Client Transfer - Frequently Asked Questions |

Following a strategic review of the full range of our services, and after much consideration, we have decided to focus our client offering for clients with portfolios over £500,000. We have taken this decision following considerable deliberation given the value we have placed on your loyalty to Brown Shipley over recent years, and realise that this news may come as a surprise to you. However, we are pleased to say that following a careful process we have identified a firm who we believe are very well placed to manage your investments and one whose focus is on clients like yourself.

In order to minimise any disruption this may cause, and to ensure you continue to have access to comparable services, we have partnered with Saltus Financial Planning Limited and Saltus Partners LLP (“Saltus”). We have been working closely with their teams for a number of months to ensure they are able to provide you with an alternative offering, and we hope that you will find this appropriate to your needs.

Who are Saltus and what do they offer?

Saltus Partners LLP and Saltus Financial Planning Limited are award-winning UK-based private financial services firms. Saltus Partners LLP was established in 2004, as an investment management firm that would bring institutional calibre fund management to private clients.
The team at Saltus understand that investment management is only one way that they can help their clients and set up Saltus Financial Planning Ltd in 2016 to be able to provide clients with financial advice. Saltus Financial Planning has been awarded Chartered Financial Planner status at a firm level by the Chartered Insurance Institute which shows that they maintain standards of excellence in terms of qualifications, ethics, business practices and professional development.
Combined, Saltus Partners LLP and Saltus Financial Planning Ltd offer investment management and financial planning services to clients across the UK.
Saltus Financial Planning Ltd offer their Select proposition, with a team of dedicated telephony-based advisers and relationship managers, who can work with you to meet your requirements as your financial objectives evolve.
Saltus Asset Management is a trading name of Saltus Partners LLP. It provides a managed fund service across five investment strategies.
More information on Saltus and their product offering can be found on their website at this link: Saltus Select offering

Who regulates Saltus?

Saltus Financial Planning Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered office: Solent Business Park, 4500 Parkway, Whiteley, Fareham PO15 7AZ. Registered in England and Wales 09516087 | VAT number: 843472226. You can find them on the Financial Services Register under reference number 722703.

Your investments will be managed by Saltus Asset Management which is a trading style of Saltus Partners LLP, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and is incorporated as a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales. Registered office: Solent Business Park, 4500 Parkway, Whiteley, Fareham PO15 7AZ. Registered in England and Wales: 308328 | VAT number: 843472226. You can find them on the Financial Services Register under reference number 402531.

What happens next?

You will receive a separate communications pack from Saltus with information on their offering, how their investment portfolios correspond with ours, a summary of their initial and ongoing costs and detailed instructions on how to proceed. We recommend you read this carefully before you make a decision. If you choose to transfer to Saltus, they will work closely with us to transfer your assets from Brown Shipley.

How will Saltus process my data, and what are my data privacy rights.

Some of your personal data has been shared with Saltus in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"). This data will help Saltus to assess which of their services may best suit your needs. If you choose not to transfer to Saltus they will delete any shared data within 14 days of notification. More information on how your data has been processed and your rights can be found within our Privacy Policy and the Saltus Privacy Notice.

Which Saltus fund will I move into?

Saltus will be contacting you in the coming days to provide you with more information about which funds they think may be appropriate for you based on your Brown Shipley risk profile and any relevant information you have provided to us. Each risk profile is built around a combination of investment objectives and appetite for risk and has enabled us to recommend an appropriate Brown Shipley fund, and/or other investments. Saltus work to a comparable risk profile, investment objective and fund framework to Brown Shipley.

We have provided Saltus with a limited, relevant subset of your client data held by Brown Shipley to help them guide you as to which Saltus fund you could transfer in to. Saltus will broadly map your current Brown Shipley risk profile and fund selection to their equivalent fund(s). If you wish to inform us that your current circumstances have changed, or you wish to discuss your current risk profile and fund holdings further please contact your Client Advisor.

I want to proceed with the transition to Saltus, what should I do?

