• Home
  • Contact
  • The Legal Bits
  • Site Map
  • Abacus Direct
  • Investments
  • Mortgages
  • Pensions
  • Protection
  • General Assurance
Abacus image Abacus image Abacus image

Terms of Business

Abacus Financial Planning Consultants Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority to conduct investment business under the Financial Services & Markets Act 2000.  Abacus Financial Planning Consultants Limited is entered on the FSA register and our registration number is 232121

Abacus Financial Planning Consultants Limited is a firm of independent advisers. This means that we will act on your behalf in advising you on life assurance, pensions, mortgages, general insurance and investment products from a range of different companies.

Our Relationship
Any advice or recommendation that we offer to you, will be based on your stated objectives, circumstances and take into account any restrictions that you wish to place on the type of products you would be willing to consider. 

With very few exceptions, we will confirm to you in writing the basis of our reason for recommending the products arranged on your behalf.

Your stated objectives will be reiterated in the Suitability Letter, which we will issue to you following our recommendation, along with details of any special risks associated with the product recommended. 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.

Full details of the products we may recommend to you including, for example, the minimum duration of the product, information on the right to cancel or whether no right to cancel arises, and any other early termination rights and penalties, will be covered in the relevant product disclosure information you will receive before conclusion of any contract.

Abacus Financial Planning Consultants Limited IS NOT permitted to handle client money AND we cannot accept a cheque made out to us (unless it is in respect of an item for which we have sent you an invoice) or handle cash.

Our Services

Abacus Financial Planning Consultants Limited is permitted to arrange (bring about) deals in investments and advise on investments.

Any investments we have arranged for you, will not be kept under review but we will advise you upon your request. However, we may contact you in the future by means of an unsolicited promotion should we wish to discuss the relative merits of an investment or service which we feel may be of interest to you.

Treating Customers Fairly Principles

1. Strategy and Behaviours

  • Treating customers fairly is implicit in our brand proposition of being an "expert friend". this brand proposition is core to our culture and the way that our people behave and do business.
  • In setting our commercial objectives we will fully take account of our rpinciples of treating customers fairly.

2. Services

  • We will develop and market our services based on a clear understanding of the needs of customers. We will monitor market changes and we will respond accordingly to ensure the continued appropriatesness of our services.

3. Customer Communication

  • We will provide information to customers about the benefits, risks and costs associated with products and services to help them understand what they can reasonably expect from Abacus and the companies we recommend.
  • We will provide appropriate information in a way that aims to be clear, fair and not misleading.
  • We will pay due regard to our customers' information needs, in a timely way.

4. Customer Expectations

  • We will honour the promises we have made to our customers.
  • We will identify common underlying causes of complaints and take actions to eliminate the root causes.

5. Companies We Deal With

  • We will communicate our treating customers fairly principles to our distribution partners so that they can take them into account in considering the practices they adopt in their dealings with with customers.
  • We will provide our distribution partners with appropriate information on our services in order that they may advise their customers appropriately.
  • We will manage potential conflicts of interests to ensure that they do not lead to customers being treated unfairly.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme
Abacus Financial Planning Consultants Ltd are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. 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 for 100% of the first £30,000 and 90% of the next £20,000, so the maximum compensation is £48,000. Further information about compensation arrangements is available from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Complaints

If for any reason you need to complain about the advice you received from the firm or a product you have bought from the firm, please write to The Managing Director at Abacus Financial Planning Consultants Limited at the address shown or by telephoning us.  If following our investigation and response to you, you are still not satisfied with the outcome, you may contact the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).  Full details of the FOS is contained within our complaints procedure, which is available at any time, on request.

Client Risk

Please be aware that investments can fall as well as rise, and that in certain cases you may not get back the full amount invested.   The price of investments we may recommend may depend on fluctuations in the financial markets, which are outside our control.     Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance.

Right To Withdraw
In most cases you can exercise a right to cancel, by withdrawing from the contract recommended to you.  In general terms you will normally have a 30 day cancellation period for a life or pension policy and a 14 day cancellation period for all other policies. Please note that in most instances you will not be able to exercise a right to cancel in connection with the purchase of shares, units in a collective investment scheme and unit linked life/pension policies when sold at a distance. Additionally, any contracts arranged at your explicit consent (normally referred to as "execution only") do not provide cancellation rights.

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 your right to cancel, if applicable, will be contained in the relevant product disclosure literature we will issue to you.

