Your Questions Answered

The questions below are most often asked regarding our services.

Can I buy and sell shares held in my accounts?

Yes.  You can trade as often as you wish, simply call our team of dealers who will be pleased to assist you on 0161 832 6581.

Do you deal “instantly”?

Yes.  We will deal for you as soon as possible, if preferred, you can hold on the telephone while your deals are being done.

How do you confirm my deals?

If you are registered for Client Web Access (CWA), an email is sent to you informing you that a contract note is on your CWA account for you to view. Alternatively, a contract note is posted to you for every deal showing price, commission etc.  If you do not have a contract note, or the contract you have received is incorrect please tell us without delay and at least  within 2 business days.  Regardless of cause, we can accept no financial liability for missing or incorrect contract notes unless brought to our attention within 10 business days of the original deal(s).

What happens to the proceeds from the shares I sell?

They are automatically credited to your account awaiting re-investment or, alternatively, you can ask to have the money paid to you unless your sale is made in a SIPP, CTF or JISA. Sales made in a non-nominee account (own name) will be paid out automatically.

How are my investments registered?

You can have them registered in your own name or in our nominee “St Anns Square Nominees Limited”(SASNL) (where unavailable, investments will be registered in Pilling & Co Client account). Please note, certain products such as ISAs and SIPPs require the investments to be in our nominee company.

If you choose our nominee,  you are always the beneficial owner of the investments.  They are never part of Pilling & Co’s assets nor, indeed, of the nominee company’s assets.  There may be occasions when identical stocks are pooled together within Crest, or at another custodians, as one block under the title of SASNL. These cannot then be attributable to any individual client and ownership will be evidenced by an electronic bookkeeping entry at Pilling & Co instead of a physical certificate. In these circumstances you are warned, that in the unlikely event of an irreconcilable shortfall after the failure of a custodian, clients may share in that shortfall in proportion to their original share of the assets in the pool.

Can I have a joint nominee account with another person(s)?

Yes, each person who is party to the account must sign the nominee agreement, where the agreement is signed by more than one person, it is assumed that they are the joint owners of all cash, securities or other property held and that on the death of any one of the parties to the agreement such ownership will automatically accrue to the survivor(s) who will continue to be bound by the nominee account terms and conditions as if they had signed alone.

Are my investments secure?

Yes. Pilling & Co accepts absolute responsibility for St Anns Square Nominees Limited.  Your investments are not only protected under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), but, with the security of Pilling clients in mind, we also maintain additional professional financial risks insurance to cover the changing level of turnover in our business.  If your investments must be held by a third party, we will use our best endeavours to make sure that only recognised and well-respected financial institutions are used.  There may be further risk with non UK based custodians because of different settlement, legal and regulatory requirements.  In some cases dividend payments may be briefly held in a custodians overseas bank account before payment is made to Pilling & Co.  However, we do not accept responsibility for such third party safe custody obligations.

How do you look after my money?

We deal with your money in accordance with the client money regulations of the FCA which, amongst other things, require us to ensure that your funds are clearly segregated from our own in special trust status accounts at banks which are approved by the FCA and subject to an annual risk assessment by us.

Your money however will be held by the approved bank(s) in a pooled account with other client’s money and will not therefore be separately designated with your name. In the unlikely event of the failure of the approved bank resulting in an un-reconcilable shortfall clients may share in that shortfall in proportion to their original share of the cash in the pool.

We require your written authority to hold cash in a deposit style account facility with an approved UK bank.

Should you hold non-UK investments, cash generated from these such as interest and dividends may be held temporarily in overseas banks or branches of approved banks situated outside the UK. You should be aware that client money held in such banks might not be protected as effectively as if held in banks in the UK. The legal and regulatory regime applying to banks in overseas jurisdictions will be different from that operating in the UK. In the event of failure of a bank overseas your money may be treated in a manner different from that which would apply in the UK.

Do you pay interest on cash?

Yes. Quarterly, we pay gross interest on your cash on a tiered system at rates fixed by Pilling & Co after a variable administrative deduction.  An example of the rates are on our website or are always available on request. Amounts of less than £1 are not credited.

