Terms & Conditions
INTRODUCTION
· The Investor’s application together with the Main Deed and the relevant Supplemental Deeds will govern the legal relationship between the investor and Foord Unit Trusts (RF) (Pty)
Ltd (”Foord”), the Manager of Foord Unit Trust Scheme.
· It is at Foord’s sole discretion to accept or reject the investor’s application or subsequent investments or instructions.
· For the purposes of this document, unless the context indicates otherwise, the singular shall include the plural and vice versa, reference to a natural person shall include bodies corporate and
vice versa and clause headings have been inserted for convenience only and shall not affect the interpretation of the agreement.
· No indulgence granted by Foord shall affect or prejudice the rights of Foord, nor shall it be regarded as a waiver of Foord’s rights.
FOORD UNIT TRUSTS
· Foord Unit Trusts (RF) (Pty) Ltd (Foord Unit Trusts) is an approved CISCA Management Company (#10), regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority.
· Portfolios are managed by Foord Asset Management (Pty) Ltd (Foord), an authorised Financial Services Provider (FSP: 578).
· The custodian/trustee of Foord Unit Trusts is RMB Custody and Trustee Services (a division of FirstRand Bank Limited), contactable on T: 087 736 1732, F: 0860 557 774, www.rmb.co.za.
· Foord holds both professional indemnity and fidelity insurance cover.
· Foord is a registered VAT vendor. VAT registration number: 4560201594.
UNIT TRUSTS IN GENERAL
· Collective Investment Schemes in Securities (unit trusts) are generally medium- to long-term investments.
· Unit trusts can engage in borrowing.
· Foord does not engage in scrip lending.
· A feeder fund is a portfolio that, apart from assets in liquid form, consists solely of units in a single portfolio of a Collective Investment Scheme, which levies its own charges and which could result
in a higher fee structure for these portfolios.
· A fund of funds invests only in other Collective Investment Scheme portfolios, which may levy their own charges, which could result in a higher fee structure for these portfolios.
foord fund factsheets
· Foord publishes Fund Factsheets each month, which are available free of charge on the website www.foord.co.za and on request. Fund Factsheets contain important information with respect to
the composition, including asset allocation and large fund exposures, performance and characteristics of each Foord unit trust and should be read regularly.
· Performance, as displayed on the Fund Factsheets, is calculated for the portfolio. Individual investor performance may differ as a result of the actual investment date, the date of reinvestment
and withholding taxes.
FEES AND CHARGES
· The total expense ratio (TER) of a portfolio, which is set out in the latest Fund Factsheet, is a measure of a portfolio’s annual expenses, fees and charges, expressed as a percentage of the
average daily value of the portfolio. These expenses include the manager’s annual fee, trustee/ custodian fees , audit fees, bank charges, trading costs including brokerage and securities
transfer tax, legal fees, asset recovery costs, VAT and costs incurred in any underlying funds. Included in the TER, but separately disclosed, is a performance fee (or credit) resulting from
overperformance (or underperformance) against the benchmark. A higher TER ratio does not necessarily imply a poor return, nor does a low TER imply a good return. The current TER
cannot be regarded as an indication of future TERs. Performance return information and prices are always stated net of the expenses, fees and charges included in the TER.
· Foord’s manager’s charge varies between funds and between classes within each fund. The basis for calculation of the manager’s charge is set out in the monthly Fund Factsheet.
· Commission and incentives may be paid and, if so, are not borne by the investor. A schedule of maximum commissions is available on request from Foord.
· Foord charges zero initial, switching and exit fees.
TAXATION
· Foord will not be responsible for any loss, consequential or otherwise, arising from changes in tax or legislation that may have an impact on the performance of the investments.
· Investors are encouraged to seek independent tax advice regarding the potential tax consequences of Foord Unit Trusts investments, taking account of their personal circumstances.
· The unit trust portfolios are themselves exempt from tax.
· Distributions:
o Distributions are subject to mandatory withholding of dividend tax and interest withholding tax. Dividend Tax is currently charged at a rate of 20%. Non-SA resident investors may qualify for a reduced rate of taxation, based on their country of tax residence. Investors qualifying for exemption of reduced tax rate must submit the required declaration to Foord.
o Interest withholding tax is charged at a rate of 15% and applies only to non-SA resident investors in respect of interest from certain underlying portfolio assets.
· For South African investors distributions are subject to:
o income tax on distributed interest
o income tax on distributed REIT dividends
o Dividend Tax on distributed dividends, unless they are exempt.
· Capital gains: South African investors are taxed on capital gains, subject to the annual exemption limits.
· Tax reporting: Tax regulations require Foord to collect certain information about each investor’s tax residency and tax classifications. Foord is obliged to provide information about certain Foord
investors to the relevant tax authorities depending on the tax residency and classification of the investors. US citizens are considered tax resident in the US irrespective of their actual
country of residence.
RISKS OF INVESTMENT
· The value of participatory interests (units) may go down as well as up and past performance is not necessarily a guide to the future.