We will endeavour to make arrangements for all your investments to be registered in your name unless you first instruct us otherwise in writing.  All documents showing ownership of your investments will be forwarded to you as soon as practicable after we receive them.  If there are a number of documents relating to a series of transactions, we will normally hold each document until the series is complete and then forward them to you .

Payment For Services
We normally derive our income from commission paid to us by life assurance companies and the operators of collective investment schemes through which investments are made.  We shall formally disclose to you the amount of commission payable to us on any such investment. Alternatively, if you or we propose to operate on a fee basis, we will agree its basis, frequency and method with you in writing before we carry out any chargeable work.  Should we receive commission from any third party in relation to transactions arranged for you, we will offset the amount received against any fees due.  Please refer to the document Keyfacts about the cost of our services attached.

There is no additional cost to you for using a means of distance communication.

In respect of any regular premium policy which we have arranged for you, should you subsequently cease to pay premiums on the policy and in consequence we are obliged to refund the commission that has been paid to us, we reserve the right to charge you a fee representing the amount we have to repay, for a period of up to four years after commencement of the policy.  We will not charge any such fee if you exercise your right to cancel in accordance with any cancellation notice sent to you by the life insurance company.

Termination Of Authority

You or we may terminate our authority to act on your behalf at any time, without penalty.  Notice of this termination must be given in writing and will take effect from the date of receipt.  Termination is without prejudice to any transactions already initiated which 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 fees outstanding.

Your Protection
Circumstances can arise where we, or one of our other customers 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 customers 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.

Mortgage Advice

We offer a full advice and recommendation service in all cases in order that we can make an informed decision with you out about the choice of your new mortgage.

Your stated objectives will be confirmed in the suitability letter, which we will issue to you following our recommendation, along with the details of any special risks associated with the product recommended. Unless confirmed in writing, to the contrary, we will assume that you do not wish to place any restrictions on the advice given to you.

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

Our standard fee for mortgage advice is £495.00.  You will be invoiced for this fee when the mortgage completes. Where a mortgage contract is arranged and a lender makes a payment towards the £495 then we will offset the lenders' payment against the fee payable by you.

Your home is at risk if you do not keep up the repayment on a mortgage or other loan secured on it.   Be sure you can afford the repayments before entering into a credit agreement.

Cancellation Rights
In certain cases you can exercise a right to cancel, by withdrawing from the contract recommended to you.  Please note that in most instances you will not be able to exercise a right to cancel a mortgage contract, unless the contract is concluded at a distance.  Additionally, any contracts arranged at your explicit consent (normally referred to as "execution only") do not provide cancellation rights.

If applicable, 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.

Data Protection
Some services are provided to Abacus Financial Planning Consultants Limited by third parties such as processing business or obtaining compliance or regulatory advice, which warrant the disclosure of more than just your basic contact details.  You agree that personal information held by Abacus Financial Planning Consultants Ltd may be disclosed on a confidential basis, and in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, to any such third parties.  You also agree that this information may be transferred electronically, e.g. email and you agree that ourselves, or any such third party, may contact you in future by any means of communication which we consider appropriate at the time. 

Exclusion of liability

1 - While we have taken all reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information on this website, we give no warranty and make no representation regarding the accuracy or completeness of the content of this website. Consequently, we accept no liability for any losses or damages (whether direct, indirect, special, consequential or otherwise) arising out of errors or omissions contained in this website. Further, no warranty is given that the website shall be available on an uninterrupted basis, and no liability can be accepted in respect of losses or damages arising out of such unavailability. Also, we accept no liability in respect of losses or damages arising out of changes made to the content of this website by unauthorised third parties.

2 - Access to and use of this website is at the user's own risk and we do not warrant that the use of this website or any material downloaded from it will not cause damage to any property, including but not limited to loss of data or computer virus infection.

3 - Nothing in these terms and conditions shall exclude or limit or restrict our duties and liabilities to you under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, or any conduct of business rules which we are bound to comply with. Further, nothing in these terms and conditions shall attempt to exclude liability for death or personal injury, or for fraudulent misrepresentation.

4 - This website contains links to other websites which are hosted and maintained by third parties. We have no control over the content or security of any such site. You link to such websites at your own risk, and we make no representations regarding the content of any such website. We cannot be liable for any loss or damage which may arise from the use of such third party websites.

Please note this site is designed for use by residents of the UK only.

Abacus are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

Website Design by Internet Creation Ltd.© Abacus Financial Planning Consultants Ltd. 2010