1. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) about our services and costs Ashcourt Rowan Financial Planning Limited Towry House Western Road Bracknell RG12 1TL Tel: 01344 828000 Fax: 01344 828001 The FCA is the independent watchdog that regulates financial services. This document is designed by the FCA to be given to consumers considering buying certain financial products. You need to read this important document. It explains the service you are being offered and how you will pay for it. 2. Whose products do we offer? Investment Please refer to section 3 of this document. Insurance We offer products from a range of insurers for Term Assurance, Mortgage Protection Assurance, Critical Illness Insurance, Family Income Benefit, Private Medical Insurance, Permanent Health Insurance and Long Term Care. We only offer products from a limited number of insurers for Buildings and/or Contents Insurance, Accident, Sickness and Unemployment Insurance. Ask us for a list of the insurers we offer insurance from. We only offer products from a single insurer. Equity Release Products Equity Release products are either lifetime mortgages or home reversion plans. We are not limited in the range of equity release products we will consider for you, but we will not consider deals that you can only obtain by going direct to a lender. We only offer equity release products from a limited number of lenders. Ask us for a list of the lenders we offer products from. We only offer equity release products from a single lender. 1
3. Which service will we provide you with? Investment Independent advice We will advise and make a recommendation for you after we have assessed your needs. Our recommendation will be based on a comprehensive and fair analysis of the market. Insurance Restricted advice We will advise and make a recommendation for you after we have assessed your needs, but we only offer products from one company or a limited number of companies. No advice You will not receive advice or a recommendation from us. We may ask some questions to narrow down the selection of products that we will provide details on. You will then need to make your own choice about how to proceed. We will advise and make a recommendation for you after we have assessed your needs for Term Assurance, Mortgage Protection Assurance, Critical Illness Insurance, Family Income Benefit, Private Medical Insurance, Permanent Health Insurance and Long Term Care. Equity Release Products You will not receive advice or a recommendation from us for Term Assurance, Mortgage Protection Assurance, Critical Illness Insurance, Family Income Benefit, Private Medical Insurance, Permanent Health Insurance and Long Term Care. We may ask some questions to narrow down the selection of products that we will provide details on. You will then need to make your own choice about how to proceed. We will advise and make a recommendation for you on equity release products after we have assessed your needs. You will not receive advice or a recommendation from us. We may ask some questions to narrow down the selection of products that we will provide details on. You will then need to make your own choice about how to proceed. 4. What will you have to pay us for our services? Investment Charges & Fees: The services that we provide fall under five main categories: 1. Data Gathering and Assessment 2. Analysis and Advice 3. Implementation of our recommendations 4. Review and Monitoring 5. Other items of work available under our menu of service The basis on which we charge for work undertaken is outlined below and will vary depending on which of the above services are being provided. Illustrated below are typical examples of how much you will pay for our services. We will discuss your payment options with you and answer any questions you have. We will not charge you until we have agreed with you how we are to be paid. Please note that other costs, including taxes (for example, VAT), related to transactions in connection with certain packaged products which are not paid via Ashcourt Rowan Financial Planning Limited or imposed by it, may arise for you. Where you ask us to undertake a piece of work, either Data Gathering and Assessment or chosen from our menu service, we will charge you a fixed fee for that piece of work. In all other scenarios, we will normally charge you based upon the value of your assets ( Investment Based assets ). You may also ask us not to exceed a given amount without checking with you first. We will also tell you before undertaking any work whether VAT will be payable on that work, in addition to our costs. 2
Data Gathering and Assessment A Data Gathering and Assessment fee will be charged with reference to the complexity of your circumstances and the availability and provision of necessary information, including not only personal data, but also that of all existing assets and products. The Data Gathering and Assessment fee is from 1,000. The Data Gathering and Assessment fee is not chargeable in all circumstances, and we will let you know the exact cost of any fee relating to this aspect of work before we commence. Area of Assessment Data Gathering and Assessment Costs Family Security From 1000 Investments From 2000 Retirement Planning From 2000 Estate Planning From 2000 Assessing the Future From 2000 Tax From 2000 Ad hoc Reviews From 2000 For some clients, some of these areas of advice may overlap. In these instances, where you wish to receive advice in two or more areas, the initial assessment for each area may be combined (depending on the complexity of your situation). For example, to combine an Estate Planning assessment with that of an Investment assessment: Initial Assessment Fee Estate Planning Review 2,000 Investment Review 500 We will let you know the specific costs of Data Gathering and Assessment as they apply to your situation before you engage us to provide them. Advice and Implementation Our charging structure for investment-based assets is tiered based upon the value of the assets on which you require Advice or Implementation as follows: Investment Based Advice Costs Value of Assets Invested Advice & Analysis Implementation Total, if you choose BOTH services on the first 1.5% 1.5% 3% then from 75,001 to 150,000 then from 150,001 to 500,000 1% 1% 2% 0.5% 0.5% 1% on the balance 0.25% 0.25% 0.5% These charges are made on a marginal basis on each transaction, so the first part of the charge is always paid at the first tier rate and the last part is paid at the lowest rate applicable. 3
