Terms of Business
Financial Equality Services Limited and/or “the Company”.
These Terms of Business set out the general terms under which our firm will provide business services to you and the respective duties and responsibilities of both the firm and you in relation to such services. Please ensure that you read these terms thoroughly and if you have any queries, we will be happy to clarify them. If any changes are made to these terms which materially impact clients, we will notify them.
Authorisation with the Central Bank of Ireland
Financial Equality Services Limited (C496966) 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 and as a Mortgage Intermediary authorised under the Consumer Credit Act, 1995, and as a Mortgage Credit Intermediary under the European Union (Consumer Mortgage Credit Agreements) Regulations 2016. Copies of our regulatory authorisations are available on request. The Central Bank of Ireland holds registers of regulated firms. You may contact the Central Bank of Ireland on 1890 777 777 or alternatively visit their website at www.centralbank.ie to verify our credentials.
Codes of Conduct
The Company is subject to the Consumer Protection Code, Minimum Competency Code and Fitness & Probity Standards which offer protection to consumers. These Codes can be found on the Central Bank’s website; www.centralbank.ie
Our Services
We are a member of Brokers Ireland. Our principal business is to provide advice and arrange transactions on behalf of clients in relation to life & pensions and mortgages. A full list of insurers and product producers with which we deal is available on request.
Insurance Intermediary Services/Mortgage Intermediary Services (except for Insurance based Investment Products (IBIPs))
We act as a broker which means that the principal regulated activities of the firm are provided on the basis of a fair and personal analysis of the market.
Fair and Personal Analysis
The concept of fair and personal analysis describes the extent of the choice of products and providers offered by an intermediary within a particular category of life assurance, and/or a specialist area. The number of contracts and providers considered must be sufficiently large to enable an intermediary to recommend a product that would be adequate to meet a client’s needs.
The number of providers that constitutes ‘sufficiently large’ will vary depending on the number of providers operating in the market for a particular product or service and their relative importance in and share of that market. The extent of fair analysis must be such that it could reasonably be expected of a professional conducting business, taking into account the accessibility of information and product placement to intermediaries and the cost of the search.
In order to ensure that the number of contracts and providers is sufficiently large to constitute a fair and personal analysis of the market, we will consider the following criteria:
1. the needs of the customer,
2. the size of the customer order,
3. the number of providers in the market that deal with brokers,
4. the market share of each of those providers,
5. the number of relevant products available from each provider,
6. the availability of information about the products,
7. the quality of the product and service provided by the provider,
8. cost, and
9. any other relevant consideration.
Investment Intermediary Services
We are remunerated by commission for our investment intermediary services.
Insurance based Investment Products
We are remunerated by commission for our investment intermediary services.
Life, Pensions and Life Wrapped Investments
We provide life assurance and pensions on a fair and personal analysis basis i.e. providing services on the basis of a sufficiently large number of contracts and product producers available in the market to enable us to make a recommendation, in accordance with professional criteria, regarding which contract would be adequate to meet your needs. We will provide assistance to you with any queries you may have in relation to the policies or in the event of a claim during the life of the policies and we will explain to you the various restrictions, conditions and exclusions attached to your policy. However, it is your responsibility to read the policy documents, literature and brochures to ensure that you understand the nature of the policy cover; particularly in relation to permanent health insurance (PHI) and serious illness policies.
Specifically on the subject of PHI policies it is our policy to explain to you a) the meaning of disability as defined in the policy; b) the benefits available under the policy; c) the general exclusions that apply to the policy; and d) the reductions applied to the benefit where there are disability payments from other sources. For a serious illness policy, we will explain clearly to you the restrictions, conditions and general exclusions that attach to that policy.
Mortgages
Through the lenders or other undertakings with which we hold an agency, we can provide advice on and arrange mortgage products from the following range: fixed-rate loans, variable rate mortgages, capital & interest mortgages, interest only mortgages, endowment mortgages, pension mortgages and residential investment property.
