CLIENT MONEY AND ASSETS HELD BY WALKER CRIPS STOCKBROKERS AND WALKER CRIPS ASSET MANAGERS
We appreciate that, in the current financial and economic climate, you may have some questions regarding the security of
investments held on your behalf by firms within the Walker Crips Group plc. We hope the information below will answer some of
your questions.
Walker Crips Group plc is an independent publicly quoted company. We are not owned by a bank, nor do we provide usual
banking services. We take a long-term and prudent view to the way our business is run, as we do to the management of our
clients’ assets. Walker Crips Stockbrokers and Walker Crips Asset Managers are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services
Authority (FSA).
CLIENT MONEY
How does WALKER CRIPS STOCKBROKERS AND WALKER CRIPS ASSET MANAGERS hold my money?
We hold all client money in accordance with the FSA client money rules. These rules require us to hold clients’ money separately
from the firm’s money with an EU regulated credit institution.
For added security, we spread pooled client deposits between several banks, all of which are fully authorised and regulated by
the FSA. In the unlikely event that any of these banks default, you would be entitled to claim compensation from the UK’s
Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). We regularly review the creditworthiness of these banks to ensure only those
with a high credit rating are utilised.
We have a signed written undertaking from the underlying banks that no right of offset exists between credit balances held on
behalf of our clients and any indebtedness of Walker Crips Group or any of our subsidiaries held with the same institution.
How much protection is provided?
FSCS rules have fixed the maximum compensation limit at £50,000 per person, per authorised institution. You should be aware,
though, that all of your balances with any particular bank, including your personal accounts, would be aggregated in the event
that the compensation scheme was triggered. More information on this is available on the FCSC web-site as detailed below.
CLIENT INVESTMENTS
What about assets held by nominee companies?
As you are probably aware, Walker Crips Stockbrokers and Walker Crips Asset Managers use nominee companies to register and
administer holdings on our clients’ behalf. All of these nominee companies are separate legal entities and do not trade. Your
investments are held in pooled accounts with those of other clients, meaning that individual customer entitlements may not be
identifiable by either separate certificates, other physical documents of title or electronic record. In the event of an irrecoverable
shortfall following the default of a custodian, this would be shared in proportion to your original share of the assets in the pool. A
nominee company takes only the legal title to the assets with you, the client, retaining the beneficial ownership.
Clients’ assets that are registered in the name of one of our nominee companies are held in trust and are not regarded by third
parties as belonging to Walker Crips Stockbrokers Ltd, Walker Crips Asset Managers Ltd or Walker Crips Group plc. In the extremely
unlikely event that any of the firms within the Walker Crips Group plc defaults, clients’ assets would remain entirely separate from
those of the Group and could not be used to settle any debts accrued by the firm or the group.
In line with FSA requirements, we reconcile all clients’ holdings at least once every month for dematerialised stock and every six
months for certificated stock. Furthermore, all holdings must be confirmed with you, as the beneficial owner on an annual basis.
In certain circumstances, primarily with securities held overseas, local law and regulations may mean that the investments have
to be held in a name other than WB Nominees Limited. As a consequence your investments may not be segregated in the way
outlined above and the protection may be less.
As an additional safeguard, all firms within the Walker Crips Group plc are audited annually by Deloitte and Touche LLP and
comply with the Audit Assurance Faculty (formerly FRAG21). Walker Crips Group plc also adheres to the FSA financial stability
regulations under the Capital Requirements Directive which requires that we maintain a minimum level of financial resources at
all times.
What about Walker Crips Group’s security of assets?
As you would expect, Walker Crips Group plc has taken great care to ensure the quality of its insurance provision. As a result, we
have specialist indemnity cover in place that will protect us and our clients in the event of fraud, misappropriation or theft to any
client’s assets in our custody and control, including both cash and securities.
We hope that this information has addressed any concerns you may have had about money or investments held by Walker Crips
Group plc. If you still have questions, we will be happy to answer them and would ask you to contact your usual Account
Executive in the first instance. Please also refer to the websites below:
FSA Consumer Website:
http://moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/news/product/compensation_limit.html
Financial Services Compensation Scheme:
http://www.fscs.org.uk/consumer/faqs/deposit_claims_faqs/
Compensation scheme to cover savers’ claims up to £50,000:
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2008/114.shtml
