Gerling
& Company Pty Ltd
A.B.N.
80 078 111 654
Commodity
Trading Advisor – Introducing Broker
Australian
Financial Services Licence No. 218 770
This Financial Services Guide (FSG) dated 1st
July 2008 is provided to you by Gerling & Company Pty Ltd to inform you of
the financial services provided by us and to comply with our obligations as the
holder of an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL No 218 770).The
client’s attention is specifically drawn to the following matters:
- this FSG is designed to assist the client in
deciding whether to use any of the services offered in this FSG;
- this FSG contains information about
remuneration that may be paid to Gerling & Company Pty Ltd and other relevant
persons in relation to the services offered; and
- this FSG contains information on how complaints
against Gerling & Company Pty Ltd are dealt with.
This FSG also contains information about:
·
The entity providing the financial
services
·
How instructions can be provided by
the client
·
Any conflict of interest
·
Privacy
In certain situations, the client may receive, in
addition to this Financial Services Guide, a Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).
THE PROVIDING ENTITY ONLY GIVES GENERAL ADVICE.
GENERAL ADVICE IS DEFINED AS FINANCIAL PRODUCT
ADVICE WHICH IS NOT PERSONAL ADVICE. IN PROVIDING THE GENERAL ADVICE THE
CLIENT’S PERSONAL FINANCIAL SITUATION, OBJECTIVES AND NEEDS (INCLUDING ATTITUDE
TO RISK) HAVE NOT BEEN CONSIDERED BY THE PROVIDING ENTITY. FURTHER-MORE, NO
CLIENT SHOULD EXPECT THE PROVIDING ENTITY TO HAVE CONSIDERED SUCH MATTERS.
THE CLIENT IS ENCOURAGED TO SEEK PERSONAL ADVICE
FROM A LICENCED FINANCIAL ADVISOR BEFORE USING ANY SERVICES OR PRODUCTS FROM THE
PROVIDING ENTITY.
2. OVERVIEW OF GERLING & CO Pty Ltd
Gerling & Company Pty Ltd is the entity providing
financial services to wholesale and retail clients. The company can be contacted
in the following way:
Gerling & Company Pty Ltd
174 Willoughby Road Crows Nest NSW 2065
Tel: 02 9438 4899 Fax: 02 9436 0083
Email:
sales@gerlingco.com
Gerling & Company Pty Ltd is the holder of an
Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) issued by the Australian Securities
and Investments Commission (ASIC). Gerling & Company Pty Ltd was formed in 1996
and began trading upon the successful application of a Licence (formally known
as a Futures Brokers Licence).
Gerling & Company Pty Limited is a
company structured to provide advisory and dealing services in derivatives and
securities and also offers market education to the independent trader. It is a
firm dedicated to providing a full range of services to meet the needs of
clients in financial markets, including derivatives and equities.
Gerling & Company Pty Ltd has
spent many years developing and
refining its trading methodology.
Gerling & Company Pty Ltd
caters to the experienced investor
with a streamlined no-fuss service in addition to developing the knowledge and
confidence of less experienced investors and assists them to enter the markets
at their own pace. Our main aim is to assist our clients to achieve their
investment and trading plans by providing a comprehensive range of dealing and
advisory services.
Claus M. Gerling
is the Managing Director and shareholder of Gerling & Company Pty Ltd. He holds
a MBA and a Ph.D. of the University of Cologne, Germany. Dr. Gerling started his
career in 1985 with a major Australian Stockbroker in London. In 1990, he took a
position as an institutional Client Advisor with a major French Stockbroker in
Paris. During all this time, he actively traded international shares, foreign
exchange and futures for his own account. He became more and more interested in
futures trading and finally left his stock broking career to found Gerling &
Cie., an Introducing Broker, in 1992. His Paris based company specialised in providing
trading advice and order execution through a London based
clearing broker to private Clients covering the major European and American
Futures markets. During that time, he developed and refined a medium term, trend
following diversified technical futures trading system. Dr. Gerling moved to
Sydney in 1996 where he further refined his trading program and tested it real
time through trading his own funds. From May 1997 to September 2002, he was a
Sydney Futures Exchange Registered Representative (Managed Discretionary
Accounts).
3. FINANCIAL SERVICES AND FINANCIAL PRODUCTS
A. FINANCIAL SERVICES
Gerling & Company Pty Ltd is the holder of an
Australian Financial Services Licence (No. 218 770) and is authorised to offer
the following financial services:
- Provide Financial Product Advice
- Deal in the Financial Products listed below.