· Performance may be affected by changes in the market or economic conditions and legal, regulatory and tax requirements.
· Foord Unit Trusts does not provide any guarantee either with respect to the capital or the performance return of the investment.
· The portfolio may include underlying foreign investments. Fluctuations or movements in exchange rates may cause the value of underlying international investments to go up or down. The
underlying foreign investments may be adversely affected by political instability as well as exchange controls, changes in taxation, foreign investment policies, restrictions on repatriation
of investments and other restrictions and controls which may be imposed by the relevant authorities in the relevant countries.
· An equity indicator, that indicates the relative weight of equities in each Foord unit trust, is provided on each monthly Fund Factsheet. A higher equity weight could result in increased volatility
of returns.
· Foord will not be responsible for any loss, consequential or otherwise, arising from changes in tax or legislation that may have an impact on the performance of the investments.
· The investor acknowledges the inherent risk associated with the selected investments and that there are no guarantees. The investor furthermore agrees that Foord will not be liable for the
consequences of market influences and consequent changes in unit prices.
PRICING/VALUATION
· Unit trust prices are calculated on a net asset value basis. This is the total value of all assets in the portfolio including any income accruals less any permissible deductions from the portfolio.
· Permissible deductions from each unit trust portfolio include bank charges, trustee/custodian fees, audit fees, manager's annual fees, trading costs including securities transfer tax and brokerage,
legal fees, asset recovery costs and VAT.
· Forward pricing is used.
· Units are traded at ruling prices and will be repurchased by Foord in accordance with the requirements of the Collective Investment Schemes Control Act and on terms and conditions set forth
in the relevant Deed.
· The portfolios are valued daily at 15h00. The business cut-off time for receiving an instruction is 14h00. Should an instruction be received after 14h00, it will only be processed on the following
business day, at the price determined on that day (excluding weekends and public holidays).
RESTRICTIONS
· Investors wishing to redeem units amounting to more than 5% of the total market value of the relevant unit trust fund portfolio must provide Foord with at least 7 business days’ written notice of
such redemption. If this notice is not received by Foord, Foord may treat such withdrawal as only having taken place on the 7th business day after such instruction is received. However,
where the amount to be redeemed exceeds 10% of the total market value of the portfolio, the parties shall determine the actual date of withdrawal through mutual agreement between them.
· Any units purchased by debit order cannot be repurchased, switched or transferred within 60 days of each investment date.
· Foord reserves the right to terminate the investment contract by giving 5 days’ notice to the investor. Units shall be repurchased on the 5th day after notification of termination at the ruling price
on that day. Any proceeds from the termination shall be paid into the investor’s bank account given in the application form.
· All of the Foord unit trusts may be capped at any time for them to be managed in accordance with their mandates.
administrative matters
· The business cut-off time for receiving an instruction is 14h00. Should an instruction be received after 14h00, it will only be processed on the following business day, at the price determined on
that day (excluding weekends and public holidays).
· All instructions must be requested on the prescribed form or through the Foord Web Portal and will be executed following receipt and acceptance of such instruction and subject to Foord’s
requirements having been met. Please note that in the case of redemptions, settlement may take up to 48 hours.
· Investments will only be processed on receipt of monies and all required documentation. No interest shall accrue to monies awaiting allocation.
· Cheque and cash deposits are not accepted.
· Any units purchased by debit order cannot be repurchased, switched or transferred within 60 days of each investment date.
· Statements and reports are sent to all investors monthly. Advice notes are sent on a transaction basis.
· Investors must provide current contact details to Foord Unit Trusts. If an investor becomes uncontactable or if a distribution or redemption payment is rejected by the recipient bank, their
participatory interests will be reinvested and considered to be unclaimed units. Foord will make reasonable attempts to contact holders of unclaimed units, which may include making use
of an external tracing company. Related costs may be recovered from these investors. Unclaimed units will remain invested in the portfolio, until the units are claimed or transferred to
another portfolio with the Registrar’s consent.
COMPLAINTS
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you are not satisfied with the service received from Foord. A complaint should be lodged as described in Foord’s Complaints Resolution Policy by email to Complaints@Foord.co.za. Please provide a detailed description of the complaint to facilitate thorough investigation. Foord will acknowledge the complaint in writing and will inform the investor of the contact details of the persons involved in the resolution thereof.
If an investor has a complaint about the advice given by a Financial Advisor, the investor has the right to address the complaint in writing to the Ombud for Financial Services Providers at the address below.
The FAIS Ombud is legally empowered to investigate and adjudicate complaints in a procedurally fair, economical and expeditious manner. Before submitting a complaint to this Ombud, the complainant must endeavour to resolve the complaint with the responding party. The responding party has six (6) weeks in which to resolve the complaint with the complainant. After receipt of the final response of the responding party, the complainant has six (6) months within which to submit a complaint to the FAIS Ombud.
Website: www.faisombud.co.za | Address: Menlyn Central Office Building, 125 Dallas Avenue, Waterkloof Glen, Pretoria 0010| Tel: 012 762 5000 | Email: info@faisombud.co.za