In order to facilitate the transfer of your personal data, investment assets and account details to Saltus, you will need to sign the Direct Offer from Saltus that will be sent to you as a DocuSign electronic document via email. This involves you agreeing to the Saltus terms and conditions, data privacy policy and providing your authority to sell down your GIA and/or ISA assets and transferring the proceeds to Saltus as cash.
• If you hold a Denton’s SIPP: This also provides your authority for Dentons to transfer investment management of your Fairmount SIPP from Brown Shipley to Saltus.
• If you hold an AJ Bell SIPP: This also provides your authority for AJ Bell to transfer investment management of your InvestCentre SIPP from Brown Shipley to Saltus.

My portfolio is held within a Fairmount SIPP; how will a transfer to Saltus impact my pension?

Your SIPP wrapper will remain intact and unchanged. If you choose to transfer to Saltus they will simply replace Brown Shipley as your appointed investment manager. All other aspects of your pension will remain as they are. Dentons will continue to act as provider and Trustee. The transfer of your portfolio does not count as a new pension contribution and will not trigger any tax changes to your SIPP. Brown Shipley will provide Saltus with the details of any regular pension contributions and/or withdrawals so these can continue unchanged. Pension payments will continue to be made to you on the 20th of every month and we will coordinate the timing of the transfer if required to ensure that any regular withdrawals are not affected.

My portfolio is held within a InvestCentre SIPP; how will a transfer to Saltus impact my pension?

Your SIPP wrapper will remain intact and unchanged. If you choose to transfer to Saltus they will simply replace Brown Shipley as your appointed investment manager. All other aspects of your pension will remain as they are. AJ Bell will continue to act as provider and Trustee. The transfer of your portfolio does not count as a new pension contribution and will not trigger any tax changes to your SIPP. Brown Shipley will provide Saltus with the details of any regular pension contributions and/or withdrawals so these can continue unchanged. Pension payments will continue to be made to you on their existing schedule and we will coordinate the timing of the transfer if required to ensure that any regular withdrawals are not affected.

I’m not sure if Saltus is right for me, what should I do?

If you have questions, we recommend you discuss the transition with your Client Advisor. If needed they will also be able to arrange a meeting with a Saltus Relationship Manager, to further discuss the Saltus proposition, so you can ensure it’s right for you. The Saltus Select offering is fully remote, which means that you will not meet face to face and will communicate via email and telephone. If you prefer a face-to-face service, you can look at www.unbiased.co.uk to find an alternative.

Can I explore alternative service providers?

We recommend you review all your options before deciding which provider is right for you. For more information you can look at www.unbiased.co.uk to find an alternative. If you choose not to transfer to Saltus, your new service provider will need to provide us with transfer instructions. We will then work with you and your chosen service provider to ensure a smooth transfer out of your assets.

How will my assets be transferred to Saltus?

Once you have returned the completed application pack to Saltus, they will contact us to initiate the sell down of any GIA and/or ISA assets so that we can transfer the cash proceeds and allow them to be reinvested into your new Saltus plan(s).

Completion of the Saltus application pack also provides AJ Bell / Dentons with the instruction to transfer investment management of your SIPP from Brown Shipley to Saltus. AJ Bell / Dentons will instruct Brown Shipley to liquidate your portfolio and transfer the proceeds to them as cash. AJ Bell / Dentons will then instruct Saltus to invest the proceeds on your behalf.

There will be a short period of time ‘out of the market’ meaning any price movements, negative or positive, are not translated to your portfolio. This ‘transit’ period between providers, is a time when you do not have access to the portfolio or its value. Adopting this method is the quickest route to move the value of your investments to the Saltus Platform and you will receive confirmation once the settled funds arrive with them.

How long will the transfer take?

We will be working closely with Saltus, AJ Bell and Dentons and anticipate that it may take up to 3 weeks to complete the transfer of all your portfolios and for them to be visible on the Saltus platform. Please note: Your GIA and/or ISA holdings may transfer quicker than your SIPP portfolio. Both Brown Shipley & Saltus will keep you up to date with progress once your transfer commences and let you know of any changes, should they occur.

If I transfer, will I be subject to capital gains tax?

