Financial Services Guide

This document is a Financial Services Guide (“FSG”) issued by Rice Warner Actuaries Pty Ltd (ABN 35 003 186 883).

We hold an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL 239 191) and this requires us to inform prospective clients of certain matters relating to our relationship with them and the services we provide, prior to us providing them with a financial service.

Who are we?

Rice Warner is an Australian firm of consulting actuaries completely controlled by its executive directors and staff, with its head office located in Sydney.  

Our professional body is the Institute of Actuaries of Australia and we abide by its professional Code of Conduct.

We are experts in many aspects of financial services, particularly superannuation.

What advice do we provide?

We provide formal actuarial advice in a range of areas as well as advice on a range of matters in the fields of superannuation, funds management, collective investments, life insurance and financial services.   This varies from general and strategic advice about a range of issues to product advice whereby we provide recommendations about selecting a particular product or service or range of products/services.

Who provides the advice?

Our Authorised Representatives are Principals and Senior Consultants of the firm.  Most are qualified actuaries.  We appoint a Principal to be responsible for each assignment.  All work is peer reviewed before it is finalised.  

Each Principal will:

§         Give advice only in areas where they authorised to do so;

§         Follow our processes for delivery of advice; and

§         Ensure that our other staff do not provide unauthorised advice to clients.

Our Authorised Representatives each have their own area of expertise and we ensure that they limit their advice to these areas.

Full details of the person(s) responsible for providing the advice, their qualifications and experience and the advice they will provide are included in any specific proposal we provide to a client.

Delivery of our Advice

We deliver our advice in many forms, including delivery of formal reports, presentations to clients, and by discussions in person and by phone or email.  Whenever we provide you with advice, we will document this clearly for you in a Statement of Advice which sets out the specific factors reflected in that advice such as your objectives, financial situation and specific needs.

We will normally provide a formal report or letter during the assignment which will fully document our advice, the basis on which it is given and any information about fees in relation to products or investments reviewed.

In the event that we make a recommendation to consider using a particular financial product or service, we provide our clients with the original proposals received from product manufacturers or suppliers so that they are aware of the basis on which we have made our decision.

Remuneration

Rice Warner

We would normally agree to receive a fee or regular retainer expressed as dollar amounts in advance of commencing an assignment.  The level of these fees is generally based on an estimate of the time that will be taken, the importance and value of the work undertaken, and the extent that we will draw on the resources and research undertaken by Rice Warner.

The details of specific fee arrangements are provided as part of all proposals for clients.

We then submit an invoice setting out our fee and fully describing the work that was done.

Rice Warner does not accept commission.  There are some rare circumstances where we are forced to accept commission on a product and we then rebate it to the client or offset it against our fee.

Our Employees

All employees and Authorised Representatives are solely remunerated by Rice Warner.

All work is undertaken on a fee for service or retainer basis.

Reimbursement of Expenses

In the course of an assignment, we may incur incidental expenses such as travel.  Our policy is to recover these at cost.  We do not normally charge for minor expenses such as local courier deliveries or office functions such as photocopying or sending faxes.

Receipt of “Soft Dollars”

We do not receive any form of indirect payment from product suppliers.  We will allow our professional staff to attend seminars, training sessions or other functions where they have an educational content.  We also allow our staff to accept reasonable invitations to functions as part of our normal business networking.

Potential Conflicts of Interest

We do not have any financial association with any financial institution or other product provider.  From time to time, we are appointed to provide advice to financial institutions and/or product providers on a fee for service basis.  Where such an organisation submits a proposal in a tender held by us, we would disclose the business relationship to our client.

Our work processes include a structured approach based on our research and market knowledge.  We also have compulsory peer review of all advice we provide.  This ensures that all our advice is provided entirely on merit.

Information Required to Provide Advice

We take into account the circumstances of a client prior to providing advice and making recommendations.  In order to undertake our work, we may require confidential information from our clients.  We hold this material securely and confidentially.

Complaints Handling Procedure

Rice Warner is a member of the Financial Ombudsman Service.  If a client were to have any complaint about a service provided to it, they should take the following steps:

1.                   Write to the Authorised Representative if the dispute is minor and can be resolved at this level.

2.                   Contact Michael Rice of Rice Warner on (02) 9293 3700 or put your complaint in writing and send it to:

            M J Rice

            Responsible Officer

            Rice Warner Actuaries Pty Ltd

            GPO Box 5281

            Sydney NSW 2000

            We will seek to resolve your complaint quickly and fairly.

3.                   If the complaint cannot be resolved to your satisfaction you have the right to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). They can be contacted on 1300 780 808, or on www.fos.org.au.  This service is provided to you free of charge.

            The postal address for FOS is:

            Financial Ombudsman Service

            GPO Box 3

            MELBOURNE VIC 3001

This document was first produced in March 2004 and may be modified periodically.  Future changes to Rice Warner’s Financial Services Guide will appear on our website www.ricewarner.com.