Introduction

Legal & Professional Services is an Appointed Representative of Stedman & Co which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority and are bound by FSA Rules. Our FSA registration number is 126395.

You may check our full details on the FSA register by visiting the FSA website www.fsa.gov.uk/register or by contacting the FSA on 0845 606 1234.

It is our intention to consider you as a private client from outset and provide our services on this basis as it offers the highest level of regulatory protection to you. Following our discussions, it may however be appropriate, based upon your experience and understanding of the service being provided, for you to be considered as an intermediate client. If this becomes applicable, we will discuss this area with you in more detail and if acceptable issue an amended Terms of Business for your agreement.

2 Instructions

To avoid possible disputes we prefer written instructions before providing any services. We will, however, accept verbal instructions but we would be grateful if you would follow them up in writing.

To enable us to provide advice we will need to obtain information about your personal and financial circumstances from which we will make a suitable recommendation. Within our written recommendation we will confirm your investment objectives and will outline whether or not there are any restrictions on the types of investments and the markets into which you wish to invest.

If all relevant information is not disclosed at the outset of advice we cannot be held responsible for the subsequent advice we give.

 We will notify you of any cancellation rights that apply prior to transacting any business. Please be aware that there are some circumstances where cancellation rights do not apply.

In addition to making calls at your express invitation, we may contact you sometimes to review your investment requirements, to outline possible changes in legislation or to let you know of services or investments that might be of particular interest.

It sometimes happens that we have to amend our Terms of Business, usually to comply with a change in the regulations. Unless we obtain your consent we will give you at least fourteen days notice of our intention to do so before conducting investment business with or for you, unless it is impracticable in the circumstances to do so.

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 of course be liable to pay for any transactions made prior to termination and any fee which may be outstanding.

3 Personal Interests

Although we offer independent financial advice, occasions may arise where we, or one of our clients, may have some form of interest in business which we are transacting for you. If this happens, or if we become aware that their interests or those of one of their other customers conflict with your interests, we will obtain your consent before we carry out your instructions.

4 Registration

All investments will be registered in your name unless otherwise agreed in writing, and all contract notes and documents of title will be posted to you as soon as possible. When several documents relating to a series of transactions are received we may keep them at our office until we have them all before sending them to you.

5 Information

You or your appointed agent may inspect copies of contract notes, vouchers and any other entries whether kept manually or electronically which relate solely to your investments.

6 Remuneration

We will issue to you as required by the FSA the Key Facts Guide - “About the Cost of our Services” before we begin any work for you.

We do not handle client’s money . We never accept a cheque made out payable to Legal & Professional Services unless it is in settlement of an invoice nor do we accept cash payments.

If we make a recommendation that is likely to involve a transaction with or through another person with whom we have an agreement to receive goods or services we will let you know at the time of the recommendation of any such agreement and our policy regarding such agreements. At present we have no soft commission agreements in place.

7 Liability

Neither Legal & Professional Services nor Stedman & Co. accept any responsibility for any loss or depreciation to the value of any investment, nor for any failure to increase the value of any investment, or for any failure to secure a particular level of income, or for any adverse tax consequences, except where you suffer loss as a result of wilful default or negligence on Legal & Professional Services’s part. Legal & Professional Services maintains professional indemnity insurance.

8 Information Held About You

In order to advise you properly we must obtain certain information from you about your financial and personal circumstances to assess your suitability for particular products and services. By accepting this agreement you agree the following:

• the information Legal & Professional Services hold about you can be held on computer and/or paper files under the Data Protection Act 1998.
• we may use the information to contact you from time to time by post, e-mail or telephone to bring to your attention additional products or services that may be of benefit to you.
• any information which you give us may be disclosed to third parties (e.g. money laundering agencies and product providers) for the purpose of processing your application, to our regulator, the Financial Services Authority, and to our Compliance Advisers.

In turn we agree that any consent given by you may be withdrawn by you at any time by contacting us in writing at the address shown.

These terms of business exclude any rights which may be conferred upon third parties by the Contracts (Third Party Rights) Act 1999.

These Terms of Business are governed by and shall be construed in accordance with English Law and the parties shall submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.