These Terms of Business set out the basis on which JMT Financial Consultants Limited trading as AIM Financial Planning (the firm) will provide business services to you as a consumer of the firm. They also contain details of our regulatory and statutory obligations and the respective duties of both the firm and you in relation to such services.
Authorised Status
JMT Financial Consultants Limited (C49811) trading as AIM Financial Planning is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland as an insurance intermediary registered under the European Union (Insurance Distribution) Regulations 2018; as an Investment Intermediary authorised under section 10 of the Investment Intermediaries Act 1995 (as amended). Copies of our regulatory authorisation are available on request. The Central Bank holds registers of regulated firms and their authorised activities. You may contact the Central Bank of Ireland on 1890 777 777 or alternatively visit their website at www.centralbank.ie to verify our credentials.
Statutory Codes
Our firm is subject to and complies with the Consumer Protection Code 2012, the Minimum Competency Code 2011 and the Fitness and Probity Standards as laid down by the Central Bank of Ireland, details of which are available on the Central Bank Website – www.centralbank.ie
Choice
Our firm holds agencies giving you access to the broad market when it comes to retail life insurance and protection products. We also hold agencies with a wide array of investment and pension product providers, ensuring we can give you a well-informed view on the different options available.
Our firm does not have a ‘tied’ relationship with any institution that could compromise our ability to offer you fair market analysis and choice. We will identify and select a suitable product producer and on receipt of your instructions we will transmit orders on your behalf to one or more product producers.
Our Services
Our firm provides financial planning and arranges transactions on behalf of clients in relation to life insurance and other forms of protection policies, pensions, investments/savings and deposits. In addition to our regulated activities in relation to product services, we also offer a financial planning service, for a fee, which may or may not result in any product recommendations.
Life & Pensions, Deposits & Life Wrapped Investments
We will offer advice on a fair and personal analysis basis in relation to protection policies, pensions, investments and savings. This means we will research a large number of contracts and product producers and recommend the most suitable product for you based on our professional opinion and analysis. We will ensure that the product is suitable for your needs.
We will provide assistance to you for any queries you may have in relation to the policies or in the event of a claim during the life of the policies and we will explain to you the various restrictions, conditions and exclusions attached to your policy. However, it is your responsibility to read the policy documents, literature and brochures to ensure that you understand the nature of the policy cover; particularly in relation to PHI and serious illness policies.
Specifically, on the subject of permanent health insurance policies it is our policy to explain to you a) the meaning of disability as defined in the policy; b) the benefits available under the policy; c) the general exclusions that apply to the policy; and d) the reductions applied to the benefit where there are disability payments from other sources.
For a serious illness policy, we will explain clearly to you the restrictions, conditions and general exclusions that attach to that policy.
We will offer limited analysis of the market in respect of deposits. This means that we can offer advice and product arrangement for a limited number of financial institutions in this regard. We will provide you with deposit rates for Permanent TSB and EBS.
Additionally, in relation to deposit options available through pension products, the list of deposit providers lengthens substantially. This list will differ on a monthly basis as different deposit products open and close.
Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (‘SFDR’)
This EU Regulation is effective 10 March 2021. As the area of the SFDR is new and evolving without sufficient information being currently available, we do not currently assess in detail the adverse impact of investment decisions on suitability when providing investment or insurance advice.
The key product providers with which we engage have developed responsible investment as part of their investment philosophies and sustainability policies. However, detailed information on specific fund recommendations we recommend is not always available.
As further information on the approach being taken by product providers, and their internal/external fund managers, becomes available over the course of the next year, we anticipate reviewing these areas in our assessment.
Schedule of Fees & Charges
Remuneration Advisory, Financial Planning & Financial Services
We will be remunerated for business services we offer you our client in a number of ways:
- By commission earned from Insurers and Product Producers to whom orders are transmitted, details of these payments will be included in a product information document.
and /or
- By an initial fee, ongoing fee or hourly fees charged to the investment or pension platform you have chosen, which we will discuss and agree in advance of all transactions
and/or
- By an initial fee, ongoing fee or hourly fees paid by you directly which we will discuss and agree in advance of all transactions. Fees paid directly by you may be subject to VAT.
and/or
- You also have the option to pay for the services we provide by way of a combination of the commission and fees outlined above which we will discuss and agree in advance of all transactions.
Fee Table for Advisory and Financial Planning, Financial Services
Fees may be charged on an hourly rate. This will always be discussed and agreed in writing in advance of any work being undertaken on a client’s behalf.
| Professional Advisor | Professional Fee (Hourly Rate Ex VAT) |
| Directors | €200.00 |
| Qualified Financial Advisers | €125.00 |
| Support Staff | €80 |
- Additional fees may be payable for complex cases to reflect expertise or urgency. The basic hourly rate as outlined may be subject to change should these additional factors arise. This will always be discussed and agreed in advance of any work taking place.
- Professional Fees are non-refundable in the event that a policy is cancelled.