How this works in practice: If you had 400,000 of valued assets, our charges for Advice and Analysis, or Implementation, would be applied in the following manner: Advice and Analysis: To the first a 1.5% charge would apply: 1,125 400,000 To the next a 1% charge would apply: 750 250,000 To the remaining 250,000 a 0.5% charge would apply: 1,250 Total: 3,125 Implementation: To the first a 1.5% charge would apply: 1,125 400,000 To the next a 1% charge would apply: 750 250,000 To the remaining 250,000 a 0.5% charge would apply: 1,250 Total: 3,125 Advice and Analysis or Implementation of our recommendations Further examples of what you can expect to pay: The value of your Assets when you engage us How we will charge you for Advice and Analysis The amount you will need to pay us How we will charge you for Implementation The amount you will need to pay us 150,000 at 1.5% at 1% 1,875 at 1.5% at 1% 1,875 250,000 at 1.5% at 1% 100,000 at 0.5% 2,375 at 1.5% at 1% 100,000 at 0.5% 2,375 500,000 at 1.5% at 1% 350,000 at 0.5% 3,625 at 1.5% at 1% 350,000 at 0.5% 3,625 These are typical examples of how our charges are applied for all of our clients. We will confirm the exact scope, nature and cost of any work that will be performed for you, in line with this example, prior to commencement of any work. These will be outlined to you in a personalised Scope of Work Agreement. If, after we have provided you with a report for Advice and Analysis, you decide not to ask us to implement our advice, then you are not obligated to do so and there will be no further commitment between us upon settlement of our fee. 4
Other items of work available under our menu of service In addition to the type of work that we will perform for you under the categories above, there may be times when you wish us to undertake specific pieces of financial advisory work, which can be chosen from our menu of services. These items are individually priced and some common examples of work that we perform and the cost that we would charge are as follows: Deposits and Cash review - 300 Detailing what to put in your will - 350 University Funding Review - 450 Our full menu of services detailing the costs of our one-off services is available upon request. Review and Monitoring Service We provide different levels of service under this heading, depending on your needs and requirements and the complexity of your financial affairs. This allows you to choose the most appropriate level of review and monitoring suited to your circumstances and based upon the cost that you wish to pay. We offer the Essential, Foundation and Comprehensive monitoring and review services. The details and costs of us providing you with these ongoing services are outlined in the Ashcourt Rowan Review and Monitoring Service Agreement. Non-Advised or Execution Only services These types of service are available and will be individually priced on a bespoke basis, depending on the nature of the work, the complexity and the risk of what is required. We will tell you how we will get paid and provide confirmation of the likely costs and charges before we commence any work for you. Your payment options Settling your adviser charge through a single payment Whether you buy a product or not, you will pay us an adviser charge for our advice and services, which will become payable on delivery of an invoice. You will be required to settle the payment of your adviser charge within 30 days. We accept BACS and cheque payments only. We do not accept payment by cash or card payments. You will be provided with a receipt upon payment. Payment for ongoing services There will be an additional adviser charge for any ongoing work, such as periodic or ongoing reviews, we carry out on your behalf. Examples are provided in the table above. We will discuss and agree with you the rate, frequency and length of this ongoing service, and ask you to enter into our Review and Monitoring Service Agreement, provided separately. Other benefits we may receive We do not receive any other benefits from product providers. Insurance Charges & Fees: A fee. The level of fee will vary according to the level of complexity, and will be a minimum of 250. No fee for Term Assurance, Mortgage Protection Assurance, Critical Illness Insurance, Family Income Benefit, Private Medical Insurance, Permanent Health Insurance, Long Term Care, Buildings and/or Contents Insurance, Accident, Sickness and Unemployment Insurance. You will receive a quotation which will tell you about fees relating to any particular insurance policy. 5
Equity Release Charges & Fees: No fee. We will be paid commission from the provider. A fee of 800 payable at outset. We will also be paid commission from the provider. A fee of 1500 payable at outset. We will refund to you any commission from the provider. You will receive a key facts illustration when considering a particular equity release product, which will tell you about any fees relating to it. Refund of fees If we charge you a fee, and your equity release product does not go ahead, you will receive: A refund of your fee, less 250 if the provider rejects your application. No refund. 6. Who regulates us? Ashcourt Rowan Financial Planning Limited, Towry House, Western Road, Bracknell, RG12 1TL, is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Our Financial Services Register number is 133576. Our permitted business includes advising on and arranging investments, including pension transfers and opt outs, advising on and arranging non-investment insurance contracts and advising on and arranging home reversion plans. You can check this on the Financial Services Register by visiting the FCA s website www.fca.org.uk/register or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768 (freephone). 7. What to do if you have a complaint If you wish to register a complaint, please contact us: In writing to: The Compliance Director, Ashcourt Rowan Financial Planning Limited, Towry House, Western Road, Bracknell, RG12 1TL. By phone: Telephone 01344 828000. If you cannot settle your complaint with us, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service. 6
8. Are we covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)? We are covered by the FSCS. 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. Investment Most types of investment business are covered up to a maximum limit of 50,000. Insurance Insurance advising and arranging is covered 90% of the claim, without any upper limit. Compulsory insurance is covered in full. Equity Release Products Equity Release advising and arranging is covered up to a maximum limit of 50,000. Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS. Message from the Financial Conduct Authority Think carefully about this information before deciding whether you want to go ahead. If you are unsure about which equity release product is right for you, you should ask your adviser to make a recommendation. 7