Zurich Intermediary Platform

Transcription

1 Zurich Intermediary Platform Your Due Diligence questions answered For intermediary use only not for use with your clients

2 Zurich is passionate about consumers receiving professional financial advice. We are committed to supporting a thriving intermediary community that is able to deliver advice profitably in the post RDR landscape. The Zurich Intermediary Platform (Platform) has been built on four key principles to deliver a better business experience We add real value It s about more than just reducing costs. It s about helping you to have more time to do what you do best providing advice to help clients meet their needs and achieve their goals. It s about providing you with the information, the tools and the efficiency to help you deliver the level of service your clients need. Our Platform is easy to use Platform efficiencies, streamlined processes, real-time transactions and clear and simple navigation means reduced administration, faster responses and more time spent giving valuable advice to clients. A partner you can trust Zurich is fully committed to the intermediated market in the UK and protective of the relationships you have with your clients. We have invested and will continue to invest in developing the Platform to meet the future needs of advisers and the clients they serve. We also understand it s your business, not ours. That s why our Platform has been designed to position you firmly at the heart of your client relationships. 4 Building confidence through strength Choosing a platform is a big decision. Having the confidence that your platform provider is financially secure is critical if you want to develop a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship. Our proposition is brought to market with Zurich s global financial strength, commitment to the UK advisory market and award winning pedigree. 2

3 Choosing the right platform is essential for the long term success of your business. At Zurich we have listened to what you have told us and designed our Platform around your needs. What the FCA have to say about choosing a platform The following has been taken from the FCA Factsheet, Platforms: using fund supermarkets and wraps. Suitability Suitability is not just something to consider regarding the particular investment you are looking at when advising your client. You must also consider the suitability of the platform service itself. Market developments Developments in the market could mean that your chosen platform provider(s) may not remain the most appropriate option for your business or clients. Periodic reviews may be required. About the platforms: The platform provider (for example, their reputation and financial standing) Terms and conditions of using the platform Charges including actual cost, charging structure and transparency of charges Range of funds, tax wrappers and other products available Range of asset classes Functionality (for example the ability to switch or re-register off platform or record legacy assets) Accessibility Additional tools (for example, risk profiling and asset allocation tools) Support services (for example, help facilities and training) We believe the Zurich Intermediary Platform performs well against these considerations and more, to deliver a better business experience. 3

4 The Platform provider Zurich in the UK In the UK, Zurich provides customers with investment, pension and protection products under the Sterling and Zurich brands. The strategy in the UK is to build a competitive and sustainable business, delivering value to customers, distributors and shareholders through award winning propositions. Zurich has an extensive experience in the Life and Pensions market in the UK, offering customers quality products and services since As at 30th June 2014 Zurich s UK Life business had more than 39.5 Billion of funds under management. The Platform is the next generation of our offering to intermediated customers in the UK. The Platform is provided by Sterling ISA Managers Limited (SIML), which is part of Zurich s UK Life business part of a group of companies of which the ultimate parent is Zurich Insurance Group Ltd, a company registered in Switzerland (number CH ). About Zurich Zurich is one of the world s largest insurance groups, and one of the few to operate on a truly global basis. Our mission is to help our customers understand and protect themselves from risk. With over 55,000 employees serving customers in more than 170 countries, we aspire to become the best global insurer as measured by our shareholders, customers and employees. Zurich offer a wide range of general and life insurance products and services for individuals, small businesses, mid-sized and large companies and multinational corporations. Zurich has a strong position in North America and Europe, and a growing position in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Latin America. Committed to the UK intermediary market Zurich is passionate about consumers receiving professional financial advice. We are committed to supporting a thriving intermediary community that is able to deliver advice profitably in the post RDR world. It is for this reason we: have developed the Platform around your needs, are providing you with support to help you gain professional qualifications, are giving a commitment that we will not encroach on the relationship you have with your clients. 4

