This document sets out the basis on which we will conduct business with you and on your behalf. It is our standard client agreement and we intend to rely on it, in conjunction with our fee engagement and scope of works. It is an important document and, for your own benefit and protection, we would ask you to read it carefully before proceeding with our service. If you are unsure of any of its terms, please contact us for an explanation.
The terms of this Client Agreement come into force immediately you engage us to conduct business and services for you, and remains in force until further notice.
Chapters Financial Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulates the financial services industry in the UK and their address is 12 Endeavour Square, London, E20 1JN. You can check this on the Financial Services Register by visiting the FCA's website www.fca.org.uk or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768. Our FCA Register Number is 402899.
Our permitted business is advising on, distributing and arranging transactions in savings and investment products, pensions and insurance contracts for both corporate and individual clients.
Chapters Financial Limited offers independent financial advice and therefore provides investment services and distributes products from the whole market and from a range of insurers for non-investment insurance (i.e. term assurance, critical illness cover, permanent health insurance, private medical insurance) on the basis of a comprehensive and fair analysis of the market.
We will advise and make a recommendation for you after we have assessed the background to your personal/financial circumstances, including your needs. In some situations, we shall only be providing you with information rather than advice, and this will be made clear to you on those occasions. In such circumstances we may ask some questions to narrow down the selection of products on which we will provide details and you would then need to make your own choice about how to proceed.
In order to ensure that your objectives are achieved, it is important to make sure that the strategy we have implemented continues to be appropriate.We will therefore invite you to undertake a regular review process in accordance with your review schedule.
On issue of this letter any subsequent advice or recommendation offered to you will be based upon stated objectives, acceptable level of risk, any restrictions you wish to place on the type of investments and insurance policies you are willing to consider.
Details of your stated objectives will be included in the Suitability Report confirming the reasons for our recommendations.
Each client with whom the firm does business is categorised to identify the level of regulatory protection. We propose to classify you as a 'Retail Client' which affords you the highest level of regulatory protection available.
Chapters Financial offers a professional financial planning service to meet your evolving needs over your lifetime. Our team has the experience and skills to provide personalised, independent financial advice and planning solutions to guide you, your family, business or charity to reach your future financial goals.
Our standard service can be individually tailored to your specific financial planning needs, and would typically involve:-
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Initial meeting |
Initial consultation, provided at our cost, is without obligation to you. |
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Issue engagement documentation |
Detailing our understanding of your requirements, the specific service we propose to provide and how much it will cost you, including whether you will have to pay VAT. |
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Receipt of your agreement to proceed |
Obtain additional background information if required about you and your financial situation. |
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Analysis of information we have obtained |
Development and preparation of recommended financial planning strategy based on your agreed needs and circumstances. |
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Second meeting |
To consider and discuss our recommendations and agree your preferred strategy, if required. |
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Implementation |
To complete all necessary paperwork, liaise with product providers, insurers, and other professional contacts, as appropriate. Check and issue documentation. This is the point at which the initial fee would typically become due. |
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On-going review service |
Once initial solutions are established, it is important to review your financial planning regularly as your life and wealth evolve, making adjustments and changes to your strategy to reflect your developing aspirations and needs. |
Our fee based charging structure encompasses two elements:
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Based on hourly rates. Whether you buy a product or not, we will charge a fee for our independent financial planning advice and services. Our total initial fee is subject to a minimum amount of £1,700. We will keep a record of the time we spend on your financial planning service. |
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Based on a percentage of funds invested, as detailed below. |
Our charges can be paid by cheque/bank transfer, or deduction from your investments may be possible; or a combination of the two options, to suit you and agreed at outset.
Some insurers will still pay commission on protection policies (for example life assurance and income protection) in which case this can be used to offset our agreed fee if you wish.
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Current Hourly Rates: |
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Advice will be provided by a qualified Financial Planner: a professional who helps individuals manage their finances by providing advice on money issues such as investments, insurance, savings, estate planning, taxes and retirement, depending on the client's circumstances. |
£375 per hour |
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We will always agree the level of this remuneration and your payment options before proceeding with your agreed financial planning project. Our letter of engagement and scope of works will confirm the fee and specific service to be provided. We will not charge you until you have agreed how we are to be remunerated. |
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You will find some typical costs for example of services below: |
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Example of our costs to deliver your financial planning project Our average charge to a new client requiring a review of their investments is: |
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Financial planning advice |
7 hours at £375 per hour |
£2,625.00 |
Average cost for new investment review £2,625.00 |
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| In assessing our overall advice charges, we have considered fair value based on the total level of investment within all arrangements with Chapters Financial. As an indication, we would consider that our charges offer value for a total investment value of £100,000 or above. | ||||
We offer a choice of three on-going servicing packages. The cost of these will be based on an annual percentage of the value of your investments.
However, the charge may be spread over 12 months and applied proportionally to the value of your investments monthly. For example, the annual service fee would be applied at a monthly rate of 0.85/12 = 0.0708%.
