Financial services guide
This Financial Services Guide (FSG) is intended to inform you of certain basic matters relating to our relationship, prior to us providing you with a financial service. The matters covered by the FSG include, who we are, how we can be contacted, what services we are authorised to provide to you, how we (and any other relevant parties) are remunerated, details of any potential conflicts of interest, and details of our internal and external dispute resolution procedures and how you can access them.
It is intended that this FSG should assist you in determining whether to use any of the services described below.
You should also be aware that you are entitled to receive a Statement of Advice (SOA) whenever we provide you with any advice which takes into account your objectives, financial situation and needs. The Statement of Advice will contain the advice, the basis on which it is given and information about fees, commissions and associations which may have influenced the provision of the advice.
On an ongoing basis, a Record of Advice (ROA) will be provided instead of an SOA if there have been no significant changes in your personal circumstances or the basis of the advice has not significantly changed since the last SOA was provided. You can request a copy of the ROA or SOA for up to 7 years. If you require a copy please contact the Head Office of CUA Financial Planning on the numbers provided in this document.
In the event we make a recommendation to acquire a particular financial product (other than securities) or offer to issue or arrange the issue of a financial product, we must also provide you with a Product Disclosure Statement containing information about the particular product which will enable you to make an informed decision in relation to the acquisition of that product.
Key information is set out following in a question and answer format. The questions are divided into three major areas as outlined below:
a) before you get our advice
b) when you get our advice and
c) if you have any complaints
If you have further queries after reading this FSG please discuss with your financial planner or contact CUA Financial Planning on 07 3365 0180 or email cuafp@cua.com.au.
This is important information and you should retain it for your own reference and for any future dealings with CUA Financial Planning.
a) Before you get our advice
1. Who will be providing the financial service to me?
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CUA Financial Planning |
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| Telephone: |
1300 655 014 |
| Facsimile: |
07 3226 2410 |
| Email: | |
This FSG is issued with the authority of CUA Financial Planning.
2. Who is my Financial Planner?
Your Financial Planner may be employed as a salaried employee of CUA Financial Planning or as a full commission agent of CUA Financial Planning and may receive a performance-based bonus. The Financial Planner will reveal his remuneration agreement with CUA Financial Planning to you at the first meeting.
Please see the attached profile for further information on your Financial Planner.
3. What financial services are you authorised to provide me and what products do those services relate to?
We are authorised to offer you the following services:
- Wealth accumulation planning
- Wealth management
- Retirement planning
- Tax planning
- Estate planning
- Risk management (life insurance)
- Gearing
- Centre Link
We provide advice on and deal in the following products:
- Deposit products
- Managed investment products
- Superannuation products
- Annuities and pensions
- Securities
- Government debentures, stocks or bonds
- Life insurance products
Not all our financial planners can provide advice on all of the above products. These details will be provided to you at the initial interview.
We only recommend a financial product to you after considering its suitability for your individual needs and objectives and financial circumstances.
We have the ability to advise on a variety of products from fund managers, life companies and platform providers.
We have a dedicated Client Service Team that assists you with your ongoing financial situation. The Client Service Team works in conjunction with your financial planner and includes dedicated financial planners that concentrate their time on ongoing service to our clients and in addition includes a thorough administrative team.
The Client Service Team is responsible for the ongoing service of our clients and is able to assist with all your enquiries including reviewing your portfolio, Centrelink issues, retirement and redundancy issues and any other changes to your financial situation. The team also looks after any administrative issues such as withdrawals or changes of addresses etc.
4. Who do you act for when you provide financial services to me?
Your financial planner will be acting on behalf of CUA Financial Planning. CUA Financial Planning is therefore responsible to you for any advisory services your financial planner provides.
CUA Financial Planning is a wholly owned subsidiary of Credit Union Australia Ltd.
CUA Financial Planning is a Principal Member of the Financial Planning Association of Australia Ltd.
5. How will I pay for the service? Do you receive remuneration, commission, fees or other benefits in relation to providing the financial services to me and how is that commission calculated?
You may pay us a fee for service and this may range from $165 per hour ( including GST) to $385 per hour (Including GST). Alternatively, we may receive a payment called commission, which is paid to us by the Financial Product issuers. In some circumstances you may pay us a combination of fee for service and commission.
We will give you a Statement of Advice containing details of our fees and any payments made to us by a Financial Product issuer.
Your initial consultation is free of charge.
A minimum fee of $588-50 (Including GST) is charged for the preparation of a Statement of Advice, and may be rebated to you on implementation of the recommendations. There is no maximum fee. Your financial planner will discuss this with you in the initial consultation. To assist you in making an informed decision, the Statement of Advice will fully disclose all fees involved in implementation of our recommendations.
On placement of your funds, we can receive an establishment fee that is based on a percentage of funds invested, this fee can range from 0% to 5%.
The fee for CUA Financial Planning’s ongoing service is based on a percentage of the value of your investment portfolio, this fee ranges from 0.0% per annum to 1.2% per annum.
For example, where an investment of $100,000 is placed we may receive a maximum initial commission of up to $5,500 ( including GST) and may be paid an ongoing commission of up to a maximum of $1320 (Including GST) while you hold the investment.
CUAFP also offers margin lending facilities through external providers. Should you utilize this strategy, CUAFP may receive an ongoing fee based on the balance of the facility of between 0.0% to a maximum of 0.5%.(including GST)
For example a facility of $100,000 may pay up to a maximum of $500 (including GST) as on ongoing commission to CUAFP.
