Our Terms of Business

 

Terms of Business

The following Terms of Business, effective 8th October 2018, set out the general terms under which Ardbrack Financial Limited will provide services to you. Please ensure that you read these terms thoroughly and should you have any queries we will be happy to clarify. We will notify you if any material changes are made to these terms.

 

Company Details

The registered office of Ardbrack Financial Limited is 5 Guardwell, Kinsale, County Cork.

Company Registration Number: 569286

Telephone: 021-4773833

Email: info@ardbrack.com

Web: www.ardbrack.com

 

Authorisation with the Central Bank of Ireland

Ardbrack Financial Limited is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland as an Investment Intermediary under the Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995 and as an Insurance Intermediary under the European Union Insurance Distribution Regulations 2018. Our Central Bank of Ireland authorisation Number is C145719. Copies of our regulatory authorisations are available upon request. You may also contact the Central Bank of Ireland on 1890-777777 or at  www.centralbank.ie to verify our credentials.

 

Codes of Conduct

Ardbrack Financial Limited is subject to Central Bank of Ireland Codes of Conduct, including the Consumer Protection Code, the Minimum Competency Code and Fitness and Probity Standards, all of which offer protection to consumers. Please see centralbank.ie for full details of the codes.

 

Our services

Our principal business is to provide Financial Planning & Advice, and arrange transactions on behalf of clients in Pensions, Savings & Investments and Life Assurance.  Ardbrack Financial Limited provides advice on the basis of a fair analysis of the market. Fair analysis means that we must provide services on the basis of a sufficiently large number of contracts and product producers available on the market to enable us to make a recommendation, in accordance with professional criteria, regarding which contract would be adequate to meet your needs. In addition it means that you have the option of paying in full for our services by means of a fee. A full list of the insurance and investment product providers with which we deal is available upon request

 

Disclosure of Information – All Products

It is important to ensure that all information provided on all forms or other documentation relevant to the service being provided to you is complete and accurate. Any failure to disclose material information could invalidate your cover and could mean that all or part of a claim will not be paid.  If you are in doubt as to whether information is relevant or not, please disclose it to us.

 

Fees

Your initial consultation with the firm will be free of charge. Following that consultation, if you decide to proceed, we will provide you with a specific quote for our services. This will be outlined in detail in our letter of engagement or statement of suitability prior to providing you with a product or service.

We firmly believe in fee based financial advice as opposed to commission based advice. Fees allow us to offer a fully professional, transparent and completely impartial service without any conflict of interest.

Our comprehensive Financial Plan forms the cornerstone of our service, and is the starting point in our relationship with all new clients.

We charge an investment implementation fee of 0.5% (minimum €500) for advising on, structuring and implementing a new pension or investment plan.

Our ongoing wealth management, advice and servicing fee is 0.5% per-annum of the value of funds invested. This will include at least one annual financial planning and review meeting. The service includes updating your plan, a performance review, updating your attitude to risk, making changes as necessary and dealing with your queries as they arise. A minimum € fee may apply.

Although predominantly fee based, Ardbrack Financial Limited will sometimes be paid a commission and other payments from product providers. In situations where we receive a commission we will disclose this to you in advance and in writing. This will form part of the remuneration for our services.

Additional fees may apply for particularly complex cases or additional services that you may request. In such instances we can quote a fee in advance.

Where applicable VAT will be added to our fees.

 

Regular Reviews

It is your responsibility to inform us of any material change to your circumstances. Failure to contact us in relation to changes in your circumstances or failure to request a review may result in you having insufficient insurance cover or inappropriate investments.

 

Investment Risk

All investments and financial products carry an element of risk. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future performance. Ardbrack Financial Limited cannot and does not guarantee the solvency or continuing solvency of any institution to which you may be exposed through investment in a financial product or purchase of an insurance product. You should note that the financial position of an institution can change at any stage.  Ardbrack Financial Limited cannot accept any responsibility for the failure of an institution.  Ardbrack Financial Limited shall not be responsible, chargeable or liable in any manner whatsoever for or in respect of any loss of or any depreciation in the value of your investment, whether partial or total.

Data Protection

Ardbrack Financial Limited complies with the requirements of the Data Protection Acts, 1988 and 2003 and the General Data Protection Regulation 2018.

The data which you provide to us will be held on a computer database and paper files for the purpose of arranging transactions on your behalf. The data will be processed only in ways compatible with the purposes for which it was given. Please refer to our website for the most up-to-date version of our Data Protection Notice.

We would like to keep you informed of any relevant new products or services that we think may be of interest to you. You may opt out of such marketing communications at any time.

 

Conflicts of Interest

It is the policy of the firm to avoid conflicts of interest in providing services to you. However where an unavoidable conflict of interest arises we will advise you in writing prior to providing you with any service.

 

Default on Payments by Clients

The firm will exercise it’s legal rights to receive payments due from clients for services provided. Product producers may withdraw benefits or cover in the event of default on payments due under policies of insurance or other products arranged by you. We would refer you to policy documents or product terms for details of such provisions.

 

Complaints

We request that you send any complaints against the firm, related to services provided by us, in writing. We will acknowledge the receipt of such complaint in writing within 5 business days and we will fully investigate it.  Upon completion of our investigation, we will provide you with a written report of the outcome. In the event that you are still dissatisfied with our handling of, or response to your complaint, you are entitled to refer the matter to the Financial Services Ombudsman or the Pensions Ombudsman. A full copy of our complaints procedure is available upon request.

 

Investor Compensation Scheme

We are members of the Investor Compensation scheme operated by the Investor Compensation Company Ltd. See below for details.

The Investor Compensation Act, 1998 provides for the establishment of a compensation scheme and the payment, in certain circumstances, of compensation to certain clients (known as eligible investors) of authorised investment firms, as defined in that Act.

The Investor Compensation Company Ltd. (ICCL) was established under the 1998 Act to operate such a compensation scheme and our firm is a member of this scheme.

Compensation may be payable where money or investment instruments owed or belonging to clients and held, administered or managed by the firm cannot be returned to those clients for the time being and where there is no reasonably foreseeable opportunity of the firm being able to do so.

A right to compensation will arise only:

  • If the client is an eligible investor as defined in the Act: and
  • If it transpires that the firm is not in a position to return client money or investment instruments owned or belonging to the clients of the firm; and
  • To the extent that the client’s loss is recognized for the purposes of the Act.

Where an entitlement to compensation is established, the compensation payable will be the lesser of:

  • 90% of the amount of the client’s loss which is recognized for the purposes of the Investor Compensation Act, 1998; or
  • Compensation of up to €20,000.

For further information, contact the Investor Compensation Company Limited at (01)2244955