Welcome to hop investing ("hop")

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Our investment products can provide both individual and institutional investors with flexible investment vehicles, which can accommodate varying appetites for risk, asset exposure and capital protection.

It is important that you understand the risks attached to each of the investments. The key risk areas are summarised below, but please remember that these are general risks and those relevant to a particular product are set out in the product literature.

Meteor does not provide financial advice or guidance on tax issues and we recommend that you talk to a financial adviser if you are considering investing. Some products require you to seek professional financial advice. Such products will be highlighted on the website and in the brochure.

Any investment should only form part of your total investment portfolio. You should also maintain savings you can access immediately and without penalty to meet any emergency cash needs that may arise during the investment term.

Availability and Residence – due to local regulatory and legal requirements, not all products described on this website are available in all jurisdictions and some may be available on a limited basis only.

The securities mentioned on this website are not being offered, and will not be sold, within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, any U.S. person. The term U.S. person shall have the meaning as defined in Regulation S under the United States Securities Act of 1933 and includes, among other things, U.S. residents and U.S. corporations and partnerships.

Cancellation Risk – the risk that if you decide to cancel the investment after assets have been purchased you could lose some of your money if the market(s) or asset(s) to which your contract is linked have fallen since the purchase date.

Counterparty Risk   – the risk that a financial institution with whom we arrange the assets to provide investment returns does not, or cannot, pay the amounts due, which could cause you to lose some or all of your money and any investment returns that would have otherwise been payable.

Early Encashment Risk – the risk that if you decide to encash the investment before maturity you could get less back than you invested. Administration charges for early encashment will increase any losses.

Inflation Risk – the risk that inflation will reduce the real value of your investment over time.

Investment Risk – The risk that the market(s) or asset(s) to which your investment is linked fall in value, which could cause you to lose money.

ISA Transfer Risk – if you wish to transfer an existing ISA this must be done in cash, which means your existing ISA manager will sell your investments and you may be charged an exit or transfer fee. There is the potential for loss of income or growth if markets should rise while your transfer remains pending.

Liquidity Risk – the risk that you may not be able to immediately access the value of your investment.

Pricing Risk – the risk that a financial institution with whom underlying investments have been arranged may not be able to quote regular prices making it difficult to value your investment and delaying any early encashment request you may make.

Product Risk – the risk that the product design could produce a return that is lower than a direct investment in the market(s) or asset(s) to which the product is linked.

Tax Risk – The values of any tax reliefs will depend on your individual circumstances. You should note that the levels and bases of taxation could change in the future and these changes may be applied retrospectively.

It is important that you read any product literature carefully and in full so that you understand how the product works and can decide whether or not you are prepared to accept the risks and the possible consequences of investing in a particular contract, before proceeding with an investment.

Use of cookies

We use tools such as cookies which are small strings of text that a website can send to your browser. A cookie cannot retrieve any other data from your hard drive, pass on computer viruses, or capture your email address. Meteor may use cookies only to store information for the purpose of identifying whether the user is registered on the Site and to shortcut access to the Site. We may also place cookies and similar files on your hard drive for purposes such as security, to facilitate site navigation, to personalise your experience on our site and to help us understand which parts of our websites are the most popular, where our visitors are going, and how much time they spend there. These cookies do not identify you by name as an individual or by account number.

The cookies that we use have a set expiration date of 90 days. This means that every 90 days, users will be required to read and agree to these terms before using the site. Reminders of Risk warnings and information relating to our Privacy Notice and Use of Cookies also run on a 90-day cycle.

To enable or disable cookies, follow the instructions provided by your browser (usually located within the “Help”, “Tools” or “Edit” facility). Alternatively, an external resource is available at www.aboutcookies.org providing specific information about cookies and how to manage them to suit your preferences. However, please be aware that disabling cookies may mean that some of our online services will not work, including administration login queries.

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Regulatory Information

Complaints – What to do if you are dissatisfied

We pride ourselves on providing high standards of customer service and care. However, we accept that there may be times when we do not achieve these standards or fall short of the standards you expect of us. If this happens we will make every effort to resolve any outstanding problems quickly and to your satisfaction. If you do wish to make a complaint, this can be made using any one of the methods listed on the Contact Us page of our website. The procedure we will follow is set out below.

Our procedure

Your complaint will be passed to a Complaint Officer from our Plan Manager Meteor Asset Management, who is a senior official with sufficient competence and who has not previously been involved in the matter which is the subject of your complaint.

Details of your complaint will be logged onto a central complaints system, which enables us to monitor the progress of the investigation.

The Complaint Officer will obtain and review a copy of your client file and prepare a summary of the records we hold. They will ask for reports from relevant staff, representatives or any other person, if it is felt this will assist us in our enquiries.

All complaints will be acknowledged within 5 working days of receipt. The acknowledgement will:

  • Outline our understanding of the basis of your complaint
  • Name your Complaints Officer
  • Confirm that they will contact you again within 4 weeks of the date of receipt of your complaint, to provide the final response or to let you know why they cannot do so
  • Detail your right to refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service
  • Enclose an explanatory leaflet which can be found here.

The procedures for assessment of your complaint and the final response letter are explained below.

You may be contacted to ask you for further information to clarify some points. This may take the form of a questionnaire, which you will be asked to deal with as soon as possible to help resolve the complaint quickly.

If they have not completed their investigation within 8 weeks, they will write to you giving you a further update and will advise you at that time that you have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, free of charge. You can contact the Financial Ombudsman Service at Exchange Tower, London, E14 9SR or telephone them on 0800 023 4567.  Further information about the Financial Ombudsman Service can also be found on their website at: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Assessment of your complaint

When they have received all the relevant information, your Complaint Officer will assess the complaint and prepare a report for presentation to a Complaints Committee which will include at least 2 directors from Meteor. The Committee will review the investigation and come to a decision on your complaint, after which they will write to you setting out the results of the investigation. This is referred to as the ‘final response letter’.

