This Financial Services Guide was prepared on 1 April 2008 and issued by Mint Financial Group Pty Ltd
You have the right to ask us about our charges, the type of advice we will provide you, and what you can do if you have a complaint about our services.
This Financial Services Guide ("FSG") is intended to inform you of certain basic matters relating to our relationship, prior to us providing you with a financial service. The matters covered by the FSG include: who we are, how we can be contacted, what services we are authorised to provide to you, how we (and any other relevant parties) are remunerated, details of any potential conflicts of interest, and details of our internal and external dispute resolution procedures, along with how you can access them.
It is intended that this FSG should assist you in determining whether to use any of the services described in this document.
In the event we make a recommendation to acquire a particular financial product (other than securities), we must provide you with a Product Disclosure Statement containing information about the particular product, which will enable you to make an informed decision in relation to the acquisition of that product.
1 - Before you receive our advice
Q. Who will be providing the financial service to me?
Licensee
Mint Financial Group Pty Ltd, trading as Fat Prophets
ABN: 62 094 448 549
Australian Financial Services Licence Number: 229183
Location Address:
Citigroup Centre Level 33
2 Park Street Sydney
2000
Postal Address:
GPO Box 5029
Sydney, 2001
Other contact details
Tel No: 02 9252 7171
Fax: 02 9266 0488
Email: info@fatprophets.com.au
Q. What kinds of financial services are you authorised to provide me and what kinds of products do those services relate to?
Mint Financial Group Pty Ltd is licensed to offer you the following services:
Provide financial product advice and to deal in a financial product by arranging for a financial product to be acquired, disposed of, or varied.
Mint Financial Group Pty Ltd is licensed to provide advice on the following products:
- Government Debentures, Stocks & Bonds
- Managed investment Schemes
- Securities
- Derivatives
- Foreign Exchange Contracts
Mint Financial Group Pty Ltd is licensed to deal in the following products:
- Managed investment Schemes
- Securities
- Derivatives
As at the date of this Financial Services Guide Mint Financial Group Pty Ltd provides General Securities and Derivatives Advice to the subscribers of the Fat Prophets newsletters. Mint Financial Group Pty Ltd may also make recommendations on managed funds and act as a distributor of managed fund and margin lending products.
We can advise you in respect of Securities however we do not provide a service to buy or sell Securities. We are able to refer you to a stockbroker who will arrange for your purchase or sale of securities.
Q. Who do you act for when you provide financial services for me?
Mint Financial Group Pty Ltd is responsible for the financial services provided to you.
Q. How will I pay for the service?
Mint Financial Group Pty Ltd operates a subscription based business. When subscribing you will be required to pay a subscription fee according to the period of time you join for. With certain products (managed funds and margin lending) Mint Financial Group Pty Ltd will receive an up front commission and/or an ongoing (or trailing) commission from the product provider, based on your investment. The commissions can vary from product to product and are available upon request.
Q. Do you receive remuneration, commission, fees or other benefits in relation to providing the financial services to me and how is that commission calculated?
All employees of Mint Financial Group Pty Ltd receive a salary. They may also be entitled to a performance based bonus. Sales staff are also paid commissions on subscriptions they take over the phone.
With certain products (managed funds and margin lending) Mint Financial Group Pty Ltd will receive an up front commission and/or an ongoing (or trailing) commission from the product provider, based on your investment. The commissions can vary from product to product and are available upon request.
Q. Do any relationships or associations exist which might influence you in providing me with the financial services?
Yes. We have a referral and introduction agreement with CMC Markets Asia Pacific Pty Limited (“CMC”) ACN 100 058 213 AFSL 238054. CMC has been authorised by the Australian Investment and Securities Commission to deal in derivatives. Under our agreement with CMC we may seek to introduce you to CMC with a view to them providing you with dealing services leading to the acquisition of derivatives.
The introduction to CMC may be made either via promotions on our website or, if permitted under the terms of our privacy policy, by email. It is then for you to decide whether or not you wish to make use of the financial service being offered by CMC. Fat Prophets is not authorised to provide personal advice of any kind so is unable to assist you in assessing whether or not the service is appropriate for you and will not provide personal advice with regard to your subsequent dealings with CMC.If, as a result of our introduction, you should subsequently decide to acquire a financial service from CMC under the terms of our agreement with them we will receive from them a payment, the amount of which is determined by the volume and nature of the derivate transactions executed on your behalf by CMC. The amount payable to Fat Prophets is made up of (i) a proportion of the commission charged by CMC on each trade (the maximum commission payable to Fat Prophets is 2 basis points), (ii) a part of the standard spread ( the maximum payable to Fat Prophets being 10 pips) and (iii) a share of the financing charge ( the maximum share being 0,5% of the notional value of the trade).
2 - When you receive our advice
Q. Will you provide me advice, which is suitable to my needs and financial circumstances?
No, Mint Financial Group Pty Ltd only provides general advice, and has no knowledge of your personal situation.
Q. What should I know about the risks of the financial products or strategies you recommend to me?
We assign a risk weighting to all recommendations (low, medium or high). However you should consult your own financial advisor if you are unsure of your either your risk profile or the suitability of a recommendation to your own situation. We also strongly recommend that you read the User Manual before using any service provided by Mint Financial Group Pty Ltd.
Q. What information do you maintain in my file and can I examine my file?
We keep name, address, phone and e-mail details. Monthly subscribers also have their credit card details held for processing monthly subscription payments. You can change or remove your details from our database upon request.
Q. Can I provide you with instructions and tell you how I wish to instruct you to buy or sell my financial products?
No, Mint Financial Group Pty Ltd does not offer a broking service.
3 - If you have any complaints
Q. Who can I complain to if I have a complaint about the provision of the financial services to me?
Mint Financial Group Pty Ltd is a member of the Financial Industry Complaints Service.
If you have any complaint about the service provided to you, you should take the following steps:
1. Contact us and tell us about your complaint.
2. If your complaint is not satisfactorily resolved within 3 days, please contact the Manager of Mint Financial Group Pty Ltd or put your complaint in writing and send it to: The Managing Director, Mint Financial Group Pty Ltd, Level 33, 2 Park Street. Sydney. NSW 2000. We will seek to resolve your complaint quickly and fairly.
3. If the complaint cannot be satisfied to your satisfaction you have the right to complain to the Financial Industry Complaints Service (FICS). They can be contacted on 1800 335 405. This service is provided to you free of charge.
Stage 1 of the FICS process is where FICS facilitates discussions and negotiations between the parties. All relevant documents are exchanged and the issues in dispute are identified.
Stage 2 is conciliation and the parties come face to face with a conciliator from the FICS 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 and Investments Commission (ASIC) also has a freecall Infoline on 1300 300 630 which you may use to make a complaint and obtain information about your rights.