Key features of the smart + Trading Account from AXA Self Investor Important information The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a financial services regulator. It requires us, AXA Portfolio Services Limited, trading as AXA Self Investor, to give you this important information to help you to decide whether our smart + Trading Account is right for you. You should read this document carefully so you understand what you are buying and then keep it safe for future reference. The purpose is to help you make an informed decision. You need to be comfortable that you understand the benefits and risks before deciding whether to invest. There are times when there is more detailed information on our website or in the Terms and conditions of the smart + Trading Account, the smart + Service Terms and conditions or the Charges information. When this happens we will say where you will find this.
02 Contents Page Overview 3 Aims, commitments and risks 4 The charges 6 Opening an account 8 Investing your money 9 Accessing your money 12 Changing your mind 13 Further information 14
03 Overview What is a smart + Trading Account? The smart + Trading Account is an investment account It provides a way for you to invest in a range of funds. smart + is a service that allows you to transact investments online enabling you to create and manage your own investment portfolio through a smart + Trading Account. You can use the smart + service to instruct us where you want to invest. We will then contact the fund manager, who will buy and sell the investment on your behalf. Who should consider investing in a smart + Trading Account? AXA Self Investor offers the smart + service. We do not give advice based on personal circumstances. Using our service means you are responsible for deciding which investments are suitable for you. Personal advice is only available from a financial adviser. You should consider investing in a smart + Trading Account if: You want to have access to a range of funds that generally cover the four main asset classes of shares, bonds, property and money market investment You are comfortable making your own investment decisions and are prepared to invest online You are looking to invest for the medium (5-10 years) to long (10 years or more) term, although there is no fixed term to hold the smart + Trading Account. Am I eligible to open a smart + Trading Account? In order to open a smart + Trading Account you must: Be 18 or over Be resident in the UK If not a resident, be a crown employee serving overseas or married to, or in a civil partnership with, a crown employee serving overseas.
04 Aims, commitments and risks Aims The smart + Trading Account aims to: Allow you to invest in a range of investments that you manage yourself Give you the potential for capital growth, or income or a combination of both, over the medium to long term Give you access to your money by making one-off withdrawals at any time Allow you to choose from a range of investments to match your investment objectives. Your commitment If you open a smart + Trading Account with us you commit to: Use your smart + Trading Account as a medium to long term investment, which means it should usually be held for at least the medium term (5-10 years) although there is no fixed term Invest at least the minimum amount as a single payment or a transfer, or set up regular payments. You can find more details in the section What is the minimum I can invest? page 8 Keep us updated about changes to your address, phone number, email and residency status Pay the charges when they are due. Risks The risks that could affect your smart + Trading Account fall into three broad categories: smart + Trading Account risks smart + charges will reduce the potential growth and value of the investments you hold. Over time, if your total smart + portfolio is small in value and you do not increase your payments or make additional investments, this will mean you may get back less than you originally invested. At worst, this could mean your investment is reduced to nil If you transfer into the smart + Trading Account from an existing provider and this involves you having to sell some of your investments to cash, this will involve you being out of the market for the time it takes to complete the transfer, which may be for up to a maximum of 30 days. This will mean you will not benefit from any rise in value of investments during this period and you will realise a loss or trigger a Capital Gains tax liability, depending on the loss or gain since purchase Charges could go up, in accordance with the Term and conditions, section 4.4, Changing the charges If there is no cash available in your smart + Trading Account when a charge is due we will sell investments to meet this charge. The process followed is set out in the Terms and conditions, section 7.4, Circumstances where we will automatically sell investments.
