Terms of Business
These terms of business are valid from 1st January 2023 until further notice. Please ensure that you read these terms thoroughly. If you have any queries, please feel free to contact us and we will endeavour to clarify matters for you. Henry Crummy Insurance Ltd trading as Efficient Financial has offices at:
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Address: The Old Station House, 15A Main St, Blackrock, Co Dublin
Phone number: +353 (0)1 685 9081
E-mail address: john.traynor@efficientfinancial.ie
Web site: www.efficientfinancial.ie -
Address: 4 St. Mary’s Road, Arklow, Co Wicklow
Phone number: +353 (0)402 32629
E-mail address: harry.crummy@efficientfinancial.ie
Web site: www.efficientfinancial.ie
Henry Crummy Insurances Limited trading as Efficient Financial is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland as an Insurance Intermediary registered under the European Union (Insurance Distribution) Regulations 2018 ; as an Investment Intermediary authorised under the Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995 (as amended). As an Insurance and Investment Intermediary, we provide advice on the basis of a fair analysis of the whole marketplace for financial products. A copy of our firm’s statement of authorised status can be supplied on demand. Our Authorised Status reference number is C1448. Efficient Financial can receive and transmit orders on your behalf for products from any of the product providers from which Efficient Financial holds a written letter of appointment. Efficient Financial has access to a wide range of product providers operating in the Irish market as well as internationally (listed below). The Central Bank of Ireland holds registers of regulated firms. You may contact the Central Bank of Ireland on (01)2245800 or alternatively visit their website at www.centralbank.ie to verify our credentials.
We are authorised to provide investment advice on a broad basis. Included in the advice offered are the following regulated activities:
- Units or Shares in undertakings for collective investment schemes including unit trusts and UCITS
- Tracker Bonds
- Insurance Policies
- Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA’s)
- Efficient Financial can also act as a Deposit Broker and give advice in relation to deposits
We are not a tied agent for any of the above services.
We must comply with these codes which offer protection to a consumer:
Consumer Protection Code – Efficient Financial is subject to The Central Bank’s Consumer Protection Code which offers protection to consumers. Efficient Financial is also subject to and complies with the Minimum Competency Code and the Fitness and Probity Standards as laid down by the Central Bank of Ireland. These codes can be found on the Central Bank website www.centralbank.ie
Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB) – CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professionals are subject to a Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct of the FPSB in Ireland. The code can be found on the FPSB website www.fpsb.ie
We are members of the Investor Compensation Scheme established under the Investor Compensation Act, 1998. This legislation provides for the establishment of a compensation scheme and to the payment, in certain circumstances, of compensation to clients of firms covered by the Act. However, you should be aware that a right to compensation will only arise where money or investment instruments held by this firm on your behalf cannot be returned either for the time being or in the foreseeable future and where the client falls within the definition of eligible investor as set out in the Act. In the event that a right to compensation is established, the amount payable is the lesser of 90% of your loss which is recognised as being eligible for compensation or €20,000 euro. Your legal rights are not affected by this scheme. In addition to the above mentioned compensation we also hold Professional Indemnity Insurance.
It is our policy to avoid any conflicts of interest when providing business services to clients. However, where an unavoidable conflict may arise we will advise you before providing any such service. If you have not been advised of any conflict you may assume that none arises. We do not receive any inducements from a provider other than the standard commission or fee. We provide advice that is based on a client’s needs and not the commissions that can be earned.
We have written procedures in place for the effective consideration and handling of complaints. Whilst we are happy to receive verbal complaints, it would be preferable that any complaints are made in writing to the Compliance Officer, Efficient Financial, 4 St. Mary’s Road, Arklow, Co Wicklow. Telephone no. +353 (0)402 32629. We will acknowledge your complaint in writing within 5 business days and we will fully investigate it. We shall investigate the complaint as swiftly as possible, and the complainant will receive an update on the complaint at intervals of not greater than 20 business days starting from the date on which the complaint is made. On completion of our investigation, we will provide you with a written report of the outcome. In the event that you are still dissatisfied with our handling of or response to your complaint, you are entitled to refer the matter to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO), Lincoln House, Lincoln Pl, Dublin 2, D02 VH29. A full copy of our complaints procedure is available on request.
