SYS FINANCIAL PLANNING LTD TERMS OF BUSINESS

These Terms of Business, dated 1st March 2024, set out the general terms under which we will provide business services to you and the respective duties and responsibilities of both ourselves and you in relation to such services. Please ensure that you read these terms thoroughly and if you have any queries, we will be happy to clarify them. If any material changes are made to these terms, we will notify you.

Authorisation and Codes of Conduct

SYS Financial Planning Ltd t/a SYS Financial Planning is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland as an insurance intermediary registered under the European Union (Insurance Distribution) Regulations 2018 and as an Investment Intermediary authorised under the Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995. Our authorisation can be checked on the Central Bank of Ireland register on www.centralbank.ie or by calling them on 1890 777 777 to verify our credentials. Our reference code is C134232. We are also subject to the Consumer Protection Code, Minimum Competency Code and Fitness & Probity Standards which offer protection to consumers. These Codes can be found on the Central Bank’s website. We are also a member of Brokers Ireland.

Our Services

We are an Insurance & Investment Intermediary. Our principal business is to provide advice and arrange transactions on behalf of our clients in relation to life, pensions & investments products. We are not under a contractual obligation to conduct insurance distribution business exclusively with one or more Insurance undertakings and do not give advice based on a fair and personal analysis, we do however provide advice from the selection of products provided by the Companies we have agencies with. We recommend the product that, in our professional opinion, is best suited to your needs and objectives from this selection of products. As part of the process when giving our clients advice on Investments we will need to gather information with regards your investment knowledge and experience, if this information is not provided, we will not be in a position to determine whether the product is appropriate for you. For a full list of insurers & product producers see below:

Private Health Insurance Advice

 

We are authorised to provide advice in Private Health Insurance under the European Union (Insurance Distribution) Regulations 2018. Our dedicated and experienced consultant will take you through the process of information gathering and researching the market. We can advise on plans with:

  • Irish Life Health
  • Laya Health
  • VHI

 

The cost of this service is paid upfront by you:

New Personal Advice and review: €100

Corporate Scheme Advice: €2,500 – €5,000

The options of payment for the corporate scheme review is as follows:

Fully Company paid – €5,000

Employee Funded – €100 per employee

Hybrid – €2,500 paid by company and €50 per employee

 

Disclosure of Information

We act as your representative to the companies we have agencies with, and 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, 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. Material information about medical history, non[1]smoker status, occupation category and any hazardous pursuits are central to underwriting decisions and it is imperative that all information you provide to the insurer is accurate and complete. In entering into an insurance policy (including an insurance based investment product) you are required to answer all questions posed by us or the insurer honestly and with reasonable care. Specific questions will be asked. Where you do not provide additional information (after being requested to do so) it can be presumed that the information previously provided remains unchanged. An insurer may repudiate liability or limit the amount paid on foot of the contract of insurance, only if it establishes that non-disclosure of material information was an effective cause of the insurer entering into the relevant contract of insurance and on the terms on which it did. You must inform and disclose any material information including any material changes that might take place between the time you complete an application form and the time your pay the first premium. To assist us in providing you with a comprehensive service and to keep our records as up-to date as soon as possible, please notify us of any changes to your personal circumstances, e.g., name change, change of address

Remuneration

SYS Financial Planning Ltd is remunerated by commission and other payments from product producers on the completion of your business. You may choose to pay in full for our services by means of a fee. Where we receive recurring commission, this forms part of the remuneration for ongoing advice with regards to the business we advise you on, we will send you an annual update on your investment business as part of this service. You can choose to pay by way of a combination of commissions and fees which we will discuss and agree in advance of all transactions. Our fees range from €250 per hour for CEO/Senior Financial Planner. Other services which include Retirement Planning/ Inheritance Planning & Investment Advice range from €250 up to a maximum of €1500. If we receive commission from a product provider, this will be offset against the fee which we will charge you. Where the commission is greater than the fee due, the commission will become the amount payable to us unless an arrangement to the contrary is made. Details of these payments will be included in a product information document, which you are legally entitled to receive before an application for a product is completed, & for insurance products full details will be included in your cooling off letter & welcome pack. A summary of the details of all arrangements for any fee, commission, other reward or remuneration paid or provided to us by the product producers is available on our website. If you need further explanation on this information, please do not hesitate to call us.

Clawback

If we receive commission from a product provider and off-set the commission against he fee which we would otherwise have charged you but the commission is subsequently clawed-back by the provider because of early encashment by you or because of the transferring of the assets or business to another provider or in any circumstances consequent on your actions or omissions, we will charge a fee to you that is equal to 100! of the clawed-back commission. That fee will be owing in simple contract upon the claw-back of the commission.