05 General investment risks The smart + Trading Account gives you access to a range of funds. These types of investments always involve degrees of risk. This could include the risk that: The value of your investments is not guaranteed and may go down as well as up. Therefore you could get back less than the original amount you invested The growth of your investments after charges could be lower than the rate of inflation, reducing the real value of your investments Withdrawals reduce the value of your smart + Trading Account and reduce the potential for capital growth and income. They could cause the value of your investment to fall below the original amount you invested. This will happen if your withdrawals are higher than the growth of your investment, after charges Dealing restrictions are placed on an investment by a regulator or a fund manager. This means that investments will not be bought or sold for a specified period of time or indefinitely. This will prevent you from switching investments or making withdrawals when you want You will not benefit from any rise in the investment markets on any cash held within your smart + Trading Account The tax legislation and rules described in the section What about tax? page 10 or your personal circumstances, on which they depend, change. Fund specific risks Each fund will also have risks that are specific to what they invest in and where. A full explanation of these risks is available in the Simplified prospectus of each fund or Key Investor Information document (KIID). To access these documents log on to axaselfinvestor.co.uk/fund-ranges/, select your preferred fund range and choose from the list of funds provided.
06 The charges What are the charges? You will pay charges to two parties when you invest through the smart + service: AXA Self Investor for providing the smart + service and carrying out your investment transactions, known as smart + charges Fund managers for managing the funds you have chosen to invest in, known as the fund manager charges. These charges are made up as follows: smart + charges smart + Trading Account Charge This is an annual percentage charge based on the value of your smart + Trading Account and smart + ISA, if you have one. The charge is 0.35% per annum of the value of your smart + Trading Account (including any cash balance). This reduces to 0.20% per annum where the total value of your smart + Trading Account and smart + ISA is 250,000 or more. The smart + Trading Account charge is calculated daily and deducted monthly from your smart + Trading Account. AXA Self Investor may from time to time introduce special offers in relation to the charges that apply to the smart + Trading Account. For further details and to see if you are eligible, please refer to your Charges information document. Other smart + charges In addition, AXA Self Investor reserves the right to charge for: Same day electronic withdrawal by CHAPS Failed Direct Debit payments and returned cheque Providing at your request documents in paper format that AXA Self Investor hold on smart +. These charges are explained further in section 4.1.2 Other smart + charges of the Terms and conditions and section 7 smart + charges of the smart + Service Terms and conditions. All smart + charges can be found in Charges information on axaselfinvestor.co.uk. Fund manager charges Fund manager charges are set and taken by the fund manager for investing in their funds. These vary for each fund and include: Fund Manager Initial Charge (where applicable) Fund Manager Annual Management Charge Fund Manager additional fund expenses. The actual fund manager charges for each fund will be shown on screen when you make your fund selection. Fund managers may also charge a performance related charge, a dilution levy and fund exit charge. For a full explanation of the fund manager charges see the Terms and conditions, section 4.2 Fund manager charges.
07 Prior to 6 April 2014 we negotiated terms with some fund managers that meant some of the annual management charge is passed back (rebated) to us. From 6 April 2014, we do not offer these rebate paying funds for new investments. If you invested before this date, you may have chosen funds which paid a rebate and part of this rebate may have been retained by us. We no longer keep any part of the rebate so you will receive the full amount if one is due. For a full explanation of fund rebates see the Terms and conditions, section 4.2.2 Fund Manager Annual Management Charge. How do I pay the charges? smart + charges smart + Trading Account Charge This charge will be collected monthly from your smart + Trading Account. You may choose to keep a cash balance in your account to cover this charge. If you do not have enough cash available in your smart + Trading Account to cover the charge in full when it becomes due we will use the auto-cash process to sell investments to cover the charge. You can find out more about how this process works in the Terms and conditions, section 7.4 Circumstances in which we will automatically sell investments. Other smart + charges Same day electronic withdrawal by CHAPS charge will be taken from the money you withdraw before it is sent to you Failed Direct Debit/returned cheque charge will be taken from cash held in your smart + Trading Account. If there is not enough cash available then we will use the auto-cash process. Fund manager charges The fund manager will either take these charges directly from the amount you invest before it is invested or include it in the calculation of the unit price. This means you do not need to pay for them separately. You can find out more about fund manager charges in the Terms and conditions, section 4.2 Fund manager charges. How often will the charges change? There are certain circumstances where we may increase any of our smart + charges or apply new charges at any time, a full explanation of these circumstances is set out in the Terms and conditions, section 4.4 Changing the charges. We will notify you in advance if any of the charges are due to change. Fund managers also have the right to review and change their charges in accordance with a fund s terms and conditions.