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Service provided |
Annual |
Bi-annual |
Quarterly |
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Annual financial review * |
✓ |
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Half-yearly financial review * |
✓ |
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Quarterly financial review * |
✓ |
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Quarterly newsletters |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
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Telephone |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
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Email access |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
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Valuation reports with details of total costs |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
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Portfolio administration |
✓ |
✓ |
✓ |
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Additional research services Asset allocation benchmarking |
✓ |
✓ ✓ |
On-going Service Costs | Annual | Bi-annual | Quarterly |
Percentage of investment value | 0.85% p.a. | 1.10% p.a. | 1.35% p.a. |
Minimum annual fee
| £1,600 | £2,050 | £2,500 |
Examples of costs*: | £1,600 | £2,050 | £2,500 |
For a portfolio value of £200,000
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£1,700
(£200,000 x 0.85%) |
£2,200
(£200,000 x 1.10%) |
£2,700
(£200,000 x 1.35%) |
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*Costs can be paid directly and paid monthly if agreed and preferred, or by deduction from your investment. As our fee is based on the value of your investment on the calculation date, the monthly/annual charge will vary as your portfolio value varies.
If lower amounts are invested and you have elected to pay your ongoing service costs by deduction from your investment, we will monitor the monthly fees received and, if the total after 12 months is below the minimum annual fee, we will invoice you for the shortfall. | |||
* We will regularly remind you about the importance of the financial review, but it will be your decision each time whether you require a review.
Please note you may cease the selected option at any time, at which point your financial planning service with Chapters Financial Limited will end. This can be re-started by additional negotiation.
We will contact you with invitations to arrange a financial review, in accordance with your review schedule. If you request a financial review, this is likely to include:
We will normally communicate with you and expect to receive communications from you in English. If you wish to communicate with us in another language, please contact us.
In most cases, communications that you receive from us will either be presented in or confirmed in writing. We may also meet with you face to face or communicate verbally with you by telephone. We request that our clients give us instructions in writing to avoid possible disputes. Therefore, any verbal instruction you make should be subsequently confirmed in writing.
We may, at our discretion, refuse to accept instructions although such discretion shall not be exercised unreasonably. We keep records of all business transactions for at least five years (however please see below under 'Protection and Use of Personal Data'). You have the right to inspect copies of any papers or computer records relating to your transactions. We do, however, reserve the right not to provide you with copies of records, if information relating to other parties would be disclosed.
To assist us in providing you with a comprehensive service and to keep our records as up to date as possible, please notify us of any changes to your personal circumstances, e.g., name change, change of address, etc., promptly.
In the event of Chapters Financial assisting you in the completion of any investment application or policy proposal forms you will continue to bear full responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the information entered on such forms. It is your responsibility to provide complete and accurate information to us and insurers when you commence your policy, throughout the life of your policy, and when you renew your insurance. It is important that you ensure that all statements you make on proposal forms, claim forms, and other documents are full and accurate. We cannot be held responsible for incorrect data held in the event of non-disclosure.
If you fail to disclose any material information to us or to your insurers, this could invalidate your insurance cover and could mean that part or all of a claim may not be paid.
We must take all sufficient steps to obtain the best possible result on your behalf when placing or passing on your instructions to buy or sell an investment. This is referred to as 'best execution'. We are required to put in place, provide a summary of and obtain your consent to our best execution policy. A summary is available as Appendix I and, by signing this agreement, you are consenting to that policy.
Where we arrange a life policy, pension or investment for you, the provider will produce documentation as evidence of the transaction. All investments will 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 several documents relating to a series of transactions are involved, we will normally hold each document until the series is complete and then forward them to you. We cannot retain such title documents for whatever reason, including holding them as security.
Unless advised to the contrary, we will assume that you wish to place no restrictions on the markets in which transactions are to be executed or on the types of investment or insurances we may recommend and in which you may subsequently invest.
For your additional security Chapters Financial Limited does not handle clients' money and we never own the investments that you buy through us. We never handle cash or accept a cheque made out to us, unless the cheque is in settlement of charges or costs for which we have sent you an invoice.
We will be required to verify your identity in accordance with the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2019.We reserve the right to approach third parties and to delay any applications until adequate verification of identity has been obtained.
Because the value of investments can go down as well as up, you may not get back the full amount invested. Levels of income from investments may also fluctuate and/or affect the capital value of the investment. Past performance should not be seen as an indication of future performance.
Illiquid investments will generally have a restricted market, and it may therefore be difficult to trade that investment or to obtain reliable information about its value.
For insurance products, your insurance policy may lapse if you do not keep up to date with regular premium payments, and you may not be covered if a claim is made.
We offer Independent Financial Advice, but occasions arise where we or another customer will have some form of interest in business which we are transacting for you. Conflicts of interest are impossible to remove entirely but we identify, monitor and manage real or potential conflicts in order to safeguard our clients' interests.