5 Service Our business is built on the foundations of customer centricity and Treating Customers Fairly. Enthusiasm, innovation and a can do attitude are part of the Zurich fabric. Combined with the award winning technology and straight through processing we help deliver increased speed and efficiency of transactions and market-leading ongoing servicing. We are proud that by placing customer and distributor satisfaction at the heart of what we do Zurich is consistently recognised through the awards and accolades our service wins. The Financial Adviser Service awards recognise the importance of quality service from product providers to advisers. Both Zurich and Sterling continue to have their quality service acknowledged; Sterling achieving a five-star rating for 10 of the last 12 years, and Zurich seven of the last nine, as at July Third party suppliers Platform software The Platform has been developed in partnership with two IT suppliers with a track record of award winning solutions, FNZ and BSB. FNZ is responsible for delivering the core administration functionality. The solution is built on existing FNZ retail platform functionality which Zurich has customised to deliver additional propositional functionality that benefits you and your clients. FNZ has a wealth of experience in building and customising retail platform solutions and versions of their platform are used by several high profile clients in the UK. The user website is built by BSB, a Luxembourg-based IT solutions company with proven expertise in web developments, and delivers an enhanced and intuitive user experience to advisers. The combination of suppliers who are experts in their field, along with the customised functionality we have delivered, makes the Zurich Intermediary Platform unique in the market. Tools A range of adviser tools developed by evalue and FE can be accessed through the Platform. These tools are completely independent and contain no bias towards a Zurich solution. Administration of accounts (tax wrappers) Administration of the accounts available on the Platform is undertaken by you, the adviser. Where required we utilise the services of third party administration partners, specifically FNZ and Capita. Stockbroking service Through the Winterflood stockbroking service we provide access to a wide range of investments from the well-known FTSE100 blue chip companies and the UK s best-known fund managers, specialist fund managers and off-market investments like derivatives. 5

6 Terms and conditions of using the Platform The Platform has clear, easy to understand Terms of Business, Terms and Conditions and Terms of Use. Current versions of these documents are available from your consultant. Also, Zurich is showing our commitment to the intermediary market by making a formal statement to you in our Terms of Business in relation to retail investment business. Zurich commits not to proactively market to your clients with the intention of becoming an adviser to your clients. Charges including actual cost, charging structure and transparency of charges We offer a simple unbundled pricing structure Platform charges will be deducted at account level and can be paid from the available cash holdings within accounts or the Platform Cash Account. Yearly Zurich Portfolio charge The Platform has a charging structure based on the total assets held by a customer on the Platform. The first band of assets held is charged at an initial percentage rate and subsequent bands at lower percentage rates as follows: Charge Value of assets 0.35% on the first 100, % on the next 150, % on the next 750, % on holdings above 1,000,000 Family linking If Zurich Portfolio holders are married, in a civil partnership or are directly related family members, we can agree to the Zurich Portfolios being linked to benefit from a lower aggregated Yearly Portfolio charge. Linking Zurich Portfolios is only possible where the combined value of the Zurich Portfolios is 200, or more at the time they are linked. Account charge There is a 75 a year charge for the Retirement Account. The charge is only applied at a Platform level, i.e. if a customer has multiple pension arrangements they will only pay a single 75 a year charge rather than 75 a year for each arrangement. This ongoing charge is currently waived until 5 January 2015 on all new Retirement Accounts. There is no account charge for any other account. Dealing charge Zurich will not apply any dealing charges on mutual funds. Exchange-traded assets, accessed via a link to a stockbroker service provided by Winterflood, will be subject to a trading charge of for trades of up to 24, and 0.05% for trades over 25,000. Additional duties and levies, such as Stamp Duty and PMT levy, may be payable. 6

