Terms of Business
Fitzsimons Life & Pensions Ltd t/a Fitzsimons Finance
Effective date: March 2026
These Terms of Business set out the general terms under which our firm will provide business services to you and the respective duties and responsibilities of both the firm and you in relation to such services. Please ensure that you read these terms thoroughly and if you have any queries, we will be happy to clarify them. If any material changes are made to these terms, we will notify you.
Authorisation with the Central Bank of Ireland
Fitzsimons Life & Pensions Ltd t/a Fitzsimons Finance is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland as an Investment Business Firm under Section 10 of the Investment Intermediaries Act, 1995 (as amended).; and as an insurance intermediary registered under the European Union (Insurance Distribution) Regulation 2018. Copies of our regulatory authorisations are available on request. The Central Bank of Ireland holds registers of regulated firms. You may contact the Central Bank of Ireland on 0818 681 681 or alternatively visit their website at www.centralbank.ie to verify our credentials.
Codes of Conduct
The firm is subject to the Consumer Protection Code, Minimum Competency Code and Fitness & Probity Standards which offer protection to consumers. These Codes can be found on the Central Bank’s website www.centralbank.ie.
Our Services
Fitzsimons Finance offers financial advice relating to Financial Planning, Wealth Management, Retirement Planning and Investments, Protection and Insurance. The Company may transmit orders on clients’ behalf to any of the financial product providers with whom the Company holds written appointments. A full list of insurers and product producers with which we deal with is available on request.
The firm provides our services on a fair analysis of the market basis i.e. providing services on the basis of a sufficiently large number of contracts or investment products and product producers available on the market to enable us to make a recommendation, in accordance with professional criteria, regarding which contract would be adequate to meet your needs. Note that it is your responsibility to read the policy documents, literature and brochures to ensure that you understand the nature of the policy cover, particularly in relation to PHI and serious illness policies.
The principal regulated activities of the firm are provided on the basis of a fair analysis of the market which means that we research the offerings of a number of providers before making a recommendation.
There is a fee structure in place for our services list below:
Financial Planning (note that if financial planning services are provided separately from the provision of advice and arrange products, it is not a regulated activity)
- Pensions
- Protection & Insurance
- Savings & Investment
Ongoing suitability assessments of pension, savings and investment products we recommend to you forms part of the service we provide. This means that we will contact you periodically to provide this service.
How we will communicate with you
We want to ensure that we communicate with you in the manner that is most appropriate. Our preference is to contact clients by telephone, video conference and email in the first instance to arrange meetings and to update you on products and services we have contracted to advise you on. If your preference is that we contact you by some other means (e.g. letter) please let us know.
Disclosure of Information
It is important that you ensure that all information provided on proposal forms, application forms, statement of facts and any other documentation relevant to the service being provided to you is complete and accurate. When you are completing proposal forms for insurance products you are required to answer all questions posed by us or the insurer honestly and with reasonable care. Specific questions will be asked. An insurer may repudiate liability or limit the amount paid on foot of the contract of insurance, only if it establishes that non-disclosure of material information was an effective cause of the insurer entering into the relevant contract of insurance and on the terms on which it did.
Sustainability Factors
In accordance with the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (‘SFDR’), we inform you that when providing advice on insurance-based investment products/Investments, we do not assess, in addition to relevant financial risks, relevant sustainability risks as far as this information is available in relation the products proposed/advised on. This means that we do not assess environmental, social or governance events/conditions that, if they occur, could have a material negative impact on the value of the investment.
When providing advice on insurance-based investment products (‘IBIPs’) or investment advice we do not consider the impacts of our advice that result in negative effects on sustainability factors (namely environmental, social and employee matters, respect for human rights, anti-corruption and anti-bribery matters), due to the limited number of relevant products which meet these criteria. However, if it is identified during the factfinding process that a client has a preference for considering sustainability factor, then we will endeavour to include this in our advice.
The area of sustainability is relatively new and as more information becomes available, we will review our position on an annual basis.
We have not assessed the likely impacts of sustainability risks on the returns of Investment and/or Pensions as we have not been able to identify any sustainability risks that are relevant.
Remuneration
The firm is remunerated by commission and other payments from product producers on the completion of business. Where we receive recurring commission, this forms part of the remuneration for initial advice provided and for the ongoing management of your policy.
