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Mint Financial Group Pty. Limited
ABN 62 094 448 549               AFSL No. 229183

Financial Services Guide

 

This Financial Services Guide (FSG) is dated 31 March 2011 and is provided to you by Mint Financial Group Pty. Limited trading as Fat Prophets (Fat Prophets, we, our, us) to inform you of the financial services provided by us and to comply with our obligations as the holder of an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL No 229183).

This FSG is to assist you to decide whether to use our services and to explain:

  • who we are
  • what financial services we provide and the products to which those services relate
  • what our responsibilities are and what type of advice we give
  • how you can instruct us
  • what you can expect to pay for the financial services
  • what remuneration and other benefits may be paid to us, our employees or others
  • what to do if you have a complaint, and how it will be dealt with
  • for what purpose we use your contact data
  • how you can contact us

This FSG contains only general information about the services we offer. If you still have any questions after reading this FSG, please contact us. Our contact details are:

Location Address:                    Level 3, 22 Market Street
Sydney  NSW  2000
Postal Address:                       GPO Box 5029
Sydney  NSW  2001
Other contact details
Tel No:                                     02 9252 7171
Fax:                                         02 9266 0488
Email:                                      info@fatprophets.com.au
Website:                                  www.fatprophets.com.au

What other disclosure documents and statements will I receive?

If we provide you with personal advice or further assistance in selecting products or services having regard to your particular circumstances and needs, we will issue you with a Statement of Advice (SoA) that will set out the personal advice we have given you, including any recommendations we offer along with our rationale for our recommendations and information about any fees, commissions, associations or relationships which might influence the provision of that advice.

We may provide further advice to you after we have given you a SoA. If we do not give you a record of this further advice you may request one, either verbally or in writing, within 7 years (or as prescribed by law) of us providing it to you.

Generally, where we arrange for the issue of a financial product to you, you will receive a Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) or other relevant disclosure documents that include information about the product so that you can make an informed decision whether to acquire the product. The PDS will include any relevant terms, significant risks and costs associated with the supply of that financial product.

How you can instruct us and your obligations?

In the case of broking services we will accept order instructions via telephone, email or facsimile. You must check and confirm with us that orders sent via fax or email, have in fact been received by us.

You must review any confirmation or statement we send to you immediately upon receipt to ensure its accuracy and report any discrepancies to us.

If you have opened a Managed Account with Fat Prophets you will be able to contact us by email or facsimile to provide instructions relating to your portfolio assets or any corporate actions.

Who are we and what services are we authorised to provide?

Fat Prophets holds a current Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) No 229183 which authorises us to provide the following financial services to retail and wholesale clients:

  • provide financial product advice in the following financial products:
  • basic deposit products;
  • deposit products other than basic deposit products;
  • derivatives;
  • foreign exchange contracts;
  • government debentures, stocks or bonds;
  • interests in managed investment schemes including IDPS;
  • MDA Services;
  • Retirement Savings Accounts (RSA) products;
  • Securities;
  • Standard Margin Lending Facilities; and
  • Superannuation;
  • deal in financial products by issuing, applying for, acquiring, varying or disposing of the following financial products:
  • derivatives;
  • foreign exchange contracts;
  • interests in managed investment schemes including IDPS;
  • Securities;
  • arranging for a person to deal in financial products by issuing, applying for, acquiring, varying or disposing of the following financial products;
  • MDA Services;
  • deal in financial products by applying for, acquiring, varying or disposing of the following financial products on behalf of another person:
  • basic deposit products;
  • deposit products other than basic deposit products;
  • derivatives;
  • foreign exchange contracts;
  • government debentures, stocks or bonds;
  • interests in managed investment schemes including IDPS;
  • MDA Services;
  • Retirement Savings Accounts (RSA) products;
  • Securities;
  • Standard Margin Lending Facilities; and
  • Superannuation;
  • Underwriting and issue of securities;
  • Custodial and Depository Services.

We act under our own AFS Licence and are responsible for the financial services we provide to you. Fat Prophets provides investors with independent stock market research, broking services, and assistance with wealth management.


What information do we offer to you, as our client?

We provide general advice to our clients via our Investment Reports.

Our reports cover both short term trading and medium to long term investments. They seek to be of benefit to investors under all market conditions by combining a macro/thematic assessment and fundamental value research with technical analysis, all looked at from a contrarian perspective.

We offer Managed Accounts under the following two platforms:

  • The Fat Prophets Separately Managed Account - BlackRock Investment Management (Australia) Limited is the Responsible Entity of the Fat Prophets Separately Managed Account. The manager of the Model(s) is specified in the Model Portfolio Profiles included in the PDS and may at times be either Fat Prophets or a related Company. Unless stated in writing to the contrary Fat Prophets only provides general advice in relation to the Fat Prophets Separately Managed Account.
  • The Fat Prophets Managed Account Service – Investment Administration Services Pty Limited (IAS) is the Operator of the Managed Account and the custodian and Fat Prophets is the Investment Manager. The investment strategy is defined in the document titled Investment Options which will be provided to you by Fat Prophets on behalf of IAS, which is the issuer of the Managed Discretionary Account Service. Fat Prophets will also send you a SoA as it will provide personal advice to you where you choose to open an IAS Managed Account.

 

We also offer broking services to our clients. In providing these broking services we may provide personal advice to our clients. In such circumstances we will send you a SoA confirming the advice and containing any other relevant information.

What are our responsibilities and what type of advice do we give?