The suitability of all financial products depends on many factors and we undertake to use our experience and expertise in considering all relevant factors before recommending any product to you. We will provide advice to you in the areas authorised. In order for us to fully assess your financial needs it is important that you provide all information we request from you. If you do not do so the advice we provide may not be as suitable had the full information been provided. Before purchasing any product you will be advised of the product’s suitability and given a statement of reasons why, in our opinion, the product is suitable for your needs. All advice given will be based on our understanding of current law and Revenue practice. It may be that subsequent changes might affect the recommendations that have been made and these may need to be reviewed as a result. You may wish to contact us for a further financial review in that event.
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 to 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 investment is relatively new and as the issue progresses, we will review our position. The firm will review this approach on an annual basis. We will not assess the likely impacts of sustainability risks on the returns of the Investments/Pensions since we have not been able to identify any sustainability risks that are relevant.
Our firm’s service does not include ongoing suitability assessments. However, we will provide periodic assessments of the suitability of the insurance based investment products which we recommended to you.
It is in your best interests that you review, on a regular basis, the policies 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.
Payments should be made in favour of the provider of the product and not to Efficient Financial. We will issue a receipt for each payment received. Your application to a product provider will be submitted to it provided we have received all necessary documentation required to evidence compliance with regulatory requirements.
Duty of Disclosure when completing documentation for new business/renewals and midterm adjustments.
Section 14 (1) – (5) of the Consumer Insurance Contracts Act which is effective from 1st September 2021 alters consumer’s duty of disclosure. You are required to answer all questions posed by us or the insurer honestly and with reasonable care – the test will be that of the ‘average consumer’. Average consumer as per Directive No. 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005 is reasonably well informed and reasonably observant and circumspect, taking into account social, cultural and linguistic factors.
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.
Completed proposal forms or Statement of Facts will be provided to you, these are important documents as they form the basis of insurance contract between the insurer and you the consumer. You should review and confirm that the answers contained within are true and accurate.
Claims should be advised to the insurer when the claim arises. The insurer will advise you of its claims requirements and provide you with a copy of its claims process on request. If you experience any difficulty with the insurer’s claims process you should contact us.
We seek insurance and investment contracts for you from Institutions with which we hold a written appointment and from which we consider offer an appropriate product to meet the needs identified. We cannot and do not guarantee the solvency or continuing solvency of any Institution used and you should note that the financial position of an Institution can change at any stage.
The firm may charge you a fee for Professional Services provided. The level of fees will depend on factors such as complexity, specialist skills, and time involved. Fees will be discussed and disclosed in advance of providing business services.
The firm may receive commission and other payments from the product provider to whom orders are transmitted. For Life & Pension policies, details of these payments will be included in any illustrations you receive before an application is completed. Details will also be included in your ‘cooling-off’ notice.
The firm may receive a commission fee for funds under management. A typical fee would be 0.50% of the fund value per annum. Details will be disclosed and discussed prior to any investments being made in accordance with the Consumer Protection Code.
Full details of our fees and tariffs including your payment options are available on our website and on request.
Please click on the following link to view details of:
You or we may terminate our authority to act on your behalf at any time, but the termination must be communicated in writing (to us at the address shown below) and cannot be backdated. The termination will be without prejudice to the completion of any transactions already initiated and you remain responsible for the payment of any fees and expenses incurred up to the date of termination, or to the date of completion of any transactions in progress, whichever is the later.
Your insurer may cancel your policy in certain circumstances including failure to pay premiums. These conditions are clearly set out in all policy documents.
Henry Crummy Insurances Ltd trading as Efficient Financial is a Data Controller.