Gerling & Company Pty Ltd is licensed to provide
General and Personal Advice, both to Retail and Wholesale Clients. However,
Gerling & Company Pty Ltd will only provide general advice.
B.
FINANCIAL PRODUCTS
Gerling & Company Pty Ltd provides advice and dealing services in Securities, Derivatives, Basic
Deposit Products, Foreign Exchange Contracts and Interests in Managed Investment
Schemes limited to Own Managed Investment Scheme only.
C. DETAILS OF FINANCIAL SERVICES PROVIDED
Gerling & Company Pty Ltd financial services
include the following:
- Educational seminars, workshops and a Home
Study Course covering trading strategies in derivatives and securities.
- Dealing in derivatives and securities on a
non-discretionary basis. In this respect, we provide general trading advice
based on a series of technical and mechanical trading systems. The advice
(recommendation) is provided through our website whereby the client can download
the recommendations. We accept your orders for implementing such trading
strategies and arrange for those orders to be executed in the market through
suitable financial intermediaries.
Gerling & Company Pty Ltd provides the above
financial services in the following kinds of financial products:
- Securities, e.g. shares in companies, traded
either on a domestic or international stock exchange; and
- Derivatives, e.g. futures contracts, options
on futures contracts, contracts for difference or options on shares in
companies, traded either on a domestic or international futures or stock
exchange.
When providing these services and products,
Gerling & Company Pty Ltd acts as principal and is not a representative or
contractor of another licensee. It will, however, from time to time outsource
some tasks such as marketing, execution and clearing the financial products.
Gerling & Company Pty Ltd does not hold clients monies and does not operate
omnibus accounts for the dealings of its clients. Gerling & Company Pty Ltd
appoints authorized representatives, either as employees or contractors to act
on its behalf.
4. RISK
Investing in the financial markets and financial
products is not free of risk. In fact, trading in securities and
derivatives incurs the risk of loss as well as the prospect of profit. You
should therefore carefully consider whether such financial products are
appropriate for you in the light of your financial circumstances.
A further detailed explanation of the risks
associated with trading derivatives is set out in a Product Disclosure
Statement.
5. FEE STRUCTURE
A. FEES AND COMMISSIONS WHICH GERLING & COMPANY
PTY LTD RECEIVE
Seminars and Workshops
For the provision of educational services a fee
is charged. This fee is charged either directly by Gerling & Company Pty Ltd or
by a marketing firm engaged for the distribution of such services. Gerling &
Company Pty Ltd share in the cost of the educational services provided and
participates in the net profits after costs.
Non
Discretionary Accounts
With regard to the advice and dealing services
provided to a client who operates a non-discretionary account in securities
and/or derivatives, the clearing / executing broker holding the clients monies
will charge the client a commission.
With respect to securities and contract for
difference transactions, the commission rate is a variable, negotiable
percentage of the consideration (or a fixed minimum amount).
With respect to futures and options on futures
transactions, the commission is calculated as a variable, negotiable fixed
dollar amount (usually quoted in US Dollars or foreign currency equivalent) on a
per contract basis and charged to the client’s account per ‘half turn’ (i.e.
entry and exit). Gerling & Company Pty Ltd participates in the commission
charged by the clearing / executing broker. No other benefits, either direct or
indirect, are paid to the providing entity or a director or employee of the
providing entity or any associate above.
Goods
and Services Tax
Any supply, which is subject to the Goods and
Services Tax, will be the responsibility of the Client.
Changes of Fees or Expenses
Should there be a change in the fees or
expenses, Gerling & Company Pty Ltd will provide one-month prior notice, in
writing, of any such changes.
B. REMUNERATION RECEIVED BY DIRECTORS AND
EMPLOYEES
Directors
and employees of Gerling & Company Pty Ltd
are remunerated by way of
salary and/or a percentage of the seminar fees or brokerage charged to the
client.
C.
PAYMENT TO THIRD PARTIES
Gerling & Company Pty Ltd reserves the right to
distribute part of the fees and commissions received to other entities for
marketing services and sales efforts provided.
6.
INSTRUCTIONS
HOW
YOU CAN INSTRUCT US
Instructions can be provided by the client to
Gerling & Company Pty Ltd by normal mail, telephone, fax, email or an online
trading platform.
POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST
As
Gerling & Company may, at any time, be trading accounts for many clients in
similar ways, it is possible that the orders of a client may be executed with
orders of other clients. Although an endeavour will be made to ensure the
equitable treatment of all accounts and the resolution of any potential
conflict, no guarantee can be given regarding the resolution of such conflicts.
Gerling &
Company and its directors, employees and shareholders may trade the same
financial products as the clients and may take the opposite or the same position
as their clients. In addition, the clearing / executing broker may take the
opposite or the same positions as the clients. Neither the records of Gerling &
Company nor of its director and shareholder will be available for inspection by
the client.
7.
ASSOCIATIONS & RELATIONSHIPS
RELATIONSHIP
WITH CLEARING / EXECUTING BROKER
Gerling & Company Pty Ltd
has established a
relationship with MFGlobal Australia Ltd for clients to open an account and
recommend to clients that they open an account with MFGlobal. However, clients
may establish an account with any other broker of their choice.
The
relationship that Gerling & Company Pty
Ltd has with MFGlobal does
not, in any way, influence Gerling &
Company Pty Ltd in the
provision of financial services to its clients.
Gerling &
Company does not have any associated companies. It has commercial relationships
with outside parties such as marketing companies, contractors and executing /
clearing brokers. It will receive part of the fees, considerations and
commissions paid by the client to outside parties or retrocede part of fees,
considerations and commissions paid by the client to Gerling & Company to
employees or contractors. As such, Gerling
& Company Pty Ltd
has an interest
in a high activity level of the client. Internal control procedures and
systematic, mechanical trading strategies and money management overlays are in
place to so as to provide financial services honestly, efficiently and fairly.
8.
COMPLAINTS, DISPUTE
RESOLUTION AND COMPENSATION ARRANGEMETNS
The
regulations require financial services licensees to have internal and external
dispute resolution procedures to resolve complaints from clients who receive
financial services or acquire financial products.
We want to know about any problems
you may have with our advice or service so we can take steps to resolve the
issue.
All complaints will be properly handled and
investigated promptly. Should you still feel dissatisfied with the outcome,
you have the ability to escalate your concerns to an external body for a
resolution.
Gerling & Company Pty Ltd
does have internal dispute
resolution procedures that generally meet the essential elements of Australian
Standard 4269-1995 and other minimum requirements set out in ASIC Regulatory
Guide RG 165 (Licensing: Internal and external dispute resolution). A copy of
these procedures may be obtained by contacting
Gerling & Company Pty Ltd.
Furthermore, Gerling &
Company Pty Ltd is a member
of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which is an approved external dispute
resolution scheme that can deal with complaints about all of the financial
services Gerling & Company Pty Ltd provides to
Retail Clients under its Australian Financial Services Licence.
If you have a complaint about the
financial services provided to you, please contact Dr. Claus
Gerling to inform us
about your complaint. You may do this by telephone, facsimile, email or letter
(refer Section 2 – Contact Details).
If you are dissatisfied with the outcome, you have the right to
complain to FOS in writing at: GPO
Box 3, Melbourne VIC 3001, telephone
1 300 78 08 08, fax 03 9613 6399, email
info@fos.org.au. Gerling & Company Pty
Ltd is a member of this complaints resolution scheme.
You can contact
ASIC on 1300 300 630
where you can make a complaint and obtain information about your rights.
Gerling &
Company Pty Ltd has professional indemnity (“PI”) insurance arrangements in
place as required under s921B of the Corporations Act 2001. Our PI Insurance
takes into account the nature and volume of our business, the number and kind of
our clients, our representative and the maximum potential extent of liability.
Our PI insurance also covers claims in relation to conduct of representatives /
employees who no longer work for the licensee but who did at the time of the
relevant conduct.
9. PRIVACY
Our clients’
privacy is important us. Our policy is to abide by the Privacy Policy of Gerling
& Company Pty Ltd which incorporates the National Privacy Principles contained
in the Commonwealth Privacy Act. This policy requires that we respect the
confidentiality of information and privacy of individuals.
Gerling &
Company’s Privacy Policy is based upon openness and we are committed to being
open about how the personal information collected by us is used. You can access
information held by use by telephoning Dr. Claus Gerling on 02 9438 4899. A copy
of our Privacy Policy is available on request.