Handling Clients’ Money
Our preferred policy is to accept cheques made payable to third party product providers in all cases. Our firm will accept payment by cheque in respect of all classes of insurance in the circumstances permitted under Section 25G (1) of the Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995. In certain situations, our firm can accept cheques/bank drafts from clients made payable to JMT Financial Consultants Limited in respect of investment, PRSA or insurance policy premiums but only where (1) an insurance undertaking has invited renewal of a policy of insurance or (2) a proposal for insurance and/or PRSAs has been accepted by an insurance undertaking.
Disclosure of Information
It is your responsibility to provide complete and accurate information for Insurers/Product Producers when arranging a policy. Failure to disclose any material information to your Insurers/Product Producer may invalidate your cover and could mean that all or part of a claim will not be paid.
Regular Reviews
It is in your best interests that you review, on a regular basis, the products which we have arranged for you. As your circumstances change, your needs will change. You must advise us of those changes and request a review of the relevant policy so that we can ensure that you are provided with up to date advice and products best suited to your needs. Failure to contact us in relation to changes in your circumstances or failure to request a review may result in you having insufficient insurance cover and/or inappropriate investments.
Complex Investments Instruments (MiFID*) & Periodic Assessment of Suitability:
Where we provide an investment service that involves a periodic suitability assessment, we will provide you with a report annually outlining any changes in the services or instruments involved &/or the circumstances of you, our client. *Markets in Financial Instruments Directive.
Conflict of Interest
It is the policy of our firm to avoid any conflict of interest when providing business services to our clients. However, where an unavoidable conflict may arise, we will advise you of this in writing before proceeding to provide any business service.
Default by the Client & Termination of the Client Relationship
In the event of default by a client, whereby a fee is outstanding or where a fee has not been waived in agreement with a client (where AIM Financial Planning accepts a commission from the product producer), due process will be followed by our firm in relation to the collection of the fee/commission outstanding.
Product producers may withdraw benefits or cover on default of any payments due under any products arranged for your benefit. Details for these provisions will be included in your product terms and conditions.
The relationship between AIM Financial Planning and the client can be terminated at any stage, by either party. This should be communicated in writing and cannot be backdated. The termination will be without prejudice to the completion of any transactions already initiated and the client will remain responsible for the payment of any fees up to the date of termination, or the date of completion of any transactions in progress, whichever is the later.
Cancellation
You, the customer can cancel your policy at any time by giving notice in writing subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable policy.
Complaints
Whilst we are happy to receive verbal complaints, it would be preferable that any complaints are made in writing. We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days, and we will fully investigate it. We shall investigate the complaint as swiftly as possible, and, the complainant will receive an update on the complaint at intervals of not greater than 20 business days. We will attempt to investigate and resolve a complaint within 40 business days of having received the complaint. Where the 40 business days have elapsed and the complaint is not resolved, we will inform you of the anticipated timeframe within which we hope to resolve the complaint. On completion of our investigation, we will provide you with a written report of the outcome. If you are still dissatisfied with our handling of or response to your complaint, you are entitled to refer the matter to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO), where relevant. A full copy of our complaints procedure is available on request.
Investor Compensation Scheme
Our firm is a member of the Investor Compensation Scheme operated by the Investor Compensation Company DAC (ICCL). This legislation provided for the establishment of a compensation scheme and the payment, in certain circumstances, of compensation to certain clients (known as eligible investors) of authorised investment firms as defined in the Act.
Compensation may be payable where money or investment instruments owed or belonging to clients and held, or in the case of investment instruments, administered or managed by our firm, cannot be returned to those clients for the time being and there is no reasonably foreseeable opportunity of our firm being able to do so.
The right to compensation will arise only:
- If the client is an eligible investor as defined in the Act
- If it transpires that our firm is not able to return client money or investment instruments owed or belonging to clients of our firm
- to the extent that the client’s loss is recognised for the purposes of the Act.
Where an entitlement to compensation is established, the compensation payable will be the lesser of (a) 90 per cent of the amount of the client’s loss which is recognised for the purposes of the Investor Compensation Act 1998 or (b) Compensation of up to €20,000. For further information, contact the Investor Compensation Company Ltd. on (01) 224 4955.
Governing Law and Language
The laws of Ireland form the basis for establishing relations between you and our firm. All contracts, terms, conditions and communications relating to any policies you may enter into with this firm will be in English.
Anti – Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism
Our firm reserves the right to request any facts about a client which it reasonably believes it needs to know in order to comply with the prevailing Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) legislation.
Data Protection
JMT Financial Consultants Limited t/a AIM Financial Planning are subject to the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and the Irish Data Protection Act 2018. We are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We wish to be transparent on how we process your data and show you that we are accountable with the GDPR in relation to not only processing your data but ensuring you understand your rights as a client.
The data will be processed only in ways compatible with the purposes for which it was given and as outlined in our Data Privacy Statement, this will be given to all our clients at the time of data collection.
Please contact us at breda@aimfinancial.ie if you have any concerns about your personal data.