is available from the FSCS at www.fscs.org.uk.

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Benefits we may receive

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• Under the rules of our regulator, the FCA, as a firm providing independent advice we are unable to accept or retain payments or benefits from other firms (e.g. product providers) as this would conflict with our independent status.
• From time to time we may attend training events funded and /or delivered by product providers, fund managers and investment platforms. These events are designed to develop our knowledge and enhance the quality of service we provide to our clients. As such this doesn’t affect our obligation to act in your best interests. Please ask us if you want further details.

Cancellation and amendments

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Ending this agreement

• You or we may terminate this agreement at any time, without penalty.
• Notice of termination must be given in writing and will take effect from the date of receipt, all fees being received will cease within one month.
• Any transactions already initiated will be completed according to this agreement unless otherwise agreed in writing.
• You will be liable to pay for any services we have provided before cancellation and any outstanding fees, if applicable.

Amendments

• From time to time it may be necessary to amend the terms set out in this agreement where it’s not necessary to issue a new agreement. If this is the case we’ll write to you with details of the changes at least 28 business days before the changes apply.  

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Product cancellation rights

• Full details of any financial products we recommend to you will be provided in the relevant product information you will receive. This will include information about any product cancellation rights along with any other early termination rights and penalties.

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Protecting your personal information

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• To provide our services properly we’ll need to collect information about your personal and financial circumstances. We take your privacy seriously and will only use your personal information to deliver our services.  
• Processing of your personal data is necessary for the performance of our contract for services with you. 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.
• 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 financial product or service we’ll need to pass certain personal details to the product or service provider.
• 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 electronically (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.
• Our Privacy Notice is available upon request. This is a is a separate document which provides more information 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 in accordance with the protections outlined above.
• Special categories of personal data: there are certain categories of personal data that are sensitive by nature. The categories include: data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, 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.

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Declaration

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• If you choose to employ our services we will request you sign our client agreement – what we do and how we charge (personalised for you) and you acknowledge that the client agreement will come into effect once it has been signed by all parties and will remain in force until terminated.  
• The agreement is governed, and shall be interpreted in accordance with English law and both parties shall submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.
• This document will be referenced in our Client Agreement -what we do and how we charge, if you employ our services you will be required to sign a declaration confirming receipt and acceptance of these terms and conditions.

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Signing of our client agreement – What we do & how we charge confirms your acceptance of the terms and conditions outlined in this document.