Who chooses the Investments?

You can ask us to manage your investments or you can do it yourself. Just let us know how you wish to proceed.

If you would like us to manage your investments, please complete and return our Client Agreement. Our Investment Managers will manage your investment portfolio on an ongoing basis. Details are available on our Investment Management pages.

If you choose the investments, we try to make sure the investments you choose for your SIPPs are allowed.  However, we do not accept any tax consequences and/or liabilities of any kind should we later find that, whatever the reason, you have chosen non-qualifying or unsuitable investments.

Our dealers are pleased to provide assistance (always on a general “Execution Only” basis) to help you to make your investments. However, you are always responsible for suitability and future investment performance.

Can I transfer shares in my own name into a nominee account?

Yes.  We need your share certificate(s) and a signed CREST transfer form for each holding.  However, the name on the certificate must be yours, your spouse’s or joint names.

Do you accept instructions from a third party?

Unless otherwise agreed in writing, we will only act on any instructions we reasonably believe came from you to enter transactions or deal with your assets, regardless of the circumstances and method of communication. If you wish another person or firm to deal with us as your agent you must notify us in writing, giving details of any restrictions concerning their authority to act on your behalf. We will not be liable for any loss or inconvenience suffered by you if we act on any instruction, consent or information given to us by your agent within the limits specified by you.

How are dividends dealt with?

For holdings in our nominee, the dividends are collected and credited to your account in which ever service the holding is held.   Dividends paid by cheque in foreign currencies are subject to a minimum cheque value of £100 applied by the processing bank. Foreign cheques over £100 are subject to a £28 bank fee.

Can I re-invest my dividends?

Yes.  With the Pilling Dividend Re-investment Plan (“DRIP”), where possible all your net dividends are re-invested upon receipt in the shares of the company paying the dividend.  Our commission is 0.5% (with no minimum) as we may join your investment with other clients in the same stock.  Simply elect on the application form for the “DRIP” scheme.

Can I have my income paid out to me?

Yes. With the Pilling Income Distribution System all your income is automatically paid straight to your bank or building society account on a quarterly basis. We send you a statement showing the dividend(s) and the amount paid to your bank account.  (this service does not apply to a SIPP, CTF or JISA).

How is withholding tax on foreign dividends / cash proceeds dealt with?

Generally we do not make provision for the receipt of gross (or withholding tax adjusted) foreign dividends / cash proceeds but will, if requested investigate the feasibility of doing so on a bespoke basis subject to charges. Claims for withholding tax already deducted will not be made by Pilling & Co without prior agreement. Any reporting of tax/gains required by overseas authorities is your responsibility.

How do you deal with “Corporate Actions”?

For holdings in nominees, we write to tell you of any action effecting your investments including conversion and subscription rights, takeovers and similar offers. We process and inform you of any capital reorganisations, demergers etc. On the rare occasion we are not notified by the company, its registrar, CREST or our third party data provider of a Corporate Action (or are not provided with sufficient information in a timely manner) and as a result are unable to pass on the details to you, we will not be liable to you for any loss suffered.

Where investments are pooled, entitlements are allocated on a “pro rata” basis and are rounded down to the nearest whole unit.

You must give your clear instructions direct to the Administration Department by the requested date, or we can accept no responsibilty whatsoever for any resulting losses or liabilities.

Do I get statements or valuations?

Yes.  Quarterly as at 5th April, 5th July, 5th October and 5th January each year, we provide you with a  statement and valuation as soon as possible after these dates on Client Web Access (CWA). You will be able to view your valuations on line as often as you wish once you have registered to do so. If you are not registered for CWA, simply email your account numbers to us at client.data@pilling.co.uk and we will send you instructions and a password. These are also available in paper form by request.

Can I have Company Reports and Accounts?

Yes.  We can arrange this but, to keep costs down, we suggest you get these from the Company Registrars direct. Alternatively, they are available from company websites.

Do I have the same rights as an ordinary shareholder?