This will depend on personal circumstances and the prevailing tax rules, which are subject to change. Where we sell out of your Brown Shipley assets, depending on your circumstances you may be liable for any capital gains that are realised from the transaction. We recommend that you seek professional independent tax advice to understand your personal tax liabilities. The tax position of any assets held in ISA and/or SIPP wrappers will not be impacted by this transfer. The tax benefits of these wrappers will continue to apply.

Will I be charged to move to Saltus, or to transfer out of Brown Shipley.

All fees & transaction costs associated with transfers out will be waived at this time.

What if a have a separate bank account with Brown Shipley?

We will no longer be able to provide banking services to you with effect from the date stated in your letter. Saltus do not provide banking services, so alternative arrangements will need to be made to support your banking needs. Your client advisor will be in touch to discuss the options available. If you have a Brown Shipley bank account within your Fairmount SIPP, this account will transfer to one of the other banking partners with whom Dentons work. The cash account held within your AJ Bell Investcentre SIPP will remain unchanged.

Will I still be able to access my historical Brown Shipley statements?

Access to the Brown Shipley online portal will remain available until your account is closed. We recommend that you access and download any historic reports you want to keep ahead of the closure date stated in your letter. This historical information will not be transferred to your new account(s) and you will not be able to access this information.

Will I still receive my valuation statements and end of year tax pack?

Yes, your account(s) with us will remain open for a period of up to 6 months to allow for the collection of any payments due to you, for example dividends. At the end of this period, you will receive a final closure valuation report and final tax statement(s). SIPP statements provided by AJ Bell / Dentons will remain unchanged.

How will transferring to Saltus impact my Financial Services Compensation Scheme (“FSCS”) protections?

Your eligible investments with Brown Shipley are protected up to a total of £85,000 per person by the FSCS, the UK’s statutory compensation scheme for customers of UK authorised financial services firms. Any investments you hold above the limit are unlikely to be covered. This will not change with the transition to Saltus.

As both Saltus Partners LLP and Saltus Financial Planning are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, they are also covered by the FSCS. You may be entitled to compensation from the scheme if you suffer a loss which is their fault and they have gone out of business. This depends on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim but does cover investments, pensions and protection.

For further information about the compensation provided by the FSCS (including the amounts covered and eligibility to claim) refer to the FSCS website www.FSCS.org.uk or call the FSCS on 0800 678 1100 or +44 (0) 207 741 4100.

What happens if I don't respond?

We encourage you to respond to our communications so that we can act in accordance with your wishes.

Alternatively, on or shortly after the date your services are scheduled to terminate, your accounts will be suspended and where possible, we will start the process of selling down any investments you hold. You will no longer be able to transact on your Brown Shipley accounts and any regular withdrawals you receive will stop.

For General Investment accounts, once transfer instructions are provided, your investments can be transferred to another provider or sold down and the proceed transferred as per your instruction.

For ISA accounts, in order to avoid losing your tax-free status, your investments will be sold down and the proceeds will continue to be held within your ISA wrapper until transfer instructions are provided.

For SIPP accounts, your investments will be sold down and the proceeds transferred back to your SIPP provider.

For Investcentre (AJ Bell) SIPP accounts, in addition to the standard charges that already apply, 30 days after Brown Shipley is removed as the Investment Manager from your account you will start to incur an additional quarterly administration charge of £50+ VAT. If you need to make any cash transactions, these will be charged at £30+ VAT. If you wish to instruct any sales or purchases of funds or shares you will incur a telephone dealing charge of £29.95.

Who can I contact if I want to discuss this transition further?

Your Client Adviser will be in touch with you over the coming weeks to discuss the transition, but if you’d like to speak to them sooner, please feel free to call them directly. If needed, they will be able to arrange a meeting with a Saltus Relationship Manager to further discuss the transition with you. For pension-specific questions relating to your Fairmount SIPP, please contact Hugh Cannon at Dentons.

Important Information

Investing puts your capital at risk.
Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and is subject to change.
Tax planning is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority or the Prudential Regulation Authority.
There is no guarantee you will be better off as a result of this change