Where you have subscribed to our online reports or invested in the Fat Prophets Separately Managed Account we will only provide general advice and information regarding the financial products and services that are covered by our AFSL. This information or advice does not take into account your particular objectives, financial situation or needs and because of that you should, before acting on the advice, consider the appropriateness of the advice having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.

If you have opened a Managed Discretionary Account (MDA), the advice provided is a function of taking into account one or more of your objectives, financial situation and/or needs. In order to do this, you will be required to answer a number of questions relating to your financial position and risk profile. Upon receipt of this information, Fat Prophets will review it and may contact you to further assess your suitability to open a MDA.

Any material changes in your circumstances should be disclosed to Fat Prophets as they occur so that Fat Prophets may assess whether the Investment Program included in your MDA Contract continues to be suitable for you or the recommendations included in the SoA that you receive continue to be suitable for you.

Advice of a limited personal nature may also be given in relation to the broking services we provide, the extent of which will be detailed at the time that the broking account is opened.

It should be noted that clients who open a non-discretionary broking account will also be requested to provide some information relating to their financial circumstances and risk profile. This information is collected so that Fat Prophets can receive some reassurance that you will be able to finance any trading that you enter into and that your attitude to risk is comparable to that of the financial products you intend to trade.

 

Details of Associations or Relationships we have with product issuers or related body corporate that may influence us when providing services to you?

Fat Prophets has a relationship with providers of Execution, Clearing and Settlement services, MDA Operators and portfolio administration services. We may also enter into associations or relationships with providers of products such as margin loans or cash management trusts. These relationships in no way influence the provision of financial services, in particular the advice provided to you by Fat Prophets.

The costs, remuneration and other benefits that may be received by us, our employees and others?

The information in this section is subject to change and does not include information in relation to taxes or duties that you may be required to pay in relation to an investment. Unless otherwise stated, all fees, charges, commissions and benefits disclosed in this FSG are in Australian dollars and are exclusive of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Broking Services

If you have opened a non-discretionary account with Fat Prophets (i.e. you are responsible for making your own investment decisions), you may be required to pay a commission or other charge to the Market Participant appointed by us when you acquire a financial product, or use a financial service through Fat Prophets. The market participant will rebate a portion of the fee charged to Fat Prophets. The market participant’s total charges will not exceed the higher of $75 or 1.25% of the trade value.
Managed Accounts

If you have opened a Managed Account, Fat Prophets will receive a portion of the fees paid by you as follows:

  • Fat Prophets Separately Managed Account - The PDS provided to you defines the fees that you are liable for. Fat Prophets will receive inclusive of GST a Distribution and Maintenance fee of up to 0.5% per annum, and investment fee of up to 0.75% per annum of the funds invested. In the case of specified models Fat Prophets may also receive a performance fee, of up to 15% (inclusive of GST) of the outperformance of the model over its stated benchmark..
  • IAS Managed Account – The MDA Contract provided to you defines the fees that you are liable for. Fat Prophets will receive up to 1.5% per annum of the funds under management, subject to a minimum fee per account of $2500.

 

These rates are indicative rates only as the fee structure is different for different Managed Accounts. The actual fees will be disclosed in the PDS or MDA Contract (as applicable).

All fees, commission and charges are subject to change.

Investment Reports

Fat Prophet’s investment reports is a subscription based service. A subscription fee is payable at the time you subscribe to the service, the cost of which will depend on the length of the subscription and the services to be provided. The standard cost of a one year subscription to a single report is $765. The level of subscription may change from time to time as a result of promotional offers.

Seminars

A fee may be charged for attending investment seminars provided by Fat Prophets. The level of fee will depend on the nature of the seminar and will be published on our website (www.fatprophets.com.au).

Other remuneration

In the case of certain products such as managed funds and margin loan facilities Fat Prophets may receive an upfront 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.

Our employees may in turn be remunerated on a commission basis for the services provided to you. Their remuneration is included in the commissions, fees and charges discussed above. Where your business has been referred to Fat Prophets or your trade instructions require the use of a third party, Fat Prophets may be required to share a percentage of the commission, fees or other charges with other parties.

If you have a complaint, how it will be dealt with?

If you wish to make a complaint, the Chief Operating Officer can be contacted on 02 9252 7171 or by email to info@fatprophets.com.au. Fat Prophets has a formalised client complaint resolution procedure. All complaints are reviewed and investigated by the Chief Operating Officer. If you make a complaint, our first response will be to contact you to discuss the complaint and to register a formal record of such complaint. We will try to resolve your complaint quickly and fairly.

If, despite our best efforts, you believe your complaint has not been satisfactorily dealt with, we offer clients the use of an independent industry arbiter, namely, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Fat Prophets has agreed not to contest a final resolution from FOS.

You can contact FOS by writing to:

Financial Ombudsman Service
GPO Box 3
Melbourne VIC 3001
Toll Free: 1300 780 808
Facsimile: (03) 9613 6399
Website: www.fos.org.au

You may also wish to contact ASIC to discuss your complaint and/ or your concerns. You can contact ASIC on its freecall Infoline 1300 300 630.

In accordance with Regulatory Guide RG126 and Section 912B of the Corporations Act 2001, Fat Prophets has Professional Indemnity Insurance in place which covers the work done for it by its representatives and employees.

For what purpose do we use your contact data?

Privacy is an important issue for us and we are committed to ensuring full compliance with Privacy Act requirements.

The personal data that we collect from you will only be used by us to assist in the planning of marketing proposals, education seminars and provision of general product advice to clients.