Client Agreement

Client Agreement

This agreement is issued on behalf of Paramount Group Limited of Woodhead House, Woodhead Road, Birstall WF17 9TD whom can be contracted at 01924 351000 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Authorisation Statement

Paramount Group Limited is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The Financial Services Authority regulates the financial services industry in the UK and its address is 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5HS. You can check this on the FSA’s Register by visiting the FSA’s website www.fsa.gov.uk/register FSA No. 410506 or by contacting the FSA on 0845 606 1234.

Permitted Business

Our permitted business is advising on and arranging savings and investments products, pensions, mortgages and non-investment Insurance contracts.

Client Classification

Each client with whom the firm does business is categorised so as to identify the level of regulatory protection. We propose to classify you as ‘Retail Client’ for Investment purposes.

Communications

We will communicate with you in English both verbally and in writing for the sending and receiving of orders and other instructions.  

Scope of Service

We operate independently and therefore provide investment services from the whole market.

Services to be provided

With regards to investments which we have arranged for you, these will only be kept under review as per the agreed Ongoing Service and Fees arrangement (see below for our options). However, we may also contact you in the future by means of an unsolicited promotion should we wish to contact you to discuss the relative merits of an investment or service which we feel may be of interest to you.

On issue of this agreement any subsequent advice or recommendation offered to you will be based upon your stated investment objectives, acceptable level of risk and any restrictions you wish to place on the type of investments or policies you are willing to consider. We will issue you a suitability report to confirm our recommendation. Unless confirmed we will not place any restrictions on our recommendations.

Paramount Group Limited does not handle clients’ money. We never accept cash or a cheque made out to us unless in settlement of charges or disbursements for which we have sent you an invoice.

Services to be provided (continued)

We will also make arrangements for all your investments to be registered in your name unless you first instruct us otherwise in writing.

We will forward you all documents showing ownership of your investments as soon as practicable after we receive them.  Where a number of documents are due involving a series of transactions, we normally hold each document until the series is complete, and then forward them to you.

Paying for services

Not all firms charge for advice the same way. We will discuss your payment options with you and answer any questions you may have. We will not charge you anything until you have agreed how we are paid.

We can be paid by a fee:

Whether you buy a product or not, you will pay us a fee for our advice and services. If we also receive commission from the product provider when you buy a product, we will pass on the full value of that commission to you in one or more ways. For example, we could reduce our fee; or reduce your product charges; or increase your investment amount; or refund the commission to you.

We can be paid by commission (or product charges):

If you buy a financial product, we will normally receive commission on the sale from the product provider. Although you pay nothing up front, that does not mean our service is free. You still pay us indirectly through product charges. Product charges pay for the product provider’s own costs and any commission. These charges reduce the amount left for investment. If you buy direct, the product charges could be the same as when buying through an adviser, or they could be higher or lower. We will tell you how much the commission will be before you complete an investment, but you may ask for this information earlier.

We can be paid by a combination of commission and fee:

In some circumstances, we also charge a fee on top of any commission we might receive.

If we agree to offset commission against the fees and 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 apply the firms fee notified to you, less any commission received, for a period of up to four years after commencement of the policy. We will not charge the fee if you exercise your right to cancel in accordance with the cancellation notice sent to you by the life company.

Our fee option (Customer Agreed Remuneration)

We will agree the rate we will charge before beginning work. We will tell you if you have to pay VAT.

Our typical charges are:

a)         Initial Exploratory Meeting*                                                      £197

b)         The Personal (or Corporate) Financial Plan*                             £597 up to £5,000

            (Suitability Report)                                                                    (dependant on the complexity of the report)

c)         Implementation of the Financial Plan:

            Administration Fees                                                                  £97, £147 or £227

                                                                                                            (per plan, dependant on the complexity)

            Arrangement of Investments                                                      3.5% of the first £500,000 invested

                                                                                                            3.0% thereafter

            Annual Management Fee                                                          up to 0.75% of the value of the fund

            Arrangement of Pension Investments                                         3.5% of the first £500,000 invested

                                                                                                            3.0% thereafter

            Annual Management Fee                                                          up to 0.75% of the value of the fund

            Pension Transfer Analysis report                                               £97

            Arrangement of products involving Insurance                 £557 up to £10,000

Trusts                                                                                       £157

Arrangement of Mortgage and Commercial Loans                     £557 up to 1% of the loan amount whichever is the greater

Arrangement of Lifetime Mortgage                                            £957 or 3% of the loan amount whichever is

                                                                                                the greater

There may be other fees associated with the implementation of recommendations by one of the companies associated with Paramount Group Limited. We will always advise you of these, and agree them with you prior to work commencing.

You may ask us for an estimate of how much in total we might charge. You may also ask us not to exceed a certain amount without checking with you first.

Those processes marked with * may, in some circumstances, not be regulated by the Financial services Authority.

Our commission option

Amounts vary according to: the type of product, the amount you invest, and (sometimes) how long you invest for, or your age when you start the product. We will confirm the actual amount to you before you buy a product. The table following demonstrates our normal rates of commission however if it is proposed that the amount to be charged is greater than this amount written confirmation will be provided.

Paramount Group Limited Ongoing Service and Fees:

Following the implementation of any recommendations, Paramount Group Limited will tailor any ongoing financial planning service to your individual needs based upon the following three options:

Option One (Specific Advice)

This service is ideal for Clients with relatively straightforward financial affairs and who are content to contact us in the event of requiring any further service or advice. There is no retainer fee payable for this option, although the annual management fee of up to 0.75% of the value of your funds under our management is payable.