7 Adviser remuneration You will agree remuneration with your client and Zurich can facilitate the agreed remuneration from the specified account(s). Your clients will need to give Zurich their written authorisation before a deduction for any adviser remuneration (in the case of ongoing and regular initial adviser remuneration the first deduction only) is made from their account or Cash Account. This also applies to an increase to an existing adviser remuneration charge and a change in basis (amount to percentage and vice versa). Zurich will only accept a correctly completed declaration that is produced with an applicable Charges information document to give authority, or a customer authorisation on a format agreed by us. The Platform will issue a Charges information document to the customer confirming remuneration payable and another Charges information document will be issued each time a change is made. Adviser remuneration facilitated from the Platform can be requested as: A single initial charge on payment into an account, specified as either an amount or percentage of the payment. As a specified number of regular payments when a regular payment is added to an account. Regular initial adviser remuneration can be requested as either an amount or a percentage of the total yearly regular payments going into an account. An ongoing charge at account level, specified as an amount or percentage of assets. A one-off charge, specified as an amount or percentage of assets within an account or alternatively specified as an amount or a percentage of assets held in a Zurich Portfolio from the Cash Account. Zurich s role in relation to adviser remuneration is one of facilitating the payment of the charge from the customer to the adviser. Therefore, in the event of the cancellation of an account we intend to refund the investment amount net of adviser charging. Exceptions to this are detailed in our Adviser Terms of Business. Investment adviser charges Investment adviser charges paid from the Platform will be in the form of an ongoing charge at account level, specified as a percentage of assets (including cash) under investment adviser management. For investment adviser charges Zurich do not seek agreement from your client prior to the deduction. A Charges information document is produced and issued initially and then each time a change is made. Rebates Fund rebates will be paid into the cash element within the account from which they arose. From 6 April, we will only offer clean share classes for any new business that is received. Existing regular payments set up before 6 April 2014 will still be able to continue into rebate paying share classes and we will also continue to accept any re-registration into rebate-paying share classes. We currently offer over 2,300 clean share classes on our Platform (as at 30 June 2014). We will continue to monitor market reaction to the FCA s policy statement on fund rebates, to ensure that our proposition remains fit for purpose. 7

8 Range of funds, tax wrappers and other products available Accounts (tax wrappers) The Platform offers you access to the following accounts, provided by Sterling ISA Managers Limited: Cash ISA. Stocks and Shares ISA. Investment Account. Retirement Account. Access is also offered to: an offshore bond, by integrating with our existing Zurich International Portfolio Bond, provided by Zurich Life Assurance plc, a Cash Account. Cash Account Every customer has access to a Cash Account as part of their Zurich Portfolio which will be activated when a payment is received. The Cash Account may be used to facilitate the movement of cash into and out of the Zurich Portfolio. In addition, each account can hold cash from which applicable charges and agreed remuneration will be deducted. If appropriate, money can be paid directly into and out of accounts without going through the Cash Account. Cash on the Platform will be held in bank accounts (client money accounts where appropriate), currently with the Royal Bank of Scotland. Extensive range of assets The Platform offers an extensive investment universe composed of over 2,300 funds from more than 80 fund managers, as at 30 June 2014 with the ability to add new funds quickly, subject to light touch governance. We also offer a range of five risk profiled funds, managed by Threadneedle, aligned to the asset allocations delivered by the Advisa Centa Attitude to Risk tool available through the Zurich Platform. Payment types Payments onto the Platform can be made by: BACS (for single payments), CHAPS (for single payments), Cheque (for single payments), Direct Debit (for regular payments). In addition cash transfers and re-registrations of supported assets can be made. 8

9 Investment Life Cover This plan, provided by Zurich Assurance Ltd, will protect your clients from any investment losses if they die during the five-year term and the value of the eligible assets in their Zurich Portfolio is lower than the amount they have invested (less any withdrawals, including adviser remuneration). For a list of eligible assets please see the Investment Life Cover terms and conditions on At any other time the value of your clients investment is not guaranteed and they may not get back what they invested. This plan can only be applied for when a client first takes out their portfolio. Accidental Death Cover Zurich Accidental Death Cover is provided by Zurich Assurance Ltd and is issued at the same time the customer commences their Zurich Portfolio. It ensures that if they die due to an accident, or the first death if their Zurich Portfolio is held in joint names, within the first year, they will receive a payment of 10% of the value of the Zurich Portfolio up to a maximum of 25,000. This plan is provided at no additional cost. There are no restrictions on health (no medical evidence is required) or investment choice within the Zurich Portfolio. 9