Commission:
Pensions: Commission may vary between product providers but will be advised in advance.
Life Assurance & Protection Products: Commission may vary between product providers but will be advised in advance. These details will be supplied in the key information document.
Savings & Investments: Commission may vary between product providers but will be advised in advance.
In compliance with the requirements of the Consumer Protection Code details of the commission arrangements we have in place with product producers we have agencies with are available on our website here Commission (moneyadvice.ie).
Fees:
Fees are generally covered by the product providers however, in certain circumstances, it will be necessary to charge a fee for services provided, as listed below.
Fully Integrated Financial Plan: Fee of €1,250, payable once plan has been presented and agreed.
Regular Financial Plan Review: Fee of €400.
Additional Fees:
May be payable for complex cases or to reflect value, specialist skills or urgency, or in cases where business is made and not taken up, we may charge a fee for time spent on the application. Fee structure is:
- Director Fees: €300 per hour
- Support Staff: €150 per hour
Clawback:
If we receive commission from a product provider but the commission is subsequently clawed-back by the provider because of early encashment by you or because of the transferring of the assets or business to another provider or in any circumstances consequent on your actions or omissions, we will charge a fee to you that is equal to 100% of the clawed-back commission. That fee will be owing in simple contract upon the claw-back of the commission.
Regular Reviews and Ongoing Suitability
It is in your best interests that you review, on a regular basis, the products which we have arranged for you. As your circumstances change, your needs will change. You must advise us of those changes and request a review of the relevant policy so that we can ensure that you are provided with up-to-date advice and products best suited to your needs. Failure to contact us in relation to changes in your circumstances or failure to request a review, may result in you having insufficient insurance cover and/or inappropriate investments.
Data Protection
Fitzsimons Finance complies with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and the Irish Data Protection Act 2018.
Fitzsimons Finance is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We wish to be transparent on how we process your data and show you that we are accountable with the GDPR in relation to not only processing your data but ensuring you understand your rights as a client.
The data will be processed only in ways compatible with the purposes for which it was given as outlined in our Privacy Notice. From time-to-time Fitzsimons Finance will need to pass your details onto a third party for purposes of completing elements of the service you have appointed us to provide. Further details on how we may use your personal and why is in our Privacy Policy which is available on our website.
Please contact us at info@fitzsimonsfinance.ie if you have any concerns about how we process your personal data.
Conflicts of interest
It is the policy of our firm to avoid conflicts of interest in providing services to you. However, where an unavoidable conflict of interest arises, we will advise you of this in writing before providing you with any service and the firm will take all steps within its control to appropriately manage the conflict and minimise the impact of the conflict on the consumer. A full copy of our conflicts of interest policy is available on request.
Default on payments by clients
Our firm will exercise its legal rights to receive payments due to it from clients (fees and insurance premiums) for services provided. In particular, without limitation of the generality of the foregoing, the firm will seek reimbursement for all payments made to insurers on behalf of clients where the firm has acted in good faith in renewing a policy of insurance for the client.
Product producers may withdraw benefits or cover in the event of default on payments due under policies of insurance or other products arranged for you. We would refer you to policy documents or product terms for the details of such provisions.
Complaints
Where the firm receives an oral complaint, we will offer the consumer the opportunity to have the complaint handled in accordance with the firm’s complaints process. The firm will investigate the complaint on the basis of our understanding of the issue. We permit and facilitate submission of complaints by post and by electronic means. We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days and we will fully investigate it. On completion of our investigation, we will provide you with a written report of the outcome. In the event that you are still dissatisfied with our handling of or response to your complaint, you are entitled to refer the matter to the Financial Services & Pensions Ombudsman’s Bureau (FSPO). A full copy of our complaint procedure is available on the firm’s website and on request.
Investor Compensation Scheme
We are members of the Investor Compensation Scheme operated by the Investor Compensation Company Ltd.
The Investor Compensation Act, 1998 provides for the establishment of a compensation scheme and the payment, in certain circumstances, of compensation to certain clients (known as eligible investors) of authorised investment firms, as defined in that Act.
Compensation may be payable where money or investment instruments owed or belonging to clients and held, administered or managed by the firm cannot be returned to those clients for the time being and where there is no reasonably foreseeable opportunity of the firm being able to do so.
For further information, contact the Investor Compensation Company Ltd. at (01) 224 4955.