Option Two (Financial Reporting)

This service is ideal for Clients who require an annual consolidated statement of their financial affairs under our management. The cost of this service is £15 per month* (paid by direct debit) in addition to the annual management fee of up to 0.75% of the value of your funds under our management.

Option Three (Financial Planning)

This service is ideal for Clients who wish to review their financial affairs under our management on a regular (annual) basis. In addition to a consolidated annual statement, we will also conduct a full annual review and provide interim consolidated statements on up to a quarterly basis. The cost of this service is £50 per month* (paid by direct debit) in addition to the annual management fee of up to 0.75% of the value of your funds under our management.

*Retainer fees received for the provision of an ongoing financial planning service in accordance with these terms are non-refundable and remain the property of Paramount Group Ltd. We may attribute any retainer fees received from you to a notional account bearing your name. This is for internal audit purposes only and does not affect the ownership of the retainer fees by Paramount Group Ltd as set out above. In the event that you do not use the ongoing financial planning service at your disposal following payment by you of the retainer fee, the retainer fee remains non-refundable. In the event that this agreement is terminated by either party the retainer fees paid by you and accrued as at the date of any such termination remain the property of Paramount Group Ltd. This does not affect your right to terminate the provision of the ongoing financial planning service at any time by notifying us in writing prior to payment by you of the monthly retainer fee.

Material Interest

We will act honestly, fairly and professionally, known in the regulations as conducting business in ‘Clients best interest’. Occasionally situations may arise where we or one of our other clients have some form of interest in business 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 write to you and obtain your consent before we carry out your instructions, and detail the steps we will take to ensure fair treatment.

We have arrangements in place to ensure our clients are treated fairly, and we have a conflict of interest policy in place to help us manage the risks.  You may ask for a copy of this policy at any time.

In accordance with the rules of our regulator, The Financial Services Authority, we are prohibited from accepting any payment (commission or other non-monetary benefits) which is likely to conflict with the duty of the firm to its clients.

The principals and staff of Paramount Group Ltd have a minority shareholding in Capital Reward Ltd. Capital Reward Ltd is a subsidiary of our compliance support company and generates its income from the placement of business with certain product providers. The business placed is intended to add value to the shares in that company and the long term aim is for the shares to be sold, thereby providing a deferred cash benefit to the shareholders.

The existence of the shareholding and any potential benefit will in no way influence our recommendation in relation to the most suitable product or provider.

On request we will be pleased to provide you with a list of the providers from whom such benefits may be earned. We can also confirm that the provision of the shares and their potential benefits do not affect your product terms

Rights to Cancel

We will inform you of your statutory right to cancel. The Distance Marketing Directive normally grants you 30 days in which you may cancel a life or pension contract. However there will be occasions where no statutory rights are granted, but this will be explained before any contract is concluded.

Complaints

If you wish to register a complaint, please write to Adele Jones at Paramount Group Limited, Woodhead House, Woodhead Road, Birstall WF17 9TD or telephone 01924 351000.

If you cannot settle your complaint with us, you may be entitled to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Compensation Scheme

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation scheme (FSCS) if we cannot meet out our obligations. This is dependent upon the type of business and the circumstances of the claim. Most types of investment business are covered by 100% of the first £30000 and 90% of the next £20000 so the maximum compensation is £48000. Further information about this compensation scheme arrangement is available from the FSCS.

Data Protection

The information you have provided is subject to the Data Protection Act 1998 (the “Act”). By signing this document you consent to us or any company associated with us processing, both manually and by electronic means, your personal data for the purposes of providing advice, administration and management.

“Processing” includes obtaining, recording or holding information or data, transferring it to other companies associated with us, product providers, the FSA or any other statutory, governmental or regulatory body for legitimate purposes including, where relevant, to solicitors and/or other debt collection agencies for debt collection purposes and carrying out operations on the information or data.

We may also contact you or pass your details to other companies associated with us to contact you (including by telephone) with details of any other similar products, promotions, or for related marketing purposes in which we think you may be interested.

The information provided may also contain sensitive personal data for the purposes of the Act, being information as to your physical or mental health or condition; the commission or alleged commission of any offence by you; any proceedings for an offence committed or alleged to have been committed by you, including the outcome or sentence in such proceedings; your political opinions, religious or similar beliefs, sexual life; or your membership of a Trade Union.

If at any time you wish us or any company associated with us to cease processing your personal data or sensitive personal data, or contacting you for marketing purposes, please contact The Data Protection Officer, Adele Jones, on 01924 351000 or in writing at Woodhead House, Woodhead Road, Birstall WF17 9TD.

You may be assured that we and any company associated with us will treat all personal data and sensitive personal data as confidential and will not process it other than for a legitimate purposes. Steps will be taken to ensure that the information is accurate, kept up to date and not kept for longer than is necessary. Measures will also be taken to safeguard against unauthorised or unlawful processing and accidental loss or destruction or damage to the data.

Subject to certain exceptions, you are entitled to have access to your personal and sensitive personal data held by us. You may be charged a fee (subject to the statutory maximum) for supplying you with such data.

Law

This agreement is governed and shall be construed in accordance with English Law and the parties shall submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.

Termination

The authority to act on your behalf may be terminated at any time without penalty by either party giving seven days notice in writing to that effect to the other, but without prejudice to the completion of transactions already initiated.  Any transactions effected before termination and a due proportion of any periodic charges for services shall be settled to that date.

Declaration

Client consent

I understand and consent to the above terms and I hereby authorise the transfer of information, as described above, on a confidential basis when warranted between such third parties. I agree that this Client Agreement will come into effect from the date of my acceptance.