Frequently asked questions

Client money

All client money is held on trust with major UK banks such as HSBC, and is segregated from our own funds in accordance with the FCA’s client money rules and guidance. Any creditors of Fundment Limited would have no legal right to it and we cannot use any of this money to cover Fundment’s obligations.

In the unlikely event of us going into administration, all money held in the segregated client money accounts will be protected and legally ring-fenced from the creditors of Fundment Limited.

Client assets

Each client holding an asset within your custody will have a claim against the relevant segregated holdings in that asset, along with other clients holding that asset in the pool.

In the event of our failure, an insolvency practitioner would determine the number of units each client should be entitled to and will then proportionately distribute the units/shares in the pool to all clients with a valid claim.

Unit trusts and OEICs use a trustee or depositary to protect Investors

Unit trusts and OEICs use a trustee or depositary to hold the title to the underlying stocks they hold in their funds. This means that if the fund manager gets into financial difficulty, client assets are protected from their creditors.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protection

Investors are likely to be covered by the provisions of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), if Fundment ceases trading. It can award up to £85,000 in compensation to any one investor where they decide that an investment business is in default and is unable to satisfy any claims against it. In addition, if HSBC Bank plc (which Fundments uses for depositing cash balances) is declared in default, each individual is entitled to 100% of the first £85,000 in total in compensation for losses across all their deposits with that institution.

We have a portal you can provide to your clients if you choose, and you can also vary the level of access available to your clients. This could include: View tax wrapper totals. View account balances. View account details such as performance. View and download account transactions. Download account statement and other documents. Enter deposits & withdrawals (optional).

Fundment uses 256-bit SSL encryption for connections between users and our services. All account information is encrypted and stored behind securely monitored firewalls in a secure facility that is safeguarded 24-hours a day.

Fundment is a UK company and is legally required to be compliant with the UK Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). The objective of the Act was to adopt the principles of the European Union Data Protection Directive, which was created to ensure every European citizen’s right to privacy. Fundment has been registered as a Data Controller with the Information Commissioners Office (Data Protection Register Number: ZA139821).

Fundment maintains a dedicated environment for the storage of client data in the United Kingdom in line with the FCA rules on IT outsourcing. This means regulators can access this environment as part of their inspection and audit activities. Fundment’s principle data centres for each instance operates a Primary and Disaster Recovery site but not necessarily in the same geographical area. This ensures continuity of services through real-time replication.

The FCA rules require platforms and investment managers such as Fundment to maintain a business continuity plan. In accordance with these rules, Fundment and our partner Rackspace have developed a joint plan that is intended to permit us to continue business critical operations during natural disasters, power outages, and other significantly disruptive events. A copy of this document may be shared on request.

Compliance is embedded very strongly within our organisation. The Compliance Officer reports to our board and contributes to the culture of our firm. The compliance function is built-in to product development, financial promotions, and every key part of our processes.

We have embedded an ongoing approach to regulation that enables us to integrate any emerging FCA changes swiftly. We monitor and continue to review the risks inherent in our business activity with a clear escalation route outlined.

Ultimately, compliance is everyone’s responsibility at Fundment and our staff undertake periodic training on AML, personal trading, etc. in line with regulatory requirements.