The following actual or potential conflicts of interest have been identified:-
• Access to confidential information
• Outside business interests or personal relationships
• Inducements and non-monetary benefits
• Remuneration
We rely on a policy of independence to manage any conflicts of interest between Chapters Financial and our clients or between one client and another. This means that it is possible that there may be material interest or conflicts of interest relating to the service given to clients but we are required to disregard that material interest or conflict of interest when advising clients.
We monitor where conflicts of interest may exist, such as having a material interest in relation to a transaction or recommendation. If we believe we are unable to manage a specific conflict of interest using this policy of independence we will disclose the conflict to clients by writing to you, the client, with full details and the steps we will take to ensure fair treatment and obtain your consent before we carry out your instructions. Ultimately, if we believe that disclosure would also not manage the conflict fairly, we must decline to act for the client.
The investment platforms and product providers we use/recommend make available a variety of technical product and legislative information as well as online tools enabling us to map the performance of clients' portfolios and gather other data to help with our communications to clients. This may be in the form of information that is generally available to all financial advisers such as guides on how to complete application forms, projections of future benefits, and confirmation of why their products may be suitable for specific individuals/circumstances. We have access by telephone and email to technical helpdesks which we use to discuss possible solutions to particularly complex client situations and to request tax calculations.
These are facilities that platforms and providers make available to all financial advisers with the sole aim of enhancing the quality of the service to clients.
Platform and product providers and fund managers may also provide us with training presentations in the form of webinars, and occasionally roadshows, to explain legislative or regulatory changes and developments or to describe new products or funds.
You can receive more detailed, specific information on request.
We will inform you of your statutory right to cancel. The Distance Marketing Directive normally grants you 30 days in which you may cancel a life or pension contract whereas the cancellation period for a unit trust or ISA is normally 14 days. In general terms you will have a 30-day cancellation period for a pure protection policy. However, there will be occasions where no statutory rights are granted. Should this situation arise we will notify you of the facts before any contract is concluded.
It is our intention to always provide the highest quality level of advice and service.If however you become dissatisfied with our provision of, or our failure to provide, a financial service, and you wish to register a complaint please contact Keith G Churchouse FPFS, at Chapters Financial Limited, Shaw House, 2-3 Tunsgate, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 3QT, telephone (01483) 578800. Your complaint will be investigated in accordance with the firm's complaints handling procedure, a copy of which will be supplied to you. If you are not happy with the way we have carried out our investigation or the result, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Further information about the FOS is available from their website www.financial-ombudsman.co.uk.
Chapters Financial Limited is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) if we cannot meet our obligations. This is dependent upon the type of business and the circumstances of the claim. Most types of investment business are covered by the FSCS 100% up to a maximum of £85,000 whereas the distribution of pure protection insurance is covered for 100% of the claim, without any upper limit.
Further information about this compensation scheme arrangement is available from the FSCS at www.fscs.org.uk.
Chapters Financial Ltd is a data controller, registered in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018. You may be assured that the firm (and any company associated with it) will treat all personal data, and sensitive personal data as confidential and will not process it other than for legitimate purposes. Steps will be taken to ensure that the information is accurate, kept up to date and not kept for longer than is necessary. Measures will also be taken to safeguard against unauthorised or unlawful processing and accidental loss or destruction or damage to the data.
We are registered under the Data Protection Act 2018. You acknowledge and understand that we keep personal and financial information with regard to your circumstances on file (electronic and/or paper based) as required to be able to advise you as to your financial planning needs. We confirm that this information will not be used or transferred by us to any other firm, company, entity or person (other than the product provider) without your consent, or as may be required by law. We may also provide information to the FCA and other regulatory authorities upon request. We cannot be held responsible for the information held on your file becoming inaccurate due to your change of circumstances if you fail to inform us of those changes.
Where business services are provided to the firm by third parties, then circumstances may arise which warrant the disclosure of more than just your basic contact details. On these occasions such as processing business, and obtaining compliance and regulatory advice, you agree that personal information held by the firm may be disclosed on a confidential basis, and in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018, to such third parties. You agree that this information may be transferred electronically, e.g. by e-mail.
Please see our separate Privacy Policy for further information.
These Terms of Business exclude any rights, which may be conferred upon third parties by the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
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.
Our work for you may involve tax advice and the consideration of tax planning strategies. We will advise on general taxation implications within the parameters of the work that we are undertaking for you which should broadly cover the basic taxation issues that most clients are likely to encounter.
However, you are responsible for your own tax position and any tax that may arise as a result of our advice to you; we do not pay taxes on your behalf.
Therefore, we strongly recommend that clients seek professional tax advice from a suitably qualified person if your situation is complex or where any doubt exists as to the tax treatment of transactions that we undertake for you, or advice that we give to you.
Chapters Financial 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.
The authority to act on your behalf may be terminated at any time without penalty by either party giving notice in writing, as follows:
This is our standard client agreement upon which we intend to rely. For your own benefit and protection you should read these terms carefully before proceeding with our service. If you do not understand any point please ask for further information.
We reserve the right to decline service at the enquiry stage if appropriate.