Yes. By negotiation, for UK assets we can arrange for you to attend company meetings, to vote and to receive any other relevant information that is sent to share or unitholders direct.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) introduced a new directive for Shareholder Rights under which Pilling & Co is required to notify you in relation to forthcoming General Meetings on your European assets (excluding assets based in the United Kingdom). If we were to implement the directive, it would drive up costs resulting in significant administration fees being passed onto you.

Therefore we have decided to opt out of the requirement. As we will not be offering this service, if you do not wish to opt out and wish to receive future General Meeting notifications and/or vote on your European asset(s), you will have to transfer the respective holding(s) to a provider who offers proxy voting services.

Can my investments be sold without my permission?

We reserve the right to sell or realise any investment which we are holding (or entitled to receive) on your behalf in order to meet any liabilities you may have incurred to us. Our right to sell any such investment will arise immediately upon default by you in making payment of any amount due to us and in that event we are entitled to sell or dispose of all or any part of such investment (whether these be investments in respect of which the default arises or any other investments for the time being held by us or which we are entitled to receive on your behalf)  after the expiry of any statutory notice period.

We shall not be liable to you in respect of any loss arising nor in respect of any choice made by us in selecting the investments to be sold. We will apply the proceeds of sale (net of costs) in or towards discharge of your liabilities to us and will account to you for the balance. In the event that such proceeds are insufficient to cover the whole of your liabilities to us, you remain liable for the balance.

We shall be entitled, without further reference to you, to buy any investment in the market to close any short position created by you and then, subject to any statutory notice period, sell or dispose of any other investments held by us or which we are entitled to receive on your behalf to satisfy in whole or in part the sums due on settlement of any such purchase and its associated costs. We shall not be responsible for advising you about the investment merits of any transactions effected by us pursuant to this section which in all cases will be treated as execution only deals.

Do you offer a probate service?

Yes, we can value the shares at the date of death and send out the appropriate probate valuation. For stocks registered in our nominee the cost is £12.50 per stock (subject to a minimum of £37.50) + vat. For stocks registered in own name the cost is £20.00 per stock   (subject to a minimum of £60) + vat. Additionally we can release funds to HMRC to cover tax before the probate is released subject to certain conditions. Executors can be spared a significant amount of administrative problems particularly in respect of foreign registered securities by having stock registered in a nominee name.

What are the dealing charges?

With a minimum of only £10, our commission per deal is 1.65% of the first £10,000 value, 0.5% of the next £90,000 and 0.4% of any excess. We must charge you Government stamp duty at 0.5% of the value when buying shares, preference stocks and convertibles.

What are the custody charges?

The half yearly custody fee for ALL your Pilling accounts is just 0.25% of the value with a minimum of £25.00 and a maximum of £90.00 for clients registered to use our on-line portal Client Web Access (CWA). For clients who request postal documents the minimum fee is £30.00 and a maximum of £100.00.  Remember, this charge covers ALL your Pilling accounts you have with us including ISA, SIPP, Nominee, PIPs and Own Name services. We will add the value of all your accounts with us and apply no more than the maximum cap.

Are there any extra charges on overseas securities?

Whenever possible we trade and hold overseas securities through Crest and although the costs are higher than UK securities, Pilling & Co absorb the fees.

If you choose an investment which has to be traded and held with an overseas custodian, the cost incurred will be passed on to you. Please enquire at time of dealing for applicable additional charges.

Due to the reporting requirements of the IRS,  US domiciled securities* will attract an additional annual custody fee of £25 per security (capped at £200 pa) and will be charged six monthly in arrears. A US Compliance Charge of £10 will be applied on all purchases of US domiciled securities* (excluding DRIP trades).

* US domiciled securities exclude Global Depository/shares and American Depository receipts/shares.

What are the charges to transfer stock out to my own name or that of another broker?

Stocks transferred out of services that are registered in our nominee are subject to a charge of £24 per security.

Do you accept new clients from outside of the UK?

No, due to regulatory changes following Brexit and inter-governmental agreements regarding tax legislation, we are unable to take on any new clients from outside of the UK.