FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

We have a relationship both with the Advisers and the Investment Banks. Our key roles and responsibilities are to:

• Liaise with product issuers, and create investment opportunities which we believe to be attractive to the adviser base and suitable for their clients.

• Monitor deal flow and ensure settlement is completed accurately and on time.

• Provide explanatory information and product specific literature to advisers both directly and via our website.

• To supply advisers with additional information and technical support as required.

• Make available weekly product valuation reports, advise of upcoming maturities and where relevant, income payments.

• Pay any commissions due in line with agreed terms of business.

The negotiation of terms is an intrinsic part of bringing each new product to market. With market sentiment changing daily, and share prices doing likewise, the terms for two versions of the same investment can vary dramatically from one day to the next. But we are very firm in our commitment to obtaining good value for the investor in all market conditions and that is where our long established relationships with the key providers helps. We can provide a wider investment audience via the portal of our adviser relationships and in return we are able to make the most of the excellent working relationships during the negotiation process to deliver a value-for-money proposition.

The key features of all the current and previous investments can be found on the website. Once an investment is past its strike date, it will appear within the “Previous” section and the strike levels of the underlying(s) for that investment will be noted along with their prices and performance.

We monitor the performance of all our products and will know when any have matured as soon as it happens. We issue directly to the adviser a record of any trades that were placed originally into the product so that they have the opportunity to re-assess the client’s portfolio and seek further investment opportunities. Please note though that we will not be aware of any redemptions that may have occurred since the initial investment was made.

We are able to tell you whether an income payment has been triggered as we keep detailed records of the progress of all our products. If your client has an income product then please get in touch and we can let you have details of the payments made for each note to date.

The Structured Product market now sees the provision of daily pricing as a key requisite. The onus lies with the life company or nominee to reflect the price of the investment as with any other asset. In addition to their scheduled statement runs, interim ones can also be issued on request from most companies. Current prices for all investments are available on the website under previous products.

Where an investment is backed by an institution which can no longer meet its liabilities, it may be that some or all of the investment will be lost. The vast majority of structured investments issued for the offshore market are not covered by a compensation scheme. We are very aware of the fact that counterparty risk is, rightly, an area of concern for some investors. We monitor the counterparties which support the products we distribute and work only with companies where the possibility of default is low. We constantly assess the current financial standing of the issuers, obtaining information directly from both issuers and independent agencies to look beneath the simple headline for the substance of what lies below.

We are committed to supporting the adviser in every way that we can. We have compiled a series of documents which cover, amongst other things: – how structured products are put together – how they work – and what you should look out for. These can be found on the Knowledge page of the website.

Feedback is very important in this respect and will help us to deliver what is needed when it is needed, in both the areas of professional development and sales support.