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Your Questions Answered

Who will be responsible for the advice given to me?

Unique Advisers Pty Ltd is responsible for the financial services provided to you.

What kinds of financial services are you authorised to provide me and what kinds of products do those services relate to?

We provide financial product advice and deal in a financial product by arranging for a financial product to be acquired, disposed of, or varied. We can provide advice and deal on the following products.

Life Risk Insurance
SMSF insurance, income protection, trauma, life insurance and total permanent disablement benefits
Business Succession planning, key person and group insurance.
Business Risk Insurance.
Personal & Employer Superannuation and Rollover
Superannuation - transition to retirement, pensions, annuities and retirement savings accounts)
Investment and Retirement planning
Investment gearing strategies
Portfolio services and securities
Managed Funds, Securities and Portfolio administration services.
Government debentures, Stocks or Bonds
Information on social security benefits

It is important to note that your Associate cannot provide advice on the following:

Foreign Exchange
General Insurance
Mortgage, personal and business loan products

If you are require these services your Associate can refer you to specialist in these areas of advice.

Unique Advisers Pty Ltd has an Australian Credit License to provide advice on Mortgage, personal and business loan products. We will refer you to a licensed credit representative of Unique Adviser if you need advice on loan products.

Should the other services be required please ask your Associate to refer you to another Associate who can provide this.

Unique Advisers and our Associates do not provide portfolio-monitoring services. We do however stay abreast of the major markets in Australia and the world through varying expert research services. Should a structural change be required based on this research we will contact you. If you request we will review your portfolio and provide advice as outlined in our advice documents. Please initiate contact with us to request these services.

If you believe that the Associate is acting outside their authority as set out in the attachment, please call Unique Advisers before proceeding.

How will I pay for the financial advice service?

Unique Advisers may charge according to the following schedule and as negotiated with you;

Statement of Advice Preparation Fee
Implementation of Advice Fee
Hourly Rate for specific services
We may also receive commission from some insurance issuers
We also offer an ongoing Portfolio Review Service.

Do any relationships or associations exist which might influence you in providing me with the financial services?

Your Associate role is to act in your best interest in relation to the advice. We achieve this through

only providing advice if can assist or likely to meet your relevant circumstances and it is suitable for your situation;
give a warning if it is reasonably apparent that the advice is based on incomplete or inaccurate information about your objectives, financial situation or needs; and
give priority to your objectives in formulating our advice.

In some cases your Associate may receive or pay a referral fee in respect of these arrangements with other professional Associates for example Accountants, General Insurance Brokers, Mortgage Brokers, Stockbrokers. This will be disclosed in your advice documents.

Do any relationships or associations exist which might influence you in providing me with the financial services?

Your Associate role is to act in your best interest in relation to the advice. We achieve this through

only providing advice if can assist or likely to meet your relevant circumstances and it is suitable for your situation;
give a warning if it is reasonably apparent that the advice is based on incomplete or inaccurate information about your objectives, financial situation or needs; and
give priority to your objectives in formulating our advice.

Can l tell you how l wish to instruct you about my investment?

Yes. You may specify how you would like to give your Associate instructions. For example, by email, fax or other means. This instruction should be provided in writing to your Associate.

What should I know about any risks of the investments or Investment strategies you recommend to me?

Your Associate will explain to you any significant risks of the strategies which are recommend to you. All investment products have risks of capital loss or company failure. These risks are detailed in your Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) from the product issuers. If your Associate does not explain the strategy risk or provide you with the PDS, you should ask your Associate to explain those risks to you.

Do you have Professional Indemnity Insurance?

We hold Professional Indemnity Insurance cover for the activities conducted under our Australian Financial Services Licence.

What information do you maintain in my file and can I examine my file?

Your Associate will maintain a record of your personal profile which includes details of your investment objectives, financial personal situation and needs. Records of any recommendations made to you are also kept on file. Personal and sensitive information used for the purpose of financial plan preparation will be treated confidentially by your Associate and Unique Advisers.

We may disclose personal information about you to another Licensee where they are assisting you or us in the provision of the above services eg. preparing advice documents, delivering compliance services, issuing a financial product. We may also disclose your personal information to your accountant or other financial service provider where you have authorised such disclosure or where we are required or permitted to do so by the law.

We may use the personal information collected from you for the purpose of providing you with direct marketing material such as articles that may be of interest to you. However you may, by contacting your Associate, request not to receive such information and they will give effect to that request.

In order to ensure that you receive a personal and tailored service, your personal information may be transferred to one of our Associate who will be your primary point of contact with our organisation.

