Disclosure Statement
Here is some key information you need to know to help you understand what type of advice I am able to give you, so that you can make an informed and confident choice when engaging me.
You can also view our Privacy Policy here.
Details about me and my Financial Advice Provider
I am a Financial Adviser. I give advice on behalf of a Financial Advice Provider. My details are set out below.
Full Name: Ben Mune
Address: Level 1/48 Broadway, Newmarket, Auckland, New Zealand
Phone: 021 217 8208
Email: [email protected]
FSPR Number: 695571
Name of Financial Advice Provider: Ascend Financial Services Limited
Trading as: Ascend Financial Services
FSPR Number: 1001680
Address: Level 1/48 Broadway, Newmarket, Auckland, New Zealand
Phone: 021 217 8208
Email: [email protected]
Licensing Information
Ascend Financial Services Limited (FSP 1001680) trading as Ascend Financial Services holds a license issued by the financial markets authority to provide financial advice.
Nature and scope of advice
The information below will help you understand what type of advice Ascend Financial Services can provide to you.
Services I provide
The types of financial advice products we can give advice on are:
- Home Loans
- Investment Loans
- Construction Loans
- Business Finance (business purchases, Working Capital, Invoice Finance)
- Asset Finance (Motor Vehicles, Trucks, Trailers, Excavators, Plant & Machinery, Equipment etc.)
- Kiwisaver
Banks and lenders I use
We source loans from a panel of lenders. The current lenders we can use are:
- ANZ
- ASB
- Cressida Capital
- Heartland Bank
- RESIMAC
- Southern Cross
- Basecorp Finance
- Liberty Finance
- Oxford Finance
- UDC Finance
- Various other private lenders
- Westpac
- ASAP Finance Limited
- DBR
- NZCU
- SBS Bank
- The Co-operative Bank
- Zip Business
- TSB Bank
- Branded Financial Services
- FlexiCommercial
- BNZ Asset Finance
- BNZ
- Avanti Finance
- First Mortgage Trust
- Pepper
- Select Home Loan (Bluestone)
- Bank of China (New Zealand) Limited
- CFML (Funding Partners)
- FMT (First Mortgage Trust)
- Kiwibank
- Kiwi Asset Finance Limited
Kiwi Saver Providers I use
- Milford Asset Management
- Booster
- Generate
- NZ Funds
- Koura Wealth
What else I can offer
Ascend Financial Services can help you with other services through my referral partners set out below which with your permission we can pass on your details:
- Insurance – outsource referrals
- Real estate agents
- Lawyers
- Accountants
- Property Managers
We can also help you with KiwiSaver. Please let us know if this is of interest and we will provide you with information about the KiwiSaver providers we use and the extent to which we can help you.
We are unable to offer legal or tax advice and recommend you consult your solicitor or accountant for this type of advice.
Any financial advice provided on our behalf will only take into account the information you have given us about your particular needs, financial situation and goals.
Fees and Expenses
Generally Ascend Financial Services won’t charge you any fees for the financial advice I provide to you. This is possible because, on settlement of a loan, we usually receive commission from the lender [which is explained in the commission section of this Disclosure Guide]. Any exceptions to this general position are explained below. If these exceptions will apply to you, I will let you know.
One-off fees
Ascend Financial may charge you a one-off fee if the following occurs:
(a) When we don’t receive commission from the lender: If you request that we provide financial advice and we do not receive a commission from the lender, we may charge you a one-off fee. Any such fee would be agreed and authorised by you in writing before we complete the services, and would be based on an estimate of the time spent providing the advice.
This may arise in the rare event that you request that I provide services in relation to either a product that is offered by a lender that we do not hold an accreditation with, or a product that is outside our usual arrangements with approved lenders.