08 Opening an account How do I open a smart + Trading Account? To open a smart + Trading Account: You need to complete the online application on our website You must have read and accepted the smart + Trading Account Terms and conditions We must have received a payment or Direct Debit instruction from you. How do I pay money into my smart + Trading Account? You can pay money into your smart + Trading Account and instruct us to buy investments through our website. You can invest in three main ways: Regular payments by Direct Debit from a bank account on which you are named you can choose to invest either monthly, quarterly, six-monthly or annually Single payment by UK debit card Re-register existing investments you hold with another provider to AXA Self Investor. Re-registration is the transfer of an investment without the need for it to be sold, transferred as cash and reinvested. Cash can only be transferred to AXA Self Investor if transferred at the same time as a re-registered investment. Re-registration of investments will depend on whether your existing provider supports the re-registration process and the fund(s) you wish to transfer is available within the smart + Trading Account. You can also move cash held in your smart + Cash Account into your smart + Trading Account. What is the minimum I can invest? You can open your smart + Trading Account with a minimum single payment of 500; this also applies if you transfer from another provider. You can also open your account by setting up regular payments; the minimum monthly payment is 50 per month. You can increase this at any time. You can make further single payments into your smart + Trading Account at any time as long as they are at least 100. These minimum amounts may change. What is the maximum I can invest? There is no maximum you can invest. Can I transfer an existing trading account to a smart + Trading Account? Yes, you can transfer investments you hold with your existing provider to AXA Self Investor. At least one of the investments you are transferring has to be available from smart +. A fund you hold with your existing provider may benefit from a rebate of some or all of the annual management charge taken by the fund manager. If you re-register such a fund to your smart + Trading Account you will continue to receive a rebate but you will no longer be able to receive it in cash and instead it must be used to buy units in a fund chosen by you. In addition, following re-registration, any rebates received on funds already held in your smart + Trading Account will also then be used to buy units in your chosen fund. Whilst you decide your chosen fund at the point of re-registration you can change this in the future. Where re-registration of existing investments is not possible, these investments will need to be sold and transferred as cash. If you make a transfer in cash it may involve you being out of the market for the time it takes to complete the transfer. This means that you will not benefit from any rise in the price of investments during this period. In this case, you will realise a loss or trigger a Capital Gains tax liability, depending on the loss or gain since purchase. Please note your existing provider may not support re-registration of investments. In such circumstances you will need to sell your investments, withdraw the cash and invest directly into smart +.
09 Investing your money What can I invest in? You can invest, in sterling, in a range of funds through your smart + Trading Account. You tell us where you want to invest. We take your instruction and give it to the fund manager, who will buy the funds for you. Please see the tools and support section on axaselfinvestor.co.uk. What funds can I invest in? Most funds available through your smart + Trading Account are based in the UK and are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Your smart + Trading Account may also offer some funds that are based outside the UK but are recognised by the FCA (FCA recognised funds). The regulation in those countries in which FCA recognised funds are based is considered by the FCA to meet an acceptable minimum standard. When you buy investments, we will register them in the name of our nominee(s). You will remain the beneficial owner of the investments and any investment income and capital growth arising from them. We will arrange to buy, sell and switch investments on your behalf in accordance with our order execution policy as set out in section 7.5 of the Terms and conditions. The value of your investments may go down as well as up and is not guaranteed which means you may get back less than the full amount that you invested. Can I hold cash in my smart + Trading Account? You may choose to hold an amount of your investment as cash within your smart + Trading Account (for example to cover charges or while you decide which funds to invest in). Can my investments generate income? You could receive income payments in the form of dividends or interest payments depending on the types of investment you make: If your smart + Trading Account contains a fund that invests predominantly in shares, the fund may pay a dividend distribution If your smart + Trading Account contains a fund that invests predominantly in investments such as corporate bonds or Government stocks, the fund may pay an interest distribution. Income can fall as well as rise and is not guaranteed. What happens to these payments? If you choose a fund which pays income you can select to have this added as cash to your smart + Trading Account which can be used to cover future charges or until reinvested in funds. Alternatively you can select to have this income paid directly to your nominated bank account. This type of income is referred to as natural income as described in the Terms and conditions, section 12.2 Natural income.
