Terms of Business for The Acumen Investment Partnership

The Acumen Investment Partnership is authorised to conduct investment business under the Financial Services & Markets Act 2000 and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The Acumen Investment Partnership FSA Register number is 223016.

You can check the above details on the FSA Register by visiting the FSA website or by contacting FSA on 0845 606 1234.

OUR RELATIONSHIP

Any advice or recommendation that we offer to you, will be based on your stated objectives, circumstances and take into account any restrictions that you wish to place on the type of products you would be willing to consider. 

With very few exceptions, we will confirm to you in writing the basis of our reason for recommending the products arranged on your behalf.

Your stated objectives will be reiterated in the Suitability Letter, which we will issue to you following our recommendation, along with details of any special risks associated with the product recommended. Unless confirmed in writing, to the contrary, we will assume that you do not wish to place any restrictions on the advice we give you.

Full details of the products we may recommend to you including, for example, the minimum duration of the product, information on the right to cancel or whether no right to cancel arises, and any other early termination rights and penalties, will be covered in the relevant product disclosure information you will receive before conclusion of any contract.

Any products we have arranged for you, will not be kept under review but we will advise you upon your request. However, we may contact you in the future by means of an unsolicited promotion should we wish to discuss the relative merits of a particular product or service which we feel may be of interest to you.

The Acumen Investment Partnership IS NOT permitted to handle client money for any products AND we cannot accept a cheque made out to us (unless it is in respect of an item for which we have sent you an invoice) or handle cash.

You or we may terminate our authority to act on your behalf at any time, without penalty.  Notice of this termination must be given in writing and will take effect from the date of receipt.  Termination is without prejudice to any transactions already initiated which will be completed according to these terms of business unless otherwise agreed in writing. You will be liable to pay for any transactions made prior to termination and any fees outstanding, if applicable.

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

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

YOUR PROTECTION

Circumstances can arise where we or one of our other customers may have some form of interest in business being transacted for you.  If this happens or we become aware that our interests or those of one of our other customers conflict with your interests, 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.

Please be aware that investments can fall as well as rise, and that you may not get back the full amount invested.   The price of investments we may recommend may depend on fluctuations in the financial markets, which are outside our control.     Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance.

In most cases you can exercise a right to cancel, by withdrawing from the contract recommended to you.  In general terms you will normally have a 30 day cancellation period for a life, pure protection or pension policy and a 14 day cancellation period for all other policies. Please note that in most instances you will not be able to exercise a right to cancel in connection with the purchase of shares, units in a collective investment scheme and unit linked life/pension policies when sold at a distance. Additionally, in most instances you will not be able to exercise a right to cancel a mortgage contract, unless the contract is concluded at a distance (i.e. no face to face advice), at which point you will have a 14 day cancellation period. Finally, any contracts arranged at your explicit consent (normally referred to as “execution only”) do not provide cancellation rights.

The start of the cancellation period will normally begin, for pure protection policies, when you are informed that the contract has been concluded or, if later, when you have received the contractual terms and conditions. In other cases, the cancellation period will begin on the day the contract is concluded or, if later, the day on which you receive the contractual terms and conditions. Instructions for exercising the right to cancel, if applicable, will be contained in the relevant product disclosure information which will be issued to you.

We will endeavour to make arrangements for all your investments to be registered in your name unless you first instruct us otherwise in writing.  All Policy Documents or Lender’s Offer Documents will be forwarded to you as soon as practicable after we receive them.  If there are a number of documents relating to a series of transactions, we will normally hold each document until the series is complete and then forward them to you.

DATA PROTECTION

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

YOUR CONSENT

I have read the above terms and fully consent to the terms imposed and I authorise the transfer of information, on a confidential basis when warranted between any such third parties.  I acknowledge that the Terms of Business Letter will come into effect from the date of issue.  I have also received the Key Facts about Our Services Document (Initial Disclosure Document) and, where applicable, the Key Facts About the Cost of our Services (the Menu).  

I also confirm that I AM/I AM NOT happy to give The Acumen Investment Partnership my express consent to contact me by telephone to discuss advising on or arranging financial or insurance products in future.