Working with us

Rouse Limited is authorised to conduct investment and pension business under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

We are also able to offer non-investment insurance products from a range of insurers

Scope of business

Rouse Limited is an Independent Adviser and will act on your behalf in advising you and arranging savings and investment products, pensions, mortgages and non-investment insurance products on the basis of a fair analysis of the market.

Paying for our services

Full details are contained in our client agreement.

Investment objectives, restrictions and risk

Following the issue of our client agreement, any advice or recommendations offered to you will be based on 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.  Unless you confirm to us in writing to the contrary, we will assume that you do not wish to place any restrictions on the advice we give you.

Details of your agreed investment objectives and established level of risk will be confirmed in the suitability report we will issue to you to confirm our recommendations. The suitability report will clearly confirm all costs associated with our advice.

You are advised that because investments can fall as well as rise, you may not get back the full amount invested. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance.

Treating you fairly: our commitment to you

We always aim to provide a high level of service and will act in your best interests at all times.

We have a written best execution policy – this policy principally confirms our commitment to transact your business, with due care and diligence, to achieve the best possible results in terms of the price, nature of the products selected, transaction charges, administration and service excellence. A copy of our best execution policy is available on request.

Client instructions

You will give us instructions in writing (by post, fax or email) to avoid possible disputes. We will, however, accept oral instructions in an emergency provided they are confirmed in writing at the earliest opportunity.

All communications will be delivered in English (unless agreed otherwise).

Arranging transactions

Unless there are exceptional circumstances, we will confirm to you in writing the basis of our reasons for recommending the transaction being executed on your behalf.

When registering your investment products, we will make arrangements for them to be registered in your name, unless you first instruct us otherwise in writing.

We will forward to 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 may hold each document until the series is complete, then forward them to you.

Termination of a product

If we arrange a product for you (from which we receive commission) and subsequently you cease to pay premiums (which results in us refunding the commission which has been paid to us) we reserve the right to charge you a fee to recompense us for the time spent advising you and arranging the product. The amount and timeframe of the commissions that could be clawed back is dependent on the product chosen and will be detailed in the report we produce for you. We will not charge any fee if you exercise your right to cancel the product in accordance with the cancellation notice sent to you by the product provider.

In the case of a non-packaged product, or ISA being recommended, we will inform you in writing of any right to withdraw or cancel that you may have or, alternatively, we will inform you in writing if no such rights apply.

Client money

Rouse Limited does not handle client money.

We never accept a cheque made out to us (unless it is a cheque in settlement of charges or disbursements for which we have sent you an invoice) or handle cash.

Conflicts of interest

We offer independent advice in accordance with our client agreement. However, occasions may arise where we, or one of our other clients, 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 clients, conflict with your interests, we will write to you in order to obtain your consent before we carry out your instructions and to detail the steps we will take to ensure fair treatment. If we can continue to act for you we will tell you how we will ensure your interests are protected. Where we have to cease acting for you we will help you find advice elsewhere, if you want us to. Our conflicts of interest policy is available on request.

Complaints

You, or we, may terminate our authority to act on your behalf at any time. Notice of this termination must be given in writing and will take effect from the date of receipt.

We have a written policy for handling complaints and how we ensure we deal with each complaint promptly and fairly.

Our complaints handling procedure is available on request but, if you have cause to complain for any reason, a copy of our complaints procedure will be sent to you.

We work hard to ensure that you are happy with the service you receive from us and will always endeavour to resolve any issues as speedily and fairly as possible. However, if you remain dissatisfied you may refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Full details of the FOS can be found on its website www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.

Compensation arrangements

We are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). You may be entitled to compensation from the scheme if we cannot meet our obligations. The actual level of compensation you may receive will depend on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim.

• Investments: most types of investment business are covered up to a maximum of £85,000.
• Insurance: cover for compulsory insurance is 100% of the claim with no upper limit – this also applies to pure protection policy claims arising from death or incapacity of the policy holder such as life assurance, and any benefits falling due in the form of income such as annuity contracts.
• Mortgages (including Equity Release): arranging and advising on mortgages (including Equity Release) is covered up to a maximum of £85,000.

We may also, on occasion, advise on other financial products which are not regulated by the FCA. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme does not apply to any of these products. Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS.

Vulnerable clients

Rouse Limited has a company-wide commitment to meeting the needs of vulnerable clients effectively. We therefore encourage staff to develop their listening skills and empathy along with their understanding of the factors that might indicate a client’s vulnerability.

Our vulnerable client policy is available on request.

Data Protection

We will ensure that any personal data is held in accordance with current and future legislation. We will collect personal data to the extent necessary to provide advice, administrative and management services.  You will be issued a personal data protection statement which sets out in full the arrangements for holding and using your personal data. In addition, a copy of our data protection policy is available on request.

For service delivery, security and training purposes, telephone and video conference calls may be recorded or monitored. Any recordings may be used in the event of a dispute with us.

Anti-money laundering

In certain circumstances we may be required by law to verify your identity and confirm where you live – to do this we reserve the right to approach you or a third party. We also reserve the right to verify the identity of any other person providing funds for any investment made in your name or of any other person for which you are making an investment. Where further information is required to verify identity, we reserve the right to delay applications until sufficient identification has been provided. Normally, to satisfy these requirements, we will ask for a means of identification such as a passport and photo driving licence or we may use electronic identity verification systems. We may conduct these checks from time to time throughout our relationship, not just at the beginning. Please be aware that these checks will leave a “soft” credit footprint but this will not impact on your credit rating.

Legal and accounting advice

We are not qualified to render legal or accounting advice or to prepare any legal or accounting documents. The onus is on you, the client, to refer to a solicitor or accountant on any point of law or accountancy that may arise during the course of your discussions with us.

Amendment

We reserve the right to amend these terms and conditions of business without your consent but will notify you in advance of any changes unless it is impractical to do so.

Termination of authority

You, or we, may terminate our authority to act on your behalf at any time by giving seven days’ notice to the other in writing to that effect.

Termination is without penalty and without prejudice to any transactions already initiated, which will be completed according to these terms of business, unless otherwise agreed in writing. Thereafter we will cease all of our services to you. You will be liable to pay for any transactions made prior to termination and any advice or administrative fees that may be due up to and including the termination date.