In the event that an Associate(s) proposes to sell their business, or transfer to another Licensee, they may disclose your personal information to a potential purchaser, or Licensee, for the purpose of them conducting due diligence investigations. Any such disclosure will be made in confidence and it will be a condition of that disclosure that no personal information will be used or disclosed by them. In the event that a sale of their business is effected, or they transfer to another Licensee, we may transfer your personal information to that purchaser of the business or Licensee.

Your personal information is maintained securely and is generally held in your client file. In most cases on request we will give you access to your personal information by contacting our Associate or our Privacy Officer on the number above. If you wish to examine your file, you should ask your Associate, and make arrangements to do so. We ask that you make a request in writing and allow up to 14 working days for the information to be forwarded.

Who can I complain to if I have a complaint about the advisory service?

If you are not satisfied with the service that you receive or the advice that you are given now or in the future then we welcome your suggestions and complaints and are committed to ensuring that your concerns are genuinely, cordially and speedily resolved. A systematic process has been established to ensure that your concerns are dealt with fairly. This process is as follows:

1. You can telephone your Associate as outline in the Ábout your Associate’s section, to express your concerns and they will do all they can to resolve your complaint as soon as possible.

2. If they cannot resolve the matter to your satisfaction within 3 days then you can contact Unique Advisers Pty Ltd

ABN 38 131 483 111

(B) 02 9869 4533

(F) 02 9869 4547

(P & A) 2/30 Roma Street, North Epping NSW 2121

3. If after this you feel your complaint has not been dealt with to your satisfaction you can consult the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) which we are a member. They can be contacted on 1300 300 630. This service is provided to you free of charge.

Stage 1 of the FOS process is where FOS facilitates discussions and negotiations between the parties. All relevant documents are exchanged and the issues in dispute are identified. [from 1 November 2018 : if you wish to lodge a complaint it should go to Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) Mail: GPO Box 3 Melbourne VIC 3001 Phone: 1800 931 678 Email: info@afca.org.au]

Stage 2 is conciliation and the parties come face to face with a conciliator from the FOS national panel. The role of the conciliator is to assist the parties to explore options for settlement of the dispute and to help parties to agree on their own outcome.

Stage 3 is where the independent adjudicator is requested to make a decision “on the papers” taking into account the relevant law, fairness and reasonableness. If you accept the adjudicator’s decision it is binding on the member.

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) also has a free call Infoline on 1300 300 630 which you may use to make a complaint and obtain information about your rights

How are Fees/commissions calculated?

Financial Advice Service

Statement of Advice Preparation Fee can include up to three interviews to gather information, understand your personal and financial details, liaise with your accountant, solicitor and fund/ superannuation provider and meeting to discuss the recommendations. We then have to document the advice and build a compliance file of your details. The complete process can cost between $2,500 - $7,000 depending on the time taken to be able to provide advice.
Implementation of Advice Fee and Review Service includes the implementation of the recommendations including a follow-up meeting once all recommendations have been completed. The review service will depend on the agreed services required by you to maintain and achieve your financial goals. The fee and services will be documented to you for your agreement at the time of the Statement of advice.
Where a life insurance company product has been recommended the issuer of the product may pay Unique Advisers an initial and/or renewal commission. This commission which can vary depending on the product and is calculated in a range of between 0% and 60% of your first years premium for initial commission and from 0- 20% for renewal commission. For example, on an annual premium of $1,000, 60% initial commission would equate to $600 and renewal commission 20% would equate to $200. This commission is usually paid monthly or annually.

Mortgage Broker Service

For any finance needs the initial meeting is complimentary.

A credit quote will be provided prior to work commencing for other charges that may apply.

Generally the additional charges may be:

For loan refinances:

a research & engagement fee of $295. A Credit Quote for this amount will be provided to you before a Credit Proposal is written for you and/ or an application lodged on your behalf. We refund this fee to you on successful settlement for net loan amounts over $350,000

For residential property purchases:

a research & engagement fee of $495. A Credit Quote for this amount will be provided to you before a Credit Proposal is written for you and/ or an application lodged on your behalf. We refund this research & engagement fee to you on successful settlement for net loan amounts over $350,000. (not refundable for a pre-approval if a different lender is used to settle the loan)

In certain cases such as bridging finance, complex structures, purchases within SMSF, multiple loans, or commercial property transactions we may charge an additional fee. We will advise you prior to completing any work if this is applicable.

As lenders pay the mortgage broker on the net loan balance settled, your mortgage broker may have an agreed minimum set fee to allow the broker to receive fair remuneration for their efforts.