Complaints

We have a written complaints procedure in place, a copy of which is available on request. Your complaint can be in writing, email, telephone or face to face. If your complaint is face to face or by phone, we will write to you to confirm our understanding of your complaint. We will acknowledge your complaint in writing within 5 business days, advising you of the name of the person dealing with your complaint on behalf of the company. Please address any complaint to Sys Financial Planning Ltd, Unit 21, Quintin’s Way Pearse Street, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, or email info@sysgroup.ie. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of our investigation into your complaint, you are entitled to refer the matter to the Financial Services & Pensions Ombudsman, 3rd Floor, Lincoln House, Lincoln Place, Dublin 2, Lo call 01 5677000 email: info@fspo.ie

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 which may result in you having insufficient insurance cover and/or inappropriate investments. We would therefore advise that you contact us to ensure that you are provided with up-to-date advice and products best suited to your needs. Investments: Ongoing suitability assessments form part of the service to clients. On an annual basis the firm will issue a client report outlining changes in the services or instruments involved and/or the circumstances of the client. Consumers: Duty to provide information when completing documentation for new business for insurance products In completing an insurance proposal, you are required to answer all questions posed by us or the insurer honestly and with reasonable care. Specific questions will be asked and you should be aware that when a policy is incepted following the completion of a proposal form or on a ‘statement of fact’ basis, we will assume that you have checked the accuracy of all information provided. An insurer may repudiate liability or limit the amount paid on foot of the contract of insurance, if it establishes that non-disclosure of material information was an effective cause of the insurer entering into the relevant contract of insurance and on the terms on which it did.

Sustainability Factors

Investment/IBIPs/Pension Advice In accordance with the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (‘SFDR’), we inform you that when providing advice on insurance-based investment products/Investments, we do not assess, in addition to relevant financial risks, relevant sustainability risks as far as this information is available in relation the products proposed/advised on. This means that we do not assess environmental, social or governance events/conditions that, if they occur, could have a material negative impact on the value of the investment. When providing advice on insurance-based investment products (‘IBIPs’) or investment advice we do not consider the impacts of our advice that result in negative effects on sustainability factors (namely environmental, social and employee matters, respect for human rights, anti-corruption and anti-bribery matters), because currently, there is limited relevant products on the market which meet these criteria. The area of sustainable is relatively new and as the issue progresses, we will review our position. We have not assessed the likely impacts of sustainability risks on the returns of Investment/Pensions since we have not been able to identify any sustainability risks that are relevant. We will review this approach on an annual basis in February.

Completed Proposal Forms

Completed proposal forms or Statements of Facts will be provided to you. These are important documents as they form the basis of the insurance contract between the insurer and you the consumer. You should review and confirm that the answers contained within are true and accurate.

Post-Contract Stage and Claims

You must cooperate with the insurer in an investigation of insured events including responding to reasonable requests for information in an honest and reasonably careful manner and must notify the insurer of the occurrence of an insured event in a reasonable time. You must notify the insurer of a claim within a reasonable time, or otherwise in accordance with the terms of the contract of insurance. If you become aware after a claim is made of information that would either support or prejudice the claim, you are under a duty to disclose it. (The insurer is under the same duty). If you make a false or misleading claim in any material respect (and know it to be false or misleading or consciously disregards whether it is) the insurer is entitled to refuse to pay and to terminate the contract. Where an insurer becomes aware that a consumer has made a fraudulent claim, they may notify the consumer advising that they are voiding the contract of insurance, and it will be treated as being terminated from the date of the submission of the fraudulent claim. The insurer may refuse all liability in respect of any claim made after the date of the fraudulent act, and the insurer is under no obligation to return any of the premiums paid under the contract.

Conflicts of interest It is our policy to avoid conflicts of interest in providing services to you. However, where an unavoidable conflict of interest arises, we will advise you of this in writing before providing you with any service. As per our remuneration policy we receive commission from the companies we have agencies with for the business you transact.

Data Protection

 The data we hold on you will be processed only in ways compatible with the purposes for which it was given. Details are included in our Customer Privacy Notice Investor Compensation Scheme We are members of the Investor Compensation Scheme. The Investor Compensation Act, 1998 provides 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 that Act. Compensation may be payable where money or investment instruments owed or belonging to clients and held, administered, or managed by the firm cannot be returned to those clients for the time being and where there is no reasonably foreseeable opportunity of the firm being able to do so. A right to compensation will arise only: (a) If the client is an eligible investor as defined in the Act; and (b) If it transpires that the firm is not in a position to return client money or investment instruments owned or belonging to the clients of the firm; and (c) To the extent that the client’s loss is recognised for the purposes of the Act. Page 4 of 6 Where an entitlement to compensation is established, the compensation payable will be the lesser of 90% of the amount of the client’s loss which is recognised for the purposes of the Investor Compensation Act, 1998; or Compensation of up to €20,000. For further information, contact the Investor Compensation Company Ltd. at (01) 224 4955.

