Milestone Financial Southern

Milestone Financial, and anyone who gives financial advice on our behalf, have duties under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 relating to the way that we give advice.

We are required to:

• give priority to your interests by taking all reasonable steps to make sure our advice isn't materially influenced by our own interests
  exercise care, diligence, and skill in providing you with advice

• meet standards of competence, knowledge and skill set by the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services (these are designed to make sure that we have the expertise needed to provide you with advice)

• meet standards of ethical behaviour, conduct and client care set by the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services (these are designed to make sure we treat you as we should and give you suitable advice).

This is only a summary of the duties that we have. More information is available by contacting us, or by visiting financialadvicecode.govt.nz

Your initial consultation is always free of charge.

Once we have an understanding of your situation and agree on the nature and scope of the relationship, there may be a fee for advice, this is dependent on the complexity of your situation and will be disclosed prior to work being carried out. This may be set at a pre agreed fixed price or charged at an hourly rate as agreed by both parties.

We charge a ongoing advice and monitoring fee for investments held within a portfolio service. Clients who invest in a portfolio service will also pay custodial fees to the platform provider. These fees will be confirmed in the Statement of Advice that will be provided to you, to assist in your decision making.

Depending on what you choose to implement there will be ongoing fees or costs.

Milestone Southern may receive commissions from providers on whose products we give financial advice. This can impact insurance and certain investment products including KiwiSaver. The amount of commission is based on the insurance premium or investment balance. Commission amounts will be disclosed prior to any business being placed.

To ensure that our financial advisers prioritise client's interests above their own, we follow an advice process that ensures our recommendations are made based on client's goals and circumstances. All our financial advisers undergo training around managing conflicts of interest. We undertake a compliance audit, and a review of our compliance programme biennially by a reputable compliance consultant.

If you are not satisfied with our financial advice service, you can make a complaint by emailing admin.canterbury@milestone.co.nz calling 03 964 6082 or our free phone number 0508 964 608 or you can write to us at PO Box 79012, Avonhead, Christchurch 8446.

When we receive a complaint, we will follow our internal complaints process:

• We will consider your complaint and let you know how we intend to resolve it within two working days. Your adviser may be in contact with you to gather more information on the situation.

• We aim to come to a resolution within 10 working days of receiving a complaint. If this is not possible, we will contact you within the time to advise of the new time frame.

• Contact will be made via phone or email to let you know whether we can resolve and what we propose as the resolution.

If your adviser cannot resolve the complaint, we have an internal complaints team. You can contact them by post to Milestone Complaints Committee, PO Box 79012, Avonhead, Christchurch 8446 or email anthony.berry@milestone.co.nz. Their process is similar to the above.

If a resolution cannot be reached or you are not satisfied with the way we propose to do so, you can contact our Disputes Resolution Scheme, The Insurance and Financial Services Ombudsman (IFSO).

The IFSO provide a free, independent dispute resolution service that may help investigate or resolve your complaint if we haven't been able to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction. You can contact them here PO Box 10-845 Wellington 6143, on 0800 888 202, email info@ifso.nz or their website www.ifso.nz