We provide mortgage advice on a limited analysis basis i.e. providing services on the basis of a limited number of contracts and product producers available on the market, that is to say, while not tied to one product producer the services are not provided on the basis of a fair analysis of the market. We provide advice on the following product providers:
Dilosk - ICS Mortgages
Brokers Ireland Nominated Lenders
Finance Ireland Credit Solutions DAC
We will need to collect sufficient information from you before we can offer any advice on housing loans. This is due to the fact that a key issue in relation to mortgage advice is affordability. Such information should be produced promptly upon our request.
Sustainability Factors - Investment/IBIPs/Pension Advice
As part of our regulatory obligations under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD), we capture and record your sustainability preferences during the advice process. These preferences reflect your views on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors and help us understand your broader investment values.
While we acknowledge the importance of sustainability in financial decision-making and are committed to transparency, our firm has made a decision not to allow sustainability preferences to guide or influence the investment advice we provide. This means that while your preferences are noted and retained for record-keeping purposes, they do not form the basis of our product recommendations. This approach is consistent with current regulatory guidance, which allows firms to determine the extent to which sustainability factors are integrated into their advice, provided that clients are informed clearly and fairly. We remain committed to providing suitable advice based on your financial objectives, risk tolerance, and investment horizon. Should our position on sustainability integration change in the future, we will update our processes and documentation accordingly.
Considering Principal Adverse Impacts on sustainability factors in the advice:
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 there is a limited range of relevant products on the market which meet these criteria. The area of sustainable investing is relatively new and as the issue progresses, we will review our position. The firm will review this approach on an annual basis in February of each year.
Impact on Return
We have not assessed the likely impacts of sustainability risks on the returns of Investment/Pensions since we have not been able to identify any sustainability risks that are relevant. Further Information is available on the product providers websites.
Statement of Charges
We may earn our remuneration on the basis of fee, commission and any other type of remuneration, including a non-monetary benefit or on the basis of a combination of these methods. A non-monetary benefit will only be accepted if it enhances the quality of the service to our clients. You may choose to pay in full for our services by means of a fee. Where we receive recurring commission, this forms part of the remuneration for initial advice provided. We reserve the right to charge additional fees if the number of hours relating to on-going advice/assistance exceeds 5 hrs.
Pursuant to Regulation 68 of the Consumer Protection Code, a summary of the details of all arrangements for any fee, commission other reward or remuneration paid or provided to us which have agreed with product providers is available on our website – https://www.feservices.ie/
In certain circumstances, it will be necessary to charge a fee for services provided. These are listed below. In other circumstances where fees are chargeable or where you choose to pay in full for our service by fee, we will notify you in writing in advance and agree the scale of fees to be charged if different from fees outlined below. Where it is not possible to provide the exact amount, we will provide you the method of calculation of the fee.
If we receive commission from a product provider, this may be offset against the fee which we will charge you. Where the commission is greater than the fee due, the commission may become the amount payable to the firm unless an arrangement to the contrary is made.
Life and Pensions
You may elect to deal with us on a fee basis.
e.g.:
Principles / Directors €500 Senior Advisers €350
Associates €300 Support staff €250
Additional fees may be payable for complex cases or to reflect value, specialist skills or urgency, our scale of fees for such cases range from a minimum of €250 per hour to a maximum of €500 per hour. We will notify you in advance and agree the scale of fees to be charged.
Personal Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs) – Fees
Where advice is requested for PRSAs, the following hourly fees will apply:
Principles / Directors €500 Senior Advisers €350
Associates €300 Support staff €250
Additional fees may be payable for complex cases or to reflect value, specialist skills or urgency. We will notify you in advance of providing you with these services. Our scale of fees for such cases range from a minimum of €250 per hour to a maximum of €500 per hour. If we receive commission from a product provider, this will be offset against the fee which we will charge you. Where the commission is greater than the fee due, the commission will become the amount payable to the intermediary unless an arrangement to the contrary is made.
Please note that all fees paid for our services may be subject to VAT at 23%. This will be disclosed in a specific service agreement.
Ongoing Remuneration
We wish to inform you that we receive ongoing remuneration from Product Providers in respect of the financial service provided to you. This remuneration is based on a percentage of the value of your investment and is intended to cover the ongoing service that we provide to you in relation to this product.