10 Can I change the investments I make? As your smart + Trading Account is yours to manage, you can instruct us to change your investments whenever you like on our website. We will action your request during our normal opening hours in accordance with the Terms and conditions, section 7.2 Investment dealing. You can sell your investments and use the proceeds to buy different investments without the money leaving your smart + Trading Account. This is called a switch transaction. However, the new fund cannot be bought until the old fund is sold, you will therefore be out of the market during this period. There may be a delay in actioning as a result of dealing restrictions in accordance with the Terms and conditions, section 7.3 Deferring a transaction. If you invest by regular payments you can decide to invest in a different fund at any time by requesting this on our website. How do I know how my investments are doing? You can access your smart + Trading Account through our website and log in at any time to check its most recent valuation. We will issue a statement every six months (usually April and October) to your secure online document library My Documents. What about tax? There are a number of tax considerations relating to your smart + Trading Account. We have highlighted some of the key points below. This information is based on our interpretation of current tax legislation. The legislation could change in the future. For further information about tax treatment please visit the HMRC website at hmrc.gov.uk. If you are in any doubt about the tax status of buying, holding or selling an investment within your smart + Trading Account, please speak to a tax specialist. Are my investments liable to Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax? All income and capital gains within your smart + Trading Account will be subject to Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax in accordance with your personal tax position. How is income from my investments taxed? The first 5,000 of dividend distributions that you receive in a single tax year is tax free. This is in addition to any unused Personal Allowance which refers to the amount of income you can earn before Income Tax is charged. Any dividends that you receive above this will be subject to 7.5% if you re a basic rate tax payer, 32.5% if you re a higher rate tax payer, and 38.1% if you re an additional rate tax payer. Interest from investments and any cash held is paid net of Income Tax at 20%. You may be able to reclaim this if you don t pay tax or if you have any unused Personal Savings Allowance (PSA). The PSA allows you to reclaim tax relating to the first 1,000 of interest that you receive if you re a basic rate tax payer, or up to 500 of interest if you pay higher rate tax. Please note that you won t be able to reclaim any tax if you pay additional rate tax. Any income that is reinvested into your chosen funds must also be considered when assessing your individual tax position.
11 Should I complete a tax return? We will provide you with a tax voucher each year showing the amount of income and interest reinvested or credited and the tax deducted within your smart + Trading Account. If you are an individual who completes an annual tax return, this voucher will provide the detail for your smart + investments. You will need to complete an annual tax return if you want to reclaim any tax that you pay in relation to any interest that you receive. You may be liable to further Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax on any gains made under your smart + investments depending on your individual tax position. If you are unsure about your tax position or whether you should complete a return if you do not already, please speak to a tax specialist. Is interest paid on cash balances held in my smart + Trading Account? We will pay interest on any cash that you hold within your Trading Account. You can find further details in your Charges Information document. Details of current interest rates, and rates we have previously paid, are also available at: www.axaselfinvestor.co.uk/interest/.