10 Range of asset classes The following assets are available through the Platform: Cash Money markets UK gilts/government bonds UK corporate bonds UK index linked bonds International fixed interest UK equity International equity (including North American, European, Japanese, Global Emerging Markets) Physical property funds Property shares Alternatives Model portfolios There are two types of model portfolios that can be set up and managed through the Platform: Third Party created A range of model portfolios created and managed by Morningstar OBSR is available, based on the risk-rated and time-based strategic asset allocation models generated by the Advisa Centa tool, available through the Platform. Zurich is not responsible for and does not endorse the Morningstar OBSR model portfolios that are made available on the Platform. Adviser/investment adviser created Networks, adviser firms, advisers or an investment adviser can create, store and manage model portfolios, either at a network, firm, adviser or an individual (bespoke) client level. These are created by and are entirely the responsibility of the network, adviser firm, adviser or investment adviser who created them. Zurich provides no endorsement as to their appropriateness, suitability or effectiveness. Investment advisers You can choose to invest clients assets in model portfolios managed by investment advisers. Please check the Platform to see which investment advisers are currently available. If the firm you require is not currently available, you can ask us to consider adding them. They will manage the assets on the Platform and will not have custody of the assets. The investment adviser will be able to request their charges from the assets under their administration on the Platform. If your required investment adviser is not available on the Platform, you can ask us to consider adding them. 10

11 Functionality (for example, the ability to switch or re-register off platform or record legacy assets) The Platform has been designed around you and provides a comprehensive, integrated trading platform. It offers a full online solution allowing any assets held on the Platform to be transacted and topped-up instantly. Straight through processing The Platform utilises straight through processing for: buying assets, selling assets, switching assets, including rebalancing and bulk switching, real time dealing, withdrawals, customer contact details. By using straight through processing in this way any increase in volume of transactions does not result in an increase in the time to process them. Rebalancing and bulk switching The Platform gives you the ability to rebalance a customer s investments to a pre-defined asset mix, ensuring it continues to meet their risk profile. This is achieved by allowing you to select the timing of any review rather than be driven by a fixed, automated schedule. You can search for all of your clients in a certain fund, and then have the option to highlight individually which clients to switch. Re-registration We operate an efficient re-registration process to enable existing assets to be transferred as units or shares, rather than cash. This service is available to transfer assets both to and from the Platform, free of any Zurich charge. Withdrawals Regular withdrawals from a customer s account can either be asset specific or can be taken proportionally across all assets held. Regular withdrawals are available on a monthly, quarterly, half yearly or yearly basis. One-off withdrawals will be deducted from available cash. Other investments A notepad facility is available to manually record assets not directly held on the Platform, allowing you to use the reporting power of the Platform for all your clients assets. If the number of units and fund name is entered, the Platform will update the price for indicative valuation purposes, as long as the funds are included in the price feeds. Audit trail A full record of the transactions and changes to the assets held on the Platform is available. 11

12 Report accessibility The Platform provides a wide range of management information (MI) reports. MI reporting is provided via a data warehouse where data is refreshed, as a minimum, on a daily basis. Reporting can be provided at any level within the standard platform hierarchy, i.e. network, firm, adviser and client level. Aggregation for reporting can also be at any level. There are two key parameters that determine all management information reporting: Reporting level. Aggregation level. The reporting level is the point in the hierarchy at which the report is generated. The aggregation level is what sits under the reporting level, across which client data can be aggregated. For example a total holdings report generated at a firm reporting level with an adviser aggregation level would report total client assets by member for all advisers that are part of that firm. Report frequency Reports can be generated either on-demand or on a scheduled basis. On-demand reports are requested from the Platform by specifying the input parameters (typically date range, reporting and aggregation level). Reports are generated in the background and made available for download once complete. A full history of all generated reports is retained on the Platform and can be downloaded at any stage in the future. Report formats All reports are available in an Excel format. 12