The nature of the service for which this remuneration is payable includes reviews of your product, updates on performance, and continued access to our advice.
Clawback
If we receive commission from a product provider and off-set the commission against the fee which we would otherwise have charged you but the commission is subsequently clawed-back by the provider because of early encashment by you or because of the transferring of the assets or business to another provider or in any circumstances consequent on your actions or omissions, we will charge a fee to you that is equal to 100% of the clawed-back commission. That fee will be owing in simple contract upon the claw-back of the commission.
Mortgages
We utilise the services of a third-party provider, Brokers Ireland Network Services to process some of our mortgage applications. Financial Equality Services charge a €450 application fee when availing of the Broker Ireland Network Services. We may receive up to 1.0% of the loan for arranging mortgage finance. This commission is paid by the mortgage lender. The actual amount of commission will be disclosed at a later stage in the ESIS (European Standardised Information Sheet) which will be forwarded to you.
We charge a fee of €500 for advising on a mortgage application. This is not in any way an indication of mortgage/loan approval. Please note that lenders may charge specific fees in certain circumstances and if this applies, these fees will be specified in your Loan Offer. You have the right to pay a fee separately and not include it in the loan. Typically, this situation arises in relation to specialist lending. If we provide mortgage advice and obtain a Loan Offer for you and you subsequently do not proceed with your mortgage application through our firm, we will charge you an additional fee of €500 for our services.
Please note that all fees paid for our services may be subject to VAT at 23%. This will be disclosed in a specific service agreement.
Ongoing Suitability (all products)
Investments
The firm’s services do not include ongoing suitability assessments. The rationale for this decision will be provided to you, the client, through a separate communication.
Insurance Based Investment Products
The firm’s services do not include ongoing suitability assessments. The rationale for this decision will be provided to you, the client, through a separate communication.
Regular Reviews
It is in your best interests that you review, on a regular basis, the products 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.
Consumers: Duty of Disclosure when completing documentation for new business/renewals and midterm adjustments
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’1.
Before renewal of the contract of insurance, specific questions will be asked. Again, you will be required to answer honestly and with reasonable care. Where you do not provide additional information (after being requested to do so) it can be presumed that the information previously provided remains unchanged.
Failure to answer all questions honestly and with reasonable care can result in the Insurer being able to rely on proportionate remedies for misrepresentation, which include but are not limited to the insurer voiding the
contract of insurance. If a policy is cancelled by an insurer for any reason including payment default you may encounter difficulty in purchasing insurance in the future.
Commercial Customers: Non-Consumer Disclosure of Information
It is essential that you should bring to our attention any material alteration in risk such as changes of address or use of premises. Any failure to disclose material information may invalidate your claim and render your policy void.
Completed proposal forms/statement of fact
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.
New Business & Renewal
You may cancel a contract of insurance, by giving notice in writing to the insurer, within 14 working days after the date you were informed that the contract is concluded. This does not affect the notice periods already provided under European Union (Insurance and Reinsurance) Regulations 2015 ( S.I. No. 485 of 2015 ) or the European Communities (Distance Marketing of Consumer Financial Services) Regulations 2004 ( S.I. No. 853 of 2004 ) which is 30 days in respect of life policies, irrespective of whether the sale took place on a non-face to face basis, and 14 days in respect of general policies and only on sales that took place on a non-face to face basis (distance sales).
Post-Contract Stage and Claims
You must notify the insurer of a claim within a reasonable time, or otherwise in accordance with the terms of the contract of insurance. If you become aware after a claim is made of information that would either support or prejudice the claim, you are under a duty to disclose it. (The insurer is under the same duty). If you make a false or misleading claim in any material respect (and know it to be false or misleading or consciously disregards whether it is) the insurer is entitled to refuse to pay and to terminate the contract.
Conflicts of interest It is the policy of our firm to avoid conflicts of interest in providing services to you. However, where an unavoidable conflict of interest arises, we will advise you of this in writing before providing you with any service. A full copy of our conflicts of interest policy is available on request.