(b) When we have to repay commission to the lender: : In the event that, in the 28 month period following drawdown of your loan, your loan is fully or partially repaid or the terms materially changed, and a lender requires that we repay the applicable commission to them, we may charge you a one-off fee. Any such fee would be no more than 50% of the commission taken back i f over $3,000 (plus GST, if any) providing a 50% discount. If under $3,000, would be calculated based on a rate of $250 (plus GST, if any) per hour of my time spent providing financial advice to you in connection with the applicable loan. The fee I charge you will not exceed the amount of commission I have to repay to the lender. You will be invoiced for any one-off fee and will be given 30 days to make payment.
Other fees
Here is some further information on when we may charge you a one-off fee. This can occur if we are arranging asset finance, and where the lender does not pay me any commission for non standard home loan/business applications.
1. If this is an unsecured loan a fee of 1% loan will be charged with a minimum of $350 to be added to the loan or after we issue an invoice.
2. If this is a business loan e.g. purchase of a business, then a 1% fee will of the loan amount will be charged. This fee may be added to the loan or invoiced.
3. If this is a development funding loan or a non bank loan, then a maximum of 1% of the loan will be charged. The fee may be added to the loan or invoiced after settlement.
4. In the event you use our advisory services to get an approval and then instruct us not to proceed with an application for the product we’ve been discussing, we may charge you a one-off fee to cover the cost of my time.
Any such fee would be calculated based on a rate of $250 per hour (to a maximum of $2,000 total) of time spent providing financial advice to you in connection with the applicable product. You will be invoiced for any such fee and will be given 30 days to make payment.
5. For asset finance, my commission is clawed back if the loan is settled within half of the loan term or refinanced not through me. E.g. a 4 year loan, once 2 years is up, no clawback. The clawback is pro rate so changes and reduces daily with time. Any clawback I get will be payable if loan is settled early and including in the settlement quote from the lender, but invoiced from me in most cases.
Commissions & incentives
Ascend Financial Services and our financial advisers receive commissions from the providers on whose product we give financial advice (lenders and KiwiSaver providers).
If you decide to take out a loan or take our KiwiSaver advice, the provider will pay a commission to Ascend Financial Services and your financial adviser. The amount of the commission is based on the amount of the loan or the KiwiSaver balance.
From time to time, product providers may also reward us for the overall business we provide to them. For example they may give us tickets to sports events, hampers or other incentives.
To ensure that our financial advisers prioritize the client’s interest above their own, we follow an advice process that ensures our recommendations are made on the basis of the client’s goals and circumstances. We maintain registers of conflicts of interests and any gifts and incentives we accept.
Ascend Financial Services monitors these registers and provides additional training where necessary.
We undertake a compliance audit, and a review of our compliance program annually by a reputable compliance consultancy firm.
Privacy policy & security
We will collect personal information about you in accordance with my Privacy Policy. We regard client confidentiality as of paramount importance. We will not disclose any confidential information obtained from or about you to any other person, except in accordance with my Privacy Policy. The electronic platform we use to store your personal information is secure and run on Amazon Web Services.
Complaints Process
If you have a complaint about my financial advice or the service Ascend Financial gave you, you need to tell me about it. You can contact my internal complaints service by phoning, or emailing me using the heading Complaint – (Your Name). Please set out the nature of your complaint, and the resolution you are seeking. We aim to acknowledge receipt of this within 24 hours. We will then record your complaint in our Complaints Register and will work with you to resolve your complaint. We may want to meet with you to better understand your issues. We aim to provide an answer to you within 7 working days of receiving your complaint. If we cannot agree on a resolution you can refer your complaint to our external dispute resolution service. This service is independent and will cost you nothing and will assist us to resolve things with you. Details of this service are:
Financial Services Complaints Limited [email protected]
0800 347 257
Our duties
Ascend Financial Services, 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 the Financial Markets Authority website at https://www.fma.govt.nz.
The Code of Conduct standards can be
read here:https://www.fma.govt.nz/library/guidance-library/code-of-professional-conduct-for-financial-advice-services/
Availability of Information
This information can be provided in soft copy upon request