We are generally remunerated by commission and other payments from product producers or lenders on the completion of business. 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 in our office or on our website – www.evolutionfp.ie .

In certain circumstances, it will be necessary to charge a fee for services provided. We will notify you in writing in advance and agree the scale of fees to be charged if different from fees outlined above.

Fee structure:

Initial consultation – Free of charge

Hourly rate for advice– €250

Hourly rate for administration– €150

One-Off Consultation – €250-€500 (depending on level/ complexity of advice required)

Transactions – €750 per account set-up

If we receive a commission from a product provider, this may/will 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.

Evolution Financial Planning Renumeration

Evolution Financial Planning places great emphasis on offering clear and transparent information about our remuneration structure and commission arrangements with the different product providers. We will disclose commission remuneration clearly in our recommendations to clients as per the Central Bank Consumer Protection Code. Ensuring transparency is our top priority, allowing our clients to make informed decisions with confidence.

We, Evolution Financial Planning, act as intermediary (Broker) between you, the consumer, and the product provider with whom we place your business.

 

The background

Pursuant to provision 4.58A of the Central Bank of Ireland’s September 2019 Addendum to the Consumer Protection Code, all intermediaries, must make available in their public offices, or on their website if they have one, a summary of the details of all arrangements for any fee, commission, other reward or remuneration provided to the intermediary which it has agreed with its product producers.

What is a commission?

For the purpose of this document, commission is the payment earned by Evolution Financial Planning for work undertaken on behalf of both the consumer and the product providers. The amount of commission is generally directly related to the quantity or value of the products sold.

We are remunerated by commission and other payments from product producers. When assessing products, we will consider the different approach taken by product providers in terms of them integrating sustainability risks into their product offering. This will form part of our analysis for choosing a product provider.

There are different types of remuneration/commission:                                        

Initial Commission: Where payment is made to the intermediary shortly after the sale is completed and is based on a percentage of the premium paid/amount invested/amount borrowed.
Renewal Commission: Further payments at intervals are paid throughout the life span of the product.
Trail/ Fund Based Commission: Ongoing annual payment received from product providers. It is typically based on a percentage of the assets under management or the value of the investment product.
Indemnity Commission: Indemnity commission is the term used to describe a commission payment made before the commission is deemed to be ‘earned’. Indemnity commission may be subject to a clawback (see below) if the consumer lapses or cancels the product before the commission is deemed to be earned. Other forms of indemnity commission are advances of commission for future sales granted to intermediaries in order to assist with set up costs or business development.
Financial Planning Charge: This is a charge agreed in advance with the client in relation to initial financial planning services and advice provided. This charge is separate from the above outlined commissions received and will be agreed in writing with clients on a Letter of Engagement.

 

Life Assurance/Investments/Pension products

For Life Assurance products commission is divided into initial commission and renewal commission (related to premium), fund based or trail commission (relating to accumulated fund).

Renewal, fund based, or trail commission is the ongoing remuneration facilitated on a financial advice product to allow for the ongoing service, administration & review processes that are linked to financial advice for Protection, Pensions, Investments & Savings products.

Where an investment fund is being built up though an insurance-based investment product or a pension product, the increments may be based on a percentage of the value of the fund or the annual premium. For a single premium/lump sum product, the increment is generally based on the value of the fund.

Life Assurance products fall into either individual or group protection policies and Investment/Pension products would be either single or regular contribution policies. Examples of products include Life Protection, Regular Premium Life Assurance Investments, Single Premium (lump sum) Insurance-based Investments, and Single Premium Pensions.

 

Investments

Investment firms, which fall within the scope of the European Communities (Markets in Financial Instruments) Regulations 2007 (the MiFID Regulations), offer both standard commission and commission models involving initial and trail commission. Increments may be based on a percentage of the investment management fees, or on the value of the fund.

 

Credit Products/Mortgages

Commission may be earned by intermediaries for arranging credit for consumers, such as mortgages. The single, or standard, commission model is the most common commission model applied to the sale of mortgage products by mortgage credit intermediaries (Mortgage Broker).

 

Clawback

Clawback is an obligation on the Broker to repay unearned commission. Commission can be paid directly after a contract is concluded but is not deemed to be ‘earned’ until after a specified period of time. If the consumer cancels or withdraws from the financial product within the specified time, the Broker must return commission to the product producer.

 

 Fees

The firm may also be remunerated by fee by the product producer such as policy fee, admin fee, or in the case of investment firms, advisory fees.

 

Please Note

The below commission guidance section gives indicative values across every product provider and every product advised whereby a commission or fee is received within our business. This is the maximum Evolution Financial Planning will take and is subject to change, in certain cases Evolution Financial Planning may take a different remuneration than the enclosed percentages/amounts. This will be disclosed to each client as per the Central Bank Consumer Protection Code regulations, on a client-by-client basis.

 

Other Fees, Administrative Costs/ Non-Monetary Benefits

The firm may also be in receipt of other fees, administrative costs, or non-monetary benefits such as:

-Attendance at product provider educational seminars

-Assistance with Advertising/Branding

 

Commission Guidance

Our commission options are displayed as a range, showing the maximum amount which can be received. The level of commission depends on a several factors including:

  • Client segmentation
  • Investment/pensions/saving size
  • Term/timeline of a policy or service
  • Complexity of advice
  • Ongoing wealth management and financial planning advice
  • Adviser discretion
  • Preferential terms in the market, available to a brokerage & client at the time