Personal Data
Any personal data (as defined under the Data Protection Acts, 1988 – 2003) and information provided to Efficient Financial will be collected and held on computer, and/or in printed form or otherwise, retained and processed (as defined under the Data Protection Acts, 1988-2003 and the General Data Protection Regulation 2018) by Efficient Financial for the purposes of providing financial advice to you. Any personal information may also be used to process applications for Life Assurance and Pension policies.
Disclosure of Information to third parties
Efficient Financial will keep your personal data confidential, but may disclose it to third parties where necessary for the purposes of providing the above service to you, including, inter alia, associated companies, financial institutions, your other advisers and other parties with whom Efficient Financial has contractual arrangements to provide financial products and ancillary and support services, and to regulatory and other governmental bodies where required by or under any enactment or rule of law or court order, including, inter alia, the Revenue Commissioners, the Financial Regulator and the Pensions Authority.
You acknowledge that the personal data may contain Sensitive Personal Data (as defined under the Data Protection Acts, 1988 – 2003) and, therefore, unless you explicitly consent to the use of personal data in accordance with this clause, we will not be in a position to provide the above service to you.
Consent for use of data
Your consent for the use of your personal data is collected by means of a signed Efficient Financial Standard Terms of Business. Your consent to be contacted in relation to our service to you is collected by means of a signed Efficient Financial Standard Terms of Business.
Access to personal data
You may access, update or rectify the personal data we hold for you at any time. You may withdraw your consent for use of your personal data at any time by writing to the Data Protection Officer or emailing us at service@efficientfinanical.ie. Data Retention regulations may apply: in accordance with the Consumer Protection Code data must be held for 6 years after the cessation of a contract.
You may request that we transfer your personal data, in a safe a secure manner, directly to a third party.
Marketing Preferences
From time to time, we would like to contact you to keep you up to date with news, products and services from Efficient Financial or third parties that we recommend. If you are happy for us to do this, please choose how you would like us to contact you.
E-Mail Text Phone Post
If at any time you would like to change your preferences or remove your permission, all you need to do is contact us by phone on 0402 32629, by email at service@efficientfinancial.ie or by writing to us at the above address.
We currently hold written appointments from the following Irish product providers:
Royal London, Irish Life, New Ireland, Standard Life, Zurich Life, Aviva Life, Independent Trustee Company, Wealth Options, BCP Asset Management, BES Management, Signature Trustee Services Ltd, Cantor Fitzgerald, BVP Investments, Broker Solutions.
We currently hold written appointments from the following portfolio providers:
PortfolioMetrix, Conexim Advisors Ltd, Fermat Point Ltd and Davy Select.
Through Conexim’s fund platform we can access 7,500 Funds from leading international fund managers such as Dimensional Fund Advisers, Blackrock, Vanguard, State Street, Pimco, Robeco, Amundi, Allianz Global Investors, GAM Fund Management, Ivy Investments, Morningstar, Schroders and others. Conexim also provides access to direct equity investments, fixed income securities and exchange traded funds, from all international markets.
Conexim’s risk management, dealing, technical and platform administration services are provided in conjunction with Pershing Securities International Ltd.
These Terms of Business shall be governed by and construed in all respects according to the laws of the Republic Of Ireland and are valid from January 2023 until further notice.
Financial Planning Fees.
We will provide you with a quotation for the preparation of your Financial Plan once we have assessed your present position, financial goals and the complexity of your financial circumstances. Please note that an initial discovery meeting is available at our offices without obligation and at our expense. Initial Financial Planning Fees will be due on presentation of our Financial Planning report and invoiced accordingly.
Implementation Fees
We may charge an implementation fee of up to 5% for Pension and Investment portfolios depending on the size of the investment made. Fees reduce for larger investments and full details are available upon request. Implementation fees will be due for settlement when the initial actions agreed have been completed. However, in the event of circumstances beyond our control resulting from third party delays, we will present an invoice on a pro-rata basis for work completed after 3 months and 6 months.