12 Accessing your money Can I take money out? Yes. You can make single withdrawals to your nominated bank account through axaselfinvestor.co.uk at any time. However, if the value of your investment in your smart + Trading Account is not enough to cover the amount you want to withdraw, we will not make the payment and will contact you. There is a minimum withdrawal amount of 100. To make a withdrawal you must submit an online request instructing us which investment you would like us to sell to make the withdrawal, unless you already hold sufficient cash in your smart + Trading Account. If selling investments it can be up to a maximum of 30 days for your withdrawal to reach your nominated account. There is no facility to set up regular withdrawals from your smart + Trading Account, however if you choose a fund which pays income through dividends or interest, you can select to have this paid directly to your nominated bank account. Withdrawals from your smart + Trading Account will reduce capital growth and income potential and could cause the value of your investment to fall below the original amount invested. This would happen if your withdrawals are higher than the growth of your investment, after charges. Could there be a delay in withdrawing my money? There are some circumstances where we may delay making a payment, in accordance with the Terms and conditions, section 7.3 Deferring a transaction. Can I transfer my smart + Trading Account to another provider? Yes, but you need the approval of the receiving provider. We will not charge you for transferring your smart + Trading Account but the receiving provider may charge you for accepting the transfer. If you would like more information on transferring existing investments out please read the Terms and conditions, section 3.3 Transfers out. Can I close my smart + Trading Account? You can close your smart + Trading Account at any time. You will have to sell your investments by submitting an online request. The proceeds and any cash held in your smart + Trading Account will then be paid into your nominated bank account. You can also close your smart + Trading Account by transferring it to another provider, see the section above Can I transfer my smart + Trading Account to another provider?. What happens to my smart + Trading Account when I die? We will not accept any further payments and your investments will remain unchanged until we are told differently by your personal representative. Your investments may continue to receive income payments and will be subject to standard tax treatment. The value of your investments will continue to be invested and therefore be subject to market movement and changes as they rise and fall. We will continue to deduct applicable smart + charges.
13 Changing your mind Can I change my mind? Yes, you can change your mind about opening your smart + Trading Account. You will receive confirmation that a cancellation reminder has been added to My Documents, your personal online document library, once your first payment has been allocated to your account by us, or on receipt and acceptance of your transfer application. You will then have 30 days in which you can contact us in writing to cancel your smart + Trading Account. Will I get all my money back? You will get a full refund if you cancel your smart + Trading Account before any cash paid into it has been used to buy an investment. If you decide to cancel within the 30 day period any regular payments will be refunded in full. Any single payment or transfer in during this period will be refunded less any fall in the market value of the investment. We aim to return your money to you within 30 days from when we receive your instruction to cancel. Any investments transferred in from an existing trading account can be returned to the provider from where they were received, if they are willing to accept them. In the event that they will not accept them, you will need to find an alternative, for example, transfer to a new provider. Alternatively, you can choose to close your smart + Trading Account and have the balance paid to you as cash. If you do not tell us to cancel your smart + Trading Account within the 30 day period, it will continue in accordance with the Terms and conditions. If, after this period has expired, you wish to close your smart + Trading Account, you can do so as explained in the section Can I close my smart + Trading Account? page 12.
14 Further information How can I contact you? You can contact us by: Sending us a message via axaselfinvestor.co.uk Phoning us on 0800 1522 522. Writing to us at: AXA Self Investor, PO Box 7084, Wolverhampton WV1 9AW. Please quote your Customer number when you contact us. You will find details of our opening hours at www.axaselfinvestor.co.uk As part of our commitment to quality service and security, telephone calls may be recorded. How can I make a complaint? If you are not satisfied with any aspect of the service that you have received from us, or you would like information regarding our formal complaints procedure, please contact us using any methods detailed in How can I contact you? above. If your complaint is not dealt with to your satisfaction then you may refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman. Financial Ombudsman Service Exchange Tower Harbour Exchange Square London E14 9SR Tel: 0800 023 4567 email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk Web: financial-ombudsman.org.uk Making a complaint will not affect your right to take legal proceedings. What is my customer status? We will treat you as a retail client. This means you are protected under the FCA rules. This includes access to complaints and compensation procedures. However you will not be covered should an FCA recognised fund, discussed in the section What funds can I invest in? page 9, not be able to meet, in full or in part, claims made by its investors.