Investor Compensation Scheme

We are members of the Investor Compensation Scheme. The Investor Compensation Act, 1998 provides 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 that Act.

Compensation may be payable where money or investment instruments owed or belonging to clients and held, administered or managed by the firm cannot be returned to those clients for the time being and where there is no reasonably foreseeable opportunity of the firm being able to do so. A right to compensation will arise only:  If the client is an eligible investor as defined in the Act; and If it transpires that the firm is not in a position to return client money or investment instruments owned or belonging to the clients of the firm; and 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:  90% of the amount of the client’s loss which is recognised for the purposes of the Investor Compensation Act, 1998; or Compensation of up to €20,000. For further information, contact the Investor Compensation Company Ltd. at (01) 224 4955.

Brokers Ireland Compensation Fund

We are also members of the Brokers Ireland Compensation Fund. Subject to the rules of the scheme the liabilities of its members firms up to a maximum of €100,00 per client (or €250,000 in aggregate) may be discharged by the fund on its behalf if the member firm is unable to do so, where the above detailed Investor Compensation Scheme has failed to adequately compensate any client of the member. Further details available on request.

Governing Law & Business Succession

These Terms of Business shall be governed by and construed in all respects according to the laws of the Republic of Ireland and will be deemed to cover any successors in business to SYS Financial Planning Ltd. trading as The SYS Group.

 

SYS MORTGAGES DAC TERMS OF BUSINESS

These terms of business, dated 28 February 2024, set out the basis on which SYS Mortgages DAC will provide business services to you as an individual private client of the firm and the respective duties and responsibilities of both the firm and you in relation to such services. Please ensure you have read through these terms thoroughly and if you have any queries we will be happy to clarify them. If any material changes are made to these terms we will notify you.  

Authorisation with the Central Bank

SYS Mortgages DAC is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland as a Mortgage Intermediary authorised under the Consumer Credit Act 1995 and as a Mortgage Credit Intermediary under the European Union (Consumer Mortgage Credit Agreements) Regulations 2016.

The firm is also authorised as an Investment Business Firm under Section 10 of the Investment Intermediaries Act 1995 and is registered as an Insurance Intermediary under the European Union (Insurance Distribution) Regulations, 2018. Copies of our regulatory authorisations are available on request.

The Central Bank of Ireland holds registers of regulated firms. You may contact the Central Bank of Ireland on 1890 777 777 or visit their website at www.centralbank.ie to verify our credentials.

Codes of Conduct

SYS Mortgages is subject to the Consumer Protection Code, Minimum Competency Code, Prudential Handbook for Authorised Advisors and Fitness & Probity Standards which offer protection to consumers. These codes can be found on the Central Bank’s website www.centralbank.ie.

Our Services

Our principal business is to arrange mortgages through lenders we currently hold appointments with.

SYS Mortgages can provide advice on and arrange mortgage products from the following ranges: fixed-rate mortgages, variable rate mortgages, capital & interest mortgages, interest only mortgages and residential investment property loans. SYS Mortgages provides mortgage advice on a fair analysis basis (providing services on the basis of a sufficiently large number of contracts and product producers available on the market to enable the firm to make a recommendation, in accordance with professional criteria, regarding which contract would be adequate to meet your needs. We hold agencies with:


We will need to collect sufficient information from you before we can offer any advice on housing loans. This is due to the fact that a key issue in relation to mortgage advice is affordability. Such information should be produced promptly upon our request.

We can also provide advice and arrange transactions on behalf of our clients in relation to life, pensions & investments products.

We are not under a contractual obligation to conduct insurance distribution business exclusively with one or more Insurance undertakings and do not give advice based on a fair and personal analysis, we do however provide advice from the selection of products provided by the companies we have agencies with.

We hold insurance agencies with:

Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland DAC

Irish Life Assurance Plc

New Ireland Assurance Plc

Royal London Insurance DAC

Standard Life International DAC

Zurich Life Assurance Plc

Sustainability Factors

Investment / IBIPs / Pension Advice

In accordance with the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (‘SFDR’), we inform you that when providing advice on insurance-based investment products/Investments, we do not assess, in addition to relevant financial risks, relevant sustainability risks as far as this information is available in relation the products proposed/advised on.

This means that we do not assess environmental, social or governance events/conditions that, if they occur, could have a material negative impact on the value of the investment.

When providing advice on insurance-based investment products (‘IBIPs’) or investment advice we do not consider the impacts of our advice that result in negative effects on sustainability factors (namely environmental, social and employee matters, respect for human rights, anti-corruption and anti-bribery matters), because currently, there is limited relevant products on the market which meet these criteria.

The area of sustainable is relatively new and as the issue progresses, we will review our position.

We have not assessed the likely impacts of sustainability risks on the returns of Investment/Pensions since we have not been able to identify any sustainability risks that are relevant.