Commissions paid on life insurance products are calculated as a percentage of the premium that is paid (both initial and ongoing). Commission is calculated as a percentage of the yearly premium with the initial commission varying from 10% up to 125% and ongoing commission varying from between 5% and 40%.
For example with an annual premium of $1000 we may receive up to a maximum of $1375 (Including GST) and up to $440 (Including GST) on going commission while you hold the policy.
Where an agricultural product is recommended we may receive a marketing allowance of up to 11% (Including GST) from the provider.
For example, where an investment of $100,000 is placed, we may receive up to a maximum of $11,000 (Including GST).
If we buy or sell shares for you there will be brokerage charges. These are fees charged to us to access the ASX. The minimum fee is $45 per trade (Including GST).
6. Do any relationships or associations exist which might influence you in providing me with the financial services?
CUA Financial Planning receives fees, commission and brokerage as outlined above, in addition there may be one off or ongoing ‘Alternative Forms of Remuneration’ paid by third parties which may have the potential to cause a conflict of interest. These are not additional charges to you and are paid out of the fund manager or product provider’s own resources.
CUA Financial Planning and your financial adviser maintain a Register of ‘Alternative Forms of Remuneration’ listing all material forms of alternative remuneration (ie other than commissions). This register is publicly available and a copy can be obtained by asking your financial adviser or contacting CUA Financial Planning.
As a wholly owned subsidiary of Credit Union Australia Ltd our financial planners may be encouraged to recommend Credit Union products where appropriate, this may include basic deposit and loans products.
Where a need for general insurance products is identified, these requests will be forwarded to another licensee who is qualified to provide this advice. This can only be carried out with your approval.
On occasion CUA Financial Planning or its representatives may receive from Financial Product Issuers benefits such as marketing allowances, sponsorship of client seminars, business lunches, tickets to sporting or cultural events, corporate promotional merchandise and other minor benefits from product providers whose products we recommend.
In addition to initial and on going commissions received from fund managers and insurance providers, CUAFP may receive a marketing allowance as detailed below:
- Colonial 0.20% on FUA $100k equates to $200
- Skandia 0.20% on FUA $100k equates to $200
- Macquarie 0.20% on FUA $100k equates to $200
- Bridges 0.20% on FUA $100K equates to$200
These amounts may be received monthly or quarterly and may increase or decrease marginally on the basis of funds under management.
In addition Financial Product Issuers may subsidise a CUA Financial Planner to attend conferences (either interstate or overseas) and may include airfares, accommodation, meals and entertainment.
Please note that specific details to your situation will be further detailed in your SoA.
b) When you get our advice
1. Will you give me advice, which is suitable to my needs and financial circumstances?
Yes. But to do so we need to find out your individual financial objectives, financial situation and needs before we recommend any financial product to you.
You have the right not to divulge this information to us, if you do not wish to do so. In that case, we are required to warn you about the possible consequences of us not having your full financial information. You should read the warnings carefully.
2. What should I know about any risks of the financial products or strategies you recommend to me?
We will explain to you any significant risks of the investment and strategies that we recommend to you. If you are unsure of any associated risks, you should ask us to explain those risks to you.
3. What information do you maintain in my file and can I examine my file?
We maintain a record of your personal profile that includes details of your investment objectives, financial situation and needs.
We also maintain records of any recommendations made to you.
We are committed to implementing and promoting a privacy policy that will ensure the privacy and security of your personal information. A copy of our privacy statement is attached for your information.
If you wish to examine your file, you should inform us, and we will make arrangements for you to do so.
4. Can I provide you with instructions and tell you how I wish to instruct you to buy or sell my financial products?
Yes. You may specify how you would like to give us instructions. For example by telephone, fax, email or other means. We will however require written confirmation from you at all times.
c) If you have any complaints
1. Who can I complain to if I have a complaint about the provision of the financial services to me?
We are members of the Finance Industry Complaints Service (FICS).
If you have any complaint about the service provided to you, you should take the following steps:
i. Contact your financial planner and tell them about your complaint.
ii. If your complaint is not satisfactorily resolved within three days, please contact the Head of Financial Planning, CUA Financial Planning on (07) 3365 0180 or 1300 655 014 (Toll Free) or put your complaint in writing and send it to us at GPO Box 100, Brisbane. QLD. 4001. We will try and resolve your complaint quickly and fairly.
iii. If the complaint can not be resolved to your satisfaction you have the right to complain to FICS. They can be contacted on 1300 78 08 08 or P.O. Box 579, Collins Street West, MELBOURNE VIC 8007. This service is provided to you free of charge.
Stage 1 of the FICS process is where FICS facilitates discussions and negotiations between the parties. All relevant documents are exchanged and the issues in dispute are identified.
Stage 2 is conciliation and the parties come face to face with a conciliator from the FICS national panel. The role of the conciliator is to assist the parties to explore options for settlement of the dispute and to help parties to agree on their own outcome.
Stage 3 is where the independent adjudicator is requested to make a decision “on the papers” taking into account the relevant law, fairness and reasonableness. If you accept the adjudicator’s decision it is binding on the member.
If your concerns involve unethical conduct, you may wish to consider raising these concerns with the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA). They can be contacted at PO Box 109 Collins Street West, Melbourne VIC 8007.
