Some of you are maybe aware from our previous communication that the FCA has chosen to introduce a new fee for all Appointed Representatives of all networks. At the point of our last communication, this was just a consultation; it has now been confirmed.
The FCA will be charging the new fee for every new AR approval and then annually for each AR at the same rate. They have effectively backdated this charge and will be raising an invoice shortly for all Appointed Representatives at each company as of April 2021.
At Connect, we do not propose to raise individual invoices to our members for this amount as a lump sum payment. We will instead cushion this for our members by adjusting the monthly fees we charge, which will also cover the ongoing annual fee so that members will not need to worry about a separate yearly cost.
This will be further cushioned with three months’ notice, so any increases will not apply until the November 2021 payment.
You will receive a personal notification confirming your new monthly payment in due course. Most will see a moderate increase to their cost. However, we have taken the opportunity to align the payments with the resources used, which will mean a slight increase also to those with multiple advisers or multiple permissions.
We are committed to ensuring that our Network proposition remains competitive in the marketplace and ensuring our fees are kept as low as possible so that we all have the same goal and incentive to write more business. Our membership fees offer excellent value which are inclusive of all the software and resources you need to run your business. Amongst other things, every member currently benefits from a free customer relationship management system, free membership to the trade association FIBA, and free criteria and affordability tools from Legal and General. Each adviser also benefits from a free Twenty7tec licence. I am pleased to confirm every member’s Twenty7tec licence is about to be upgraded to their recently launched complete solution, which combines criteria, rate, and affordability in just one search. It allows you to go on and apply with certain lenders and comes with a fully upgraded integration with OMS.
If anyone has any questions, please speak in the first instance with your Business Relationship Manager or the member support team on 01708 973 224