Classes of Intermediary

Overview

The Consumer Protection Code replaced a number of previous Financial Regulator Handbooks for each of Authorised Advisors, Restricted Intermediaries, Mortgage Intermediaries and Deposit Agents.

The Investment Intermediaries Act regulates investment business and investment advice and applies to Insurance Intermediaries.

The Handbook of Prudential Requirements provides capital and reporting requirements for investment intermediaries, including Multi-Agency Intermediaries and Authorised Advisors. They must be solvent at all times.

The minimum competence requirements prescribed by the Central Bank apply to insurance, reinsurance and mortgage intermediaries.

Advice Offered

An Authorised Advisor is authorised to arrange for clients and advise clients on financial products for which he is authorised by the Central Bank. An Authorised Advisor does not need to have an appointment with a Financial Advisor in order to arrange a product with that financial institution.

Unlike a Multi-Agency Intermediary, he must offer broad-based advice. This should be the most appropriate product in the market regardless of whether he holds an appointment with that product provider or not.

A Multi-Agency Intermediary must recommend the most appropriate product from those from whom he holds an appointment. He may not advise on or recommend policies from other insurance companies.

The Authorised Advisor must recommend the most suitable policy available. A status disclosure is required.  For the Authorised Advisor: [] Authorised Advisor trading as [     ] is regulated by the Financial Regulator as an Authorised Advisor.

Investment Intermediary

An Investment Intermediary is authorised to provide investment advice on a fair analysis basis and is not authorised as a restricted intermediary must maintain  shareholders’ funds or capital of at least €10,000 at all times. An Investment Intermediary that acts as a product producer by appointing sub brokers must have minimum shareholder funds or capital of €50,000.

An Investment Intermediary, whether corporate or not, must submit accounts to the Central Bank at the end of each reporting period. For a  sole trader or partnership, the audited accounts may be in respect of the overall financial position or confined to investment business activity. They must also include a profit and loss account or income and expenditure account and balance sheet.

In the case of a sole trader and each partner in a partnership, the audited accounts must include a certificate of solvency signed by the sole trader and each separate partner, in the case of a partnership.

Goodwill may be included in the calculation of the total assets only where the goodwill figure or a defined percentage represents the net present value of future cash flow arising from existing investment instruments. Goodwill arising from nonlife investment business may not be included in the calculation of total assets.

An Investment Intermediary that is a product provider must submit to the Financial Regulator when submitting audited accounts, a schedule of a breakdown of payments made to each investment product or intermediary to whom it has issued a letter of appointment.

Insurance Intermediaries

An insurance intermediary arranges insurance policies for clients. They may be either an Authorised Advisor, Multi-Agency Intermediary or authorised cash handler. An insurance broker is one who holds appointments from at least five insurers. An insurance agent holds appointments from between two and four. A tied agent holds appointments from one.

Intermediaries must disclose their status on letterheads. Insurance Intermediaries may have different status as in relation to life and general business.

The Consumer Protection Code replaced a number of previous Financial Regulator Handbooks for each of Authorised Advisors, Restricted Intermediaries, Mortgage Intermediaries and Deposit Agents.

The Investment Intermediaries Act regulates investment business and investment advice and applies to Insurance Intermediaries.

Money Agents

Authorised cash handlers may provide the same services as Authorised Advisors but also the discretionary management of client funds. They must have a minimum solvency of 25 % of annual fixed overheads or €125,000.

A Deposit Agent is a person who holds an appointment in writing from a single credit institution, enabling him to receive deposits on behalf of that institution and prohibiting him from acting in a similar capacity on behalf of another institution.

A Deposit Broker is a person who brings together with the credit institution, persons seeking to make deposits in return for a fee or other reward.

Multi-Agency Intermediaries

Multi-agency intermediaries are authorised to provide services under the Investment Intermediaries Act, namely, restrictive activity investment product intermediaries. They may arrange on behalf of clients or advise them on investment products in respect of which they hold appointments in writing. They may give product-specific advice in relation to insurance policies, with respect to which they are not appointed in the context of the replacement of one policy by the other.

A Multi-Agency Intermediary cannot generally handle client money except in relation to insurance premiums when acting as a Deposit Agent and providing services other than investment services or investment advice in other capacities. A Multi-Agency Intermediary must accept clients’ non-negotiable cheques made out to a financial institution for onward transmission.

A Multi-Agency Intermediary must obtain a statement of authorised status from the Central Bank. This must be displayed publicly in each office from which it operates. Each client must be provided with a copy of the statement along with a list of financial institutions for whom it holds written appointments. It must be disclosed in the letterhead. [ ] is a Multi-Agency Intermediary regulated by the Central Bank.

If the Agency’s appointment is terminated, the MAI must publish a notice of discontinuance in a national newspaper within 14 days of being notified. If it fails to do so, the financial institution must publish a notice of discontinuance within 28 days of the relevant date.

Multi-Agency Intermediaries must be part of the investor compensation scheme administered by Investor Compensation Company Limited. They must inform clients that they are members of the scheme and give details of the compensation which may be available in the event of default in their financial obligations to clients. This must be set out in the terms of business letter.

The Multi-Agency Intermediary must give new clients and existing clients a terms of business letter. They may not advertise that they are members of the scheme without the consent of the Central Bank.

Authorised Advisors

An Authorised Advisor is authorised to arrange for clients and advise clients on financial products for which he is  authorised by the Central Bank. An Authorised Advisor need not have an appointment with a Financial Advisor in order to arrange a product with that financial institution. Unlike a Multi-Agency Intermediary, he must offer broad-based advice. This should be the most appropriate product in the market regardless of whether he holds an appointment with that product provider or not.

An Authorised Advisor may not handle clients monies except in circumstances equivalent to those referable to Multi-Agency Intermediaries, namely,

• circumstances where the insurance company is responsible for premiums,
• acting as a deposit agency,
• where the credit institution is responsible.

A Multi-Agency Intermediary must recommend the most appropriate product from the agencies with whom he holds an appointment. He may not advise on or recommend policies from other insurance companies. The Authorised Advisor must recommend the most suitable policy available.

A status disclosure is required.  For the Authorised Advisor: [] Authorised Advisor trading as [     ] is regulated by the Financial Regulator as an Authorised Advisor.

The minimum competence requirements prescribed by the Central Bank apply to insurance, reinsurance and mortgage intermediaries.