We will review this approach on an annual basis in February.

Advisory Fee – Mortgages

SYS Mortgages will charge you a fee for services provided instead of, or in conjunction with, commission and other payments from financial institutions to which we transmit orders on your behalf.

The following fees are applicable at mortgage application stage:

  • €200
  • €750 when the applicant is non-resident

This fee is non-refundable. This fee is not in any way an indication of mortgage/loan approval

Remuneration

Our firm is remunerated by commission and other payments from product providers and lenders on the completion of business.

Details of this remunerations are available on request and on our website http://www.sysgroup.ie/mortgages We may receive up to 1% of the loan drawdown for arranging mortgage finance. This commission is paid by the mortgage lender.

The actual amount of commission will be disclosed at a later stage in the ESIS (European Standardised Information Sheet) which will be forwarded to you.

Conflicts of Interest

It is the policy of SYS Mortgages to endeavour to avoid, as far as possible, any conflict of interest when providing services to its clients. However, where an unavoidable conflict may arise we will advise you of this in writing before proceeding to provide any service.

If you have not been advised on any such conflict you are entitled to assume that none arises.

Default on Payments

Mortgage lenders may seek early repayment of a loan and interest if you default on your repayments. Your home is at risk if you do not maintain your agreed repayments.

Complaints

You can make a verbal or written complaint to us, which is covered by these Terms of Business, provided by SYS Mortgages to you. Such complaints can be referred to The Compliance Officer, SYS Mortgages, 21 Quintin’s Way, Pearse Street, Nenagh, Co Tipperary or to info@sysmortgages.ie.

The Compliance Officer will be your contact point in relation to the ongoing investigation of your complaint.

We will acknowledge your complaint in writing, within 5 business days of receipt of the complaint.

We will provide you with a regular written update on the progress of the investigation of your complaint at intervals of not greater than 20 business days. – attempt to resolve your complaint within 40 business days of having received the complaint.

Where the 40 business days has elapsed and the complaint is not resolved, we will inform you of the anticipated timeframe within which we hope to resolve the complaint and of your right to refer the matter to the Financial Services Ombudsman or Pensions Ombudsman, as the case may be; – within 5 working days of the completion of our investigation of your complaint, we will advise you of the outcome of the complaint in writing and, if appropriate, explain the terms of any offer or settlement being made.

We will also inform you of your right to refer the matter to the Financial Services & Pensions Ombudsman, as the case may be.

Data Protection

SYS Mortgages is subject to the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation 2016 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 which you provide to us will be held on a computer database and paper files for the purpose of arranging transactions on your behalf.

The data will be processed only in ways compatible with the purposes for which it was given and as outlined in our Data Privacy Notice.

This will be given to all our clients at the time of data collection. We will ensure that this Privacy Notice is easily accessible. Please refer to our mortgage page on our website for further information.

We would also like to keep you informed of any insurance, investment and any other services provided by us which we think may be of interest to you. We would like to contact you by way of letter, email or telephone call. If you do not wish to receive such market information, please tick the box on the Terms of Business & GDPR declaration section on our consents form. Please contact us by email at info@sysmortgages.ie if you have any concerns about your personal data.

Receipts

SYS Mortgages DAC shall issue a receipt from each non-negotiable or negotiable instrument of payment received.

This is required pursuant to Section 30 of the “Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995 or as applicable Provision 3.5 of the Consumer Protection Code 2012. Receipts are issued with your protection in mind and should be stored safely.

Investor Compensation Scheme

We are members of the Investor Compensation Scheme. The Investor Compensation Act, 1998 provides 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 that Act.

Compensation may be payable where money or investment instruments owed or belonging to clients and held, administered, or managed by the firm cannot be returned to those clients for the time being and where there is no reasonably foreseeable opportunity of the firm being able to do so.

A right to compensation will arise only: (a) If the client is an eligible investor as defined in the Act; and (b) If it transpires that the firm is not in a position to return client money or investment instruments owned or belonging to the clients of the firm; and (c) 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 90% of the amount of the client’s loss which is recognised for the purposes of the Investor Compensation Act, 1998; or Compensation of up to €20,000.

For further information, contact the Investor Compensation Company Ltd. at (01) 224 4955.

Brokers Ireland Compensation Fund

We are also members of the Brokers Ireland Compensation Fund. Subject to the rules of the scheme the liabilities of its members firm up to a maximum of €100,00 per client (or €250,000 in aggregate) may be discharged by the fund on its behalf if the member firm is unable to do so, where the above detailed Investor Compensation Scheme has failed to adequately compensate any client of the member.

Further details available on request.

Governing Law and Business Succession

These Terms of Business shall be governed by and construed in all respects according to the laws of the Republic of Ireland and will be deemed to cover any successors in business to SYS Mortgages DAC.