15 Compensation We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).You may be entitled to compensation from the FSCS if we or a third party holding an asset of your smart + Trading Account cannot meet its obligations. This depends on whether you are a retail client and the type of asset held - please refer to the section What is my customer status? on page 14. If AXA Portfolio Services Limited becomes insolvent: If AXA Portfolio Services Limited becomes insolvent and you have a valid claim against AXA Portfolio Services Limited, then you may be covered for up to 100% of the first 50,000 of investments held on AXA Self Investor. As described in these smart + Trading Account Terms & Conditions, we arrange for third party nominee companies, and banks to hold the money and investments in your smart + Trading Account. This means they are kept separately from the assets and money of AXA Portfolio Services and any other external parties we use. In the unlikely event of AXA Portfolio Services Limited failing, AXA Portfolio Services Limited s creditors are not able to make a claim against the assets held by the nominee companies, or the cash held in accounts at the banks. However, there are some instances which could result in a financial loss to you should AXA Portfolio Services Limited fail, such as fraud and maladministration of cash and assets. This could mean that the assets and cash passed to the nominee company or the bank do not fully cover what you are owed. If this was to happen, and we were not able to make good the shortfall, then a claim could be made to the FSCS. If you hold other investments in respect of other products purchased from AXA Portfolio Services Limited, then the 50,000 limit would apply to all of your investments with AXA Portfolio Services Limited. If a sub-custodian became insolvent: If a sub-custodian were to fail, and the assets held by it or its nominee company were not sufficient to meet claims due to fraud or maladministration, and the sub-custodian was unable to make good the shortfall, a claim could be made to the FSCS. Again any compensation would be subject to the limit of 50,000 per individual. If a bank became insolvent: Money held in your smart + cash account, smart + Trading Account and money in investment administration accounts and platform administration accounts is covered by the FSCS. This means if our external banking partners became insolvent you may be covered under the scheme. There is an 75,000 limit, which applies per person per institution (see below), so the limit will normally include cash held within your smart + Cash Account together with any other money you personally hold with that same bank. Details about our external banking partners are available on www.axaselfinvestor.co.uk/interest. The limit of 75,000 applies per authorisation. If you have accounts with banks which are part of a larger group, the level of compensation you can claim will depend on whether the banks are individually authorised or included in the authorisation of their parent company. If a fund manager became insolvent: By law, fund assets must be ring-fenced from the assets of the fund manager. So, the failure of the fund manager would not put the ring-fenced assets at risk. However, in the event of a loss arising as a result of negligent investment management, which the fund manager cannot make good, or the failure of the fund manager to meet its settlement obligations, a claim to the FSCS could be made. If you had an eligible claim in this scenario, you would be covered up to a maximum of 100% of the first 50,000 of the value of the fund.
16 For further information about compensation arrangements please contact the Financial Services Compensation Scheme on: Financial Services Compensation Scheme 10th Floor, Beaufort House, 15 St Botolph Street London EC3A 7QU Tel: 0800 678 1100 Lines are open Monday to Friday 8.30 a.m to 5.30 p.m excluding public holidays. email: enquiries@fscs.org.uk Web: fscs.org.uk Terms and conditions This Key features document gives you a summary of the smart + Trading Account. It does not include all the definitions, exclusions, and terms and conditions. These are contained within: Terms and conditions of the smart + Trading Account smart + Service Terms and conditions Charges information. Main business and Financial Services Register details AXA is a worldwide financial services group. In the UK, one of the AXA companies is AXA Portfolio Services Limited, which provides the smart + Trading Account from AXA Self Investor. AXA Portfolio Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. AXA Portfolio Services Limited is entered on the Financial Services Register, registration number 144849. You can look up our Financial Services Register details through the FCA website: fca.org.uk/register AXA Self Investor has no right of access to the assets of the global AXA Group. Law and language In accordance with the Terms and conditions, this smart + Trading Account is governed by the law of England and Wales. Your contract will be in English and we will always write and speak to you in English. This Key features document was produced in April 2016. If you are not sure if this is the most up-to-date version, please visit our website or contact us using the details in How can I contact you? in this document. Visual impairment Large text, Braille and audio tape versions are available on request.
17 AXA Self Investor, PO Box 7084, Wolverhampton WV1 9AW. Telephone number: 0800 1522 522. As part of our commitment to quality service and security, telephone calls may be recorded. AXA Portfolio Services Limited trades as AXA Self Investor and is part of the AXA Group. AXA Portfolio Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. It is a company limited by shares, registered in England No. 1128611. Registered office: 5 Old Broad Street, London, EC2N 1AD. ASI-ASATKF002-0043 APRIL 2016