Review Fees
We will keep the portfolio under review to afford the best chances of meeting your requirements. We will provide you with a summary valuation at least every twelve months. On an annual basis, we will confirm if there have been any changes in your objectives and recommend any changes to your portfolio as necessary. Annual fees will be charged on the basis of all cash and investments that are being used to satisfy your requirements as valued on a six monthly basis. The annual fee covers the cost of the following work:
- Discussing any changes to your goals and objectives
- Providing access to ongoing advice and information as required
- Reviewing your asset allocation between cash, bonds, equities and alternative holdings in line with your objectives and attitude to investment risk
- Rebalancing of investment funds to maintain an appropriate asset allocation
- Providing a review meeting to update your financial plan
Annual review and portfolio rebalancing review 0.85% p.a. of the value of portfolio. Annual fees will be charged six monthly with the first payment being due six months after the completion of the implementation phase.
Consultancy
Should any additional work be carroed out, our typical hourly charges for consultancy are:
- Head of Dept: €300
Adviser/Technical Specialist: €150 - €250 per hour - Paraplanner/Technical Support: €100 - €200 per hour
Personal Assistant/Business Co-ordinator: €50 - €100 per hour
Product Producers
The Firm may receive commission and other payment from product producers to whom orders are transmitted. Details are included in any illustrations before an application for a product is completed. Details will also be included in your ‘cooling off’ notice.
Principle 1 – Best interests of Clients
Act in the best interest of clients. Acting fairly, honestly and professionally in the best interests of the client is a hallmark of professionalism, requiring the financial planner to act honestly and not place personal gain or advantage before the client’s best interests.
Principle 2 - Integrity
Provide professional services with integrity. Integrity requires honesty and candour in all professional matters. Financial planners are placed in positions of trust by clients, and the ultimate source of that trust is the financial planner’s personal integrity. Allowance can be made for legitimate differences of opinion, but integrity cannot co-exist with deceit or subordination of one’s principles. Integrity requires the financial planner to observe both the letter and the spirit of the Code of Ethics.
Principle 3 – Objectivity
Provide professional services objectively. Objectivity requires intellectual honesty and impartiality. Regardless of the services delivered or the capacity in which a financial planner functions, objectivity requires financial planners to protect the integrity of their work, manage conflicts and exercise sound professional judgment.
Principle 4 – Fairness
Be fair and reasonable in all professional relationships. Disclose and manage conflicts of interest.
Fairness requires providing clients what they are due, owed or should expect from a professional relationship, and includes honesty and disclosure of conflicts of interest. It involves managing one’s own feelings, prejudices and desires to achieve a proper balance of interests. Fairness is treating others in the same manner that you would want to be treated.
Principle 5 – Professionalism
Act in a manner that demonstrates exemplary professional conduct.
Professionalism requires behaving with dignity and courtesy to clients, fellow professionals, and others in business-related activities, and complying with appropriate rules, regulations and professional requirements. Professionalism requires the financial planner, individually and in cooperation with peers, to enhance and maintain the profession’s public image and its ability to serve the public interest.
Principle 6 – Competence
Maintain the knowledge and skill necessary to provide professional services competently.
Competence requires attaining and maintaining an adequate level of knowledge, skills and abilities in the provision of professional services. Competence also includes the wisdom to recognise one’s own limitations and when consultation with other professionals is appropriate or referral to other professionals necessary. Competence requires the financial planner to make a continuing commitment to learning and professional improvement.
Principle 7 – Confidentiality
Protect the confidentiality of all client information.
Confidentiality requires client information to be maintained and protected in such a manner that allows access only to those who are authorised and legally entitled to access that information. A relationship of trust and confidence with the client can only be built on the understanding that the client’s information will not be disclosed inappropriately.
Principle 8 – Diligence
Provide professional services diligently.
Diligence requires providing services in a timely and thorough manner, and taking due care in planning, supervising, and delivering professional services.