13 Accessibility Our Platform is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, (subject to maintenance during non-core hours). You can also grant access to your clients to view their Zurich Portfolio. Configurability of our Platform The Platform is flexible, allowing you to tailor it to your own specific requirements. You can configure key functionality, such as tools selection and investment options to suit your own individual business requirements. Branding You can brand the Platform; which can include logo, images, fonts, background colours and buttons. Wording cannot be altered. To comply with FCA guidance, Zurich must be shown as the proposition provider, so there will be a notification on the client login page to explain this. The personalisation options outlined above are standard on the Platform, which means there are no costs associated for you to apply your own brand to the Platform. Client access You can give your clients access to the Platform. This also gives them access to their documents and valuations of their assets. Integration with back office systems Zurich integrates with many of the leading back office software suppliers for valuations and electronic commission statements including: 2Plan/Figure Out Limited Avelo Distribution Technology Enable (Best Practice) Intelliflo Plum Software In addition, we have implemented deeper integrations with Distribution Technology and Intelliflo, where data is passed from these back office systems to pre-populate processes within the Platform, reducing the need for advisers to re-key data and to drive further efficiencies in your processes In time, we anticipate further integrations with some or all of the following back office software suppliers: Capita FS (Quay) Software Durell Focus Solutions JCS SSP Swift True Potential IRESS 13

14 Client protection The Platform falls within the remit of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which, in the event of the failure of a FCA regulated entity provides appropriate client protection. If we, or any of the providers of investment products that your client has invested in, are unable to meet any financial obligations to your client in full, your client may be entitled to help from the FSCS. The compensation they will receive will be based on the FSCS s rules, and whether or not your client is eligible to make a claim may depend on which firm is in default, what service or product they were providing, where they are based and where your client is resident. Offshore investments could be covered as long as the investment advice was given by a FCA authorised firm. Business continuity As you would expect from a regulated global organisation, we have well-established and comprehensive Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plans, which are under continual review based on our own experiences and new bench-marks for best practice in this area. A Business Continuity Management function operates strategically at a Group level to set strategy and agree policy with each business area. Business areas implement policy through local business continuity plans which are formally reviewed annually. Disaster recovery is a part of our business continuity plan and works closely with Business Continuity Management to ensure alignment and optimisation. 14

15 Additional tools (for example, risk profiling and asset allocation tools) The Platform provides access to a range of adviser tools designed to offer real value to you. We have drawn from a range of adviser tools developed by evalue and FE. These tools are completely independent and show no bias towards a Zurich solution. 15

16 Advisa Centa Through the Platform we provide access to the Advisa Centa Attitude to Risk profiler, Investment planner and Retirement planner portfolio planning tools. Attitude to Risk profiler Helps you to assess a client s attitude to investment risk and acts as a starting point for a wider discussion on the topic of risk including the opportunity to discuss capacity for loss. The profiler uses 13 questions with additional questions available to validate the profile and to discuss your client s capacity for loss. The answers generate an indicative risk profile for your client. It provides an asset mix appropriate for your client s profile. The questions can be retaken and alternative profiles reviewed to test what if scenarios to better meet your client s risk position. Reports can be exported to your back office system, while the results are automatically passed in to the Investment and Retirement planners. It is suitable for all clients, except those who have no propensity for any investment risk and who wish to remain invested in cash only. Fund Risk Assessor We also provide access to the Advisa Centa Fund Risk Assessor tool. The tool can risk-rate a customer s existing fund or portfolio of funds on an on-going basis, enabling you to ensure that the funds selected are suitable for their risk profiles over the desired investment terms. Investment planner Helps you to explain investment risk to a client and helps the client understand the likelihood of reaching their investment goals all from a single screen. Stochastic forecasts are created using the Towers Watson CAP:Link engine. The planner compares risk strategies against an alternative investment in cash. Resulting calculations can take account of inflation and taxed or un-taxed scenarios. It can be used standalone or in conjunction with the Attitude to Risk profiler, results from which are automatically passed through to the Investment planner. Results can be saved as a PDF and/or exported to your back office system for inclusion in your own report. 16