Our final response letter

The final response they send you will explain how we have reached our conclusion and set down the terms of any redress or compensation payable, if appropriate. It will also remind you of your referral rights and the fact that any referral to the Ombudsman must be made within 6 months of the date of our final response letter to you.

If they are able to finalise the investigation into your complaint within 5 business days the acknowledgement would be included as part of their final response to you.

For a PDF version of our Complaint Procedure, click here.

Conflicts of Interest

Our corporate culture is one that aims to treat customers fairly so that they are unlikely to be in a position where they could suffer any disadvantage as the result of a conflict of interest.

We have:

  • Identified instances within our business where such conflicts are likely, or possible;
  • Apportioned responsibility for conflict management to appropriate personnel;
  • Formulated a policy to manage these conflicts;
  • A written policy that is maintained and reviewed;
  • Ensured that all personnel are aware of the Company’s policy on conflicts and are able to identify any potential conflicts and alert senior management accordingly; and
  • Established a procedure for a regular flow of relevant management information for analysis.

Our conflict policy is regularly reviewed to ensure that it is, and remains, suitable and appropriate for the Company’s business.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is the UK’s compensation fund of last resort for investors of authorised financial services firms.

It may pay compensation if a firm is unable, or likely to be unable, to pay claims against it. This is usually because it has stopped trading or has been declared in default. The FSCS is independent of the government and the financial industry and was set up under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, becoming operational on 1 December 2001 (although it still covers claims from before this date). It does not charge individual consumers for using its service.

How does the FSCS impact on Meteor and our structured product issuances?

Meteor

Meteor Asset Management (MAM) and Meteor Investment Management (MIM) (collectively “Meteor”) are covered by the FSCS. Investors may be entitled to compensation from the FSCS in the event that MAM or MIM were declared to be in default and you have a valid financial claim against the company which it is unable to meet.

The fact that an investment loses value would not, in itself, lead you to have a valid claim against us.

In the event that a counterparty fails and is, therefore, unable to pay the amounts due from the securities issued with regard to a structured investment plan or the deposits arranged in respect of a structured deposit plan would not in itself give you a valid claim against us. Whether you are able to make claim to FSCS in respect of the failure of the counterparty is described below.

Client Money

During the period between the receipt of a customer’s investment and the purchase of Securities, Investor’s money will be held as Client Money. This is also the case for the period from the maturity or early redemption of a security until the proceeds are reinvested, transferred or returned to the investor. We currently use a range of banks to hold Client Money. Investors may be eligible to make a claim if any of the banks we use or may use in the future, becomes insolvent whilst holding Client Money.

In this event, the compensation limit is currently £85,000 per person and this applies to all deposits the investor holds with the insolvent bank and any other member of its group. Investors would not be covered for any excess amount over the compensation limit.

Structured Investments

In the event that a counterparty fails to meet its obligations to pay the amount due from the Securities, this will not in itself entitle you to compensation from the FSCS.

In such circumstance, you may be able to make a claim to the FSCS if you have a valid complaint against us, Meteor or your adviser in respect of the investment and we, your adviser or Meteor were unable to meet an obligation to redress your loss. For example, if an adviser did not advise you properly about the investment and is then unable to pay you the compensation for your loss and has been declared in default.

For investments covered by the Scheme, the compensation limit is currently £85,000 per person. Investors would not be covered for any excess amount over the compensation limit of £85,000.  If an investment Plan is taken in joint names the compensation limit would apply to each investor.

Structured Deposits

The Deposits arranged to provide the returns for a structured deposit plan are established through a bare trust. The Deposit Taker will be notified that the Deposits made represent deposits made by and belonging to the individual Plan holders. Therefore, investors may be entitled to compensation from the FSCS in the event that the Deposit Taker is declared to be in default and is unable to pay the amount due from the fixed-term deposit and where the Deposit Taker is a participant in the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Whether investors are eligible to make a claim under the FSCS will depend on various factors, including the size of the relevant Deposits and the laws and regulations applicable to the relevant financial institution (which may vary depending on where they are based). When Meteor act as bare trustee it may, depending on the laws, regulations and the facts at the time, make a claim on an investor’s behalf.

For deposits, the compensation limit is currently £85,000 per person and this applies to all deposits held with the Deposit Taker and/or any other deposit takers included under the same registration on the Financial Services Register. Investors would not be covered for any excess amount over the compensation limit. If investors take out any deposit in joint names the compensation limit would apply to each joint holder. This amount is reviewed, at which time the limit may be decreased or increased.

General

Investors should be aware that whether they are eligible to make a claim under the FSCS will depend on a variety of factors and that there are limits to the amount of compensation the FSCS will pay.

Entitlements would depend on the type of business and the circumstances of the claim. The information above is only a summary of the protection provided by the Scheme.

You can get more information about compensation arrangements from the FSCS.

Regulated Status

SEHA FS LTD (“hop”), with Financial Services Register Number 998128, are an Appointed Representative of Meteor Asset Management Limited who is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Financial Services Register number 459325. Company number 5712610.

Meteor Investment Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Financial Services Register number 496880. Company number 6802633.

All companies are registered in England and their registered address is 24/25 The Shard, 32 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9SG.

The information contained on this website is based on our understanding of rates of tax, current legislation, regulations and practice, all of which are subject to change in the future and may be applied retrospectively. This information does not constitute financial, investment or tax advice. If you want such advice, please contact an authorised financial adviser and/or tax adviser.