TERMS OF BUSINESS

Butcher & Moody is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to conduct investment business under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Butcher & Moody is entered on the FSA register and our registration number is 143131.

Butcher & Moody is independent which means we will act on your behalf in advising you on life assurance, pensions or unit trust products from a range of different companies. 

Our Services
Butcher & Moody is authorised to provide investment advice and arrange Life Insurance, Pensions, Collective Investments (e.g. Unit Trusts, Investment Trusts and OEICs), Individual Savings Accounts and Personal Equity Plans. 

Any advice we give you will be based on your stated objectives, level of risk and any restrictions that you wish to place on the type of investments or policies you would be willing to consider. Your stated objectives will be reiterated in the Suitability Letter we will issue to you detailing our recommendation. Unless confirmed to us in advance, we will assume that 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 your right to cancel or whether no right to cancel arises, and any other termination rights and penalties, will be covered in the relevant product disclosure information you will receive before conclusion of any contract.

Under the terms of this agreement, we may if appropriate advise you on investments which are not readily realisable. We would draw your attention to the risks associated with these designated investments as there is a restricted market for them. In some circumstances it may therefore not be possible to deal in the designated investment or obtain reliable information about its value.

Our services may also include advice on investments relating to, or executing transactions in units in unregulated collective investment schemes. Accordingly, you should carefully consider whether such investments are suitable for you in light of your personal circumstances and the financial resources available to you.

Any investments we have arranged for you, will not be kept under review but we will advise you upon 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.

Butcher & Moody is not permitted to handle client money. We cannot therefore accept a cheque made out to us (unless it is in respect of a service for which we have sent you an invoice) or handle cash. 

Your Protection
We offer independent advice, but occasions can arise where we, or one of our clients, will have 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 interest, we will inform you in writing and obtain your consent before we carry out your instructions.

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. You may be entitled to compensation from the scheme if we are unable to meet our obligations. This will depend 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, making the maximum compensation £48,000. Further information is available from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

We also advise on other financial products which are not regulated by the FSA under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme does not apply to any of these products.

If you should have any complaint about the advice or service which Butcher & Moody has provided or failed to provide, please write to the Compliance Officer at the address above or telephone us. If a complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may have the right to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service. A copy of our internal complaints handling procedure is available on request from the Compliance Officer at our main address.

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, which are outside our control. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance.

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 confirm to you in writing the basis of our reasons for recommending any transactions executed on your behalf.

We will register all investments in your name unless otherwise agreed in writing. All contract notes and documents of title in respect of your investment will be forwarded to you as soon as practicable after being received by us. Where a number of documents relating to a series of transactions are involved, the documents will normally be retained by us until the series is complete and then we shall forward them to you. 

Data Protection
Butcher & Moody may use the services of some third parties e.g. for processing business or obtaining compliance or regulatory advice, which may warrant the disclosure of more than just your basic contact details. You agree that personal information held by us may be disclosed on a confidential basis, and in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, to such third parties. You also agree that this information may be transferred electronically and that ourselves, or any such third party, may contact you in future by any means of communication which we consider appropriate at the time.

Our Relationship
We derive income from commission paid to us by life assurance companies and operators of collective investment schemes through which investments are made. We shall tell you the amount of any commission payable to us on any such investment.

If we receive commission or any other form of benefit from the issuer of a security or from another intermediary, we will tell you, but will not disclose the amount unless you ask us to do so. 

You or we may alternatively propose to operate on a fee basis, the basis of which will be agreed in writing before we carry out any chargeable work. Should we receive any commission from any third party in relation to transactions arranged for you, we will offset the amount received against any fees due.

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

Where we have arranged regular premium policies for you and you subsequently cease to pay premiums and as a consequence we are obliged to refund any 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 the 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 company.

You, or we, may terminate our authority to act on your behalf under this agreement at any time, without penalty. Notice of this termination must be given in writing and will take effect immediately upon receipt of the notice. Termination will not prejudice completion of transactions already initiated on your behalf or any rights or obligations already arising. You will be liable to pay for any transactions made prior to termination and any fees outstanding.

Your Consent
I have read the above terms and fully consent to the terms imposed and I authorise the transfer of information, on a confidential basis when warranted between any such third parties. I acknowledge that the Terms of Business Letter will come into effect from the date of issue. I confirm receipt of the Key Facts - guide to our services and Key Facts - cost of our services. I also confirm that I am happy to give Butcher & Moody my express consent to contact me by telephone or other means to discuss my financial affairs in future.