17 Retirement planner Helps you to demonstrate the impact on a client s retirement fund or income, should they change their retirement age, contributions, salary or risk profile all from a single screen. Stochastic forecasts are created using the Towers Watson CAP:Link engine. The planner compares alternative risk strategies and how they may affect a client s current plans for retirement. Forecasts can take State benefits and other investments, pensions and assets your client holds into account. It can be used standalone or in conjunction with the Attitude to Risk profiler. Forecasts can be automatically exported as a PDF report, which can then be printed and/or saved to your desktop. 17

18 FE Asset Centre The Platform provides integrated access to the FE Asset Centre. This means assets held on the Platform can be reflected within the Asset Centre for analysis. The Asset Centre can be configured so that your firm s asset universe can be shown within the tool. The Asset Centre provides you with the following: Individual fund performance, price, risk ratings and charges etc, including fund fact sheets and access to a charting tool to plot asset performance against selected benchmarks or other assets. Comparison report enabling you to compare up to four funds side by side on a single output. Portfolio scan enabling you to X-ray a portfolio (e.g. holdings, sectors, regions, assets, performance and stock overlap). Model portfolio analyser enabling you to compare your client s existing portfolio against one or more model portfolios on a risk/return basis to identify whether your client is either taking too much risk for the return generated or receiving too little return for their risk profile. FE Analytics We provide a link through to FE Analytics for even deeper analysis. For new FE Analytics users introduced through the Platform we have negotiated a discounted price. 18

19 Support services (for example, help facilities and training) Zurich provides a wide range of support material for you through our zurichintermediary.co.uk website including technical and marketing support. Consultant Support Zurich s commitment to the UK intermediated market place is reflected in our investment in the strength of Zurich s adviser facing salesforce and specialist Platform team. Zurich s team includes over 100 face to face and telephone based consultants. Their role is to support you with training and to help manage issues which arise during the course of the Platform adoption process. Service Support The Platform utilises highly automated end-to-end processes requiring limited day to day interaction with our service delivery teams. However, we are here to help you and the following describes the services that our Service Support Centre will provide: Back Office administration and account provision Pipeline management for transfers and re-registration Banking and Custodianship Application receipt and account activation Cash matching and authorisation to initiate trading processes Support for new business queries and on-going servicing Investment services administration and management Trading and settlement Corporate actions Asset management relationship Client money accounting and asset reconciliation and FCA asset reporting Training support Zurich is one of three principal partners of the New Model Business Academy. It offers help and support to advisers through: Professional Qualifications supplying a career planner route map and relevant information on exams, training, revision material plus much more. Ever Changing Model supporting advisers to successfully evolve their businesses through access to workshops with leading providers and industry experts. Sharing of Ideas facilitating the sharing of best practice to achieve success and help resolve some of the challenges advisers face. Succession Planning supporting advisers whether they are planning to sell their business to a third party or planning for succession from within. Zurich is a key supporter of the APFA Fast Forward programme. This valuable programme enables you to review your business processes, segment your clients and implement change in a fully supported framework. Access to both Academies is available through your consultant. Technical support We have a team of telephone based specialists who are available to support you. You can access this team through your Zurich consultant. 19

20 For more details about the Zurich Intermediary Platform please speak to your consultant on We may record or monitor calls to improve our service. NP713095A55 (08/14) RRD For use by professional financial advisers only. No other person should rely on, or act on any information in this brochure when making an investment decision. This brochure has not been approved for use with clients. Zurich Assurance Ltd, authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Registered in England and Wales under company number Registered Office: The Grange, Bishops Cleeve, Cheltenham, GL52 8XX. Zurich is a trading name of Sterling ISA Managers Limited. Sterling ISA Managers Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales under company number Registered Office: The Grange, Bishops Cleeve, Cheltenham, GL52 8XX. Zurich Life Assurance plc is authorised and regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority for the conduct of insurance business in the UK. Registered office: Zurich House, Frascati Road, Blackrock, Co Dublin, Ireland. Registered in Ireland under company number