In some cases, we may be a party to a profit-share arrangement with product producers where we provide extra services for the provider. Any business arranged with these providers on your behalf is placed with them as they are at the time of placement the most suitable to meet your requirements taking all relevant information, demands and needs into account.
Default on payments by clients
Our firm will exercise its legal rights to receive payments due to it from clients (fees and insurance premiums) for services provided. In particular, without limitation to the generality of the foregoing, the firm will seek reimbursement for all payments made to insurers on behalf of clients where the firm has acted in good faith in renewing a policy of insurance for the client. Product producers may withdraw benefits or cover in the event of default on payments due under policies of insurance or other products arranged for you. We would refer you to policy documents or product terms for the details of such provisions. Mortgage Lenders may seek early repayment of a loan and interest if you default on your repayments. Your home is at risk if you do not maintain your agreed repayments.
Complaints
Upon receipt of an oral complaint, we will provide the option to have the complaint addressed through the firms established complaints procedure. We will permit and facilitate submission of complaints in writing by post and by electronic means. We will acknowledge your complaint in writing within 5 working 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 working 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). A full copy of our complaint’s procedure is available on the firm’s website and on request.
Data Protection
We are subject to the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and the Irish Data Protection Act 2018. We are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We wish to be transparent on how we process your data and show you that we are accountable with the GDPR in relation to not only processing your data but ensuring you understand your rights as a client. The data will be processed only in ways compatible with the purposes for which it was given and as outlined in our Data Privacy Notice. We will ensure that this Privacy Notice is easily accessible on our website www.feservices.ie if this medium is not suitable, please contact us at info@feservices.ie if you have any concerns about your personal data.
Compensation Scheme
We are members of the Investor Compensation Scheme operated by the Investor Compensation Company Ltd. See below for details.
Investor Compensation Scheme
The Investor Compensation Act, 1998 provides for the establishment of a compensation scheme and the payment, in certain circumstances, of compensation to certain clients (known as eligible investors) of authorised investment firms, as defined in that Act. The Investor Compensation Company Ltd (ICCL) was established under the 1998 Act to operate such a compensation scheme and our firm is a member of this scheme.
Compensation may be payable where money or investment instruments owed or belonging to clients and held, administered, or managed by the firm cannot be returned to those clients for the time being and where there is no reasonably foreseeable opportunity of the firm being able to do so.
A right to compensation will arise only:
● If the client is an eligible investor as defined in the Act; and
● If it transpires that the firm is not in a position to return client money or investment instruments owned or belonging to the clients of the firm; and
● To the extent that the client’s loss is recognised for the purposes of the Act.
Where an entitlement to compensation is established, the compensation payable will be the lesser of:
● 90% of the amount of the client’s loss which is recognised for the purposes of the Investor Compensation Act, 1998; or
● Compensation of up to €20,000.
For further information, contact the Investor Compensation Company Ltd at (01) 224 4955.
Broker Ireland Clients' Compensation and Membership Benefits Scheme (BIC
We are also members of the Brokers Ireland Clients’ Compensation and Membership Benefits Scheme (BIC). Subject to the rules of the scheme the liabilities of its members firms up to a maximum of €100,000 per client (or €250,000 in aggregate) may be discharged by the fund on its behalf if the member firm is unable to do so, where the above detailed Investor Compensation Scheme has failed to adequately compensate any client of the member. Further details are available on request.
Notification of Changes
Website Updates: All updates to our policies and disclosures will be posted on our website (www.feservices.ie). We encourage our clients and stakeholders to regularly check our website for the latest information.
Direct Communication: For significant changes that may impact our clients directly, we will provide notification through email or other direct communication channels. This ensures that our clients are informed of important updates in a timely manner.
Client Inquiries
Contact Us: If you have any questions or concerns about our policies and disclosures, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@feservices.ie. Our team is available to provide further information and assistance.
By maintaining up-to-date policies and disclosures, we aim to uphold our commitment to transparency, integrity and excellence in all our operations.
Version 2.3 Dated 01.03.2026