Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, up to £85,000 of your money is likely to be protected by the FSCS. However, there are some nuances to this scheme we'll outline below.

INVESTMENT CUSTOMERS

Up to the first £85,000 of your money invested with primebroker could be protected by the FSCS in the event of the insolvency of our custodian Winterflood Securities, Embark, or primebroker. Funds held in our products are managed as follows:

General Investment Account
Your funds are held by Winterflood Securities Limited.

Stocks and Shares ISA
Your funds are held by Winterflood Securities Limited.

Junior ISA
Your funds are held by Winterflood Securities Limited.

Self-Invested Personal Pension
Your funds are held by Embark Investment Services.

Aviva and primebroker are independently covered by the FSCS scheme, so a customer holding investments with both companies could be covered by the FSCS on each other their balances up to £85,000.

It's important to understand that the FSCS doesn't cover you in the event that your investments do not perform as expected, and you get back less than you originally invested.

For more information about FSCS cover for investment products, visit the FSCS website.

SAVINGS CUSTOMERS

Instant Access Savings Account
Your funds are held by ClearBank Limited.

Please be aware that all your eligible deposits in accounts powered by ClearBank are added together when determining your level of FSCS protection. Compensation is limited to a maximum of £85,000 per person, per banking licence. Visit the ClearBank website to see which other deposit providers have accounts using ClearBank's banking licence.

If primebroker were to fail: ClearBank will continue to hold your funds and there would be no need for the FSCS to step in.
If ClearBank were to fail: you would need to make a claim via the FSCS where they will step in to protect your funds up to a maximum of £85,000.

For more information about FSCS cover for savings products, visit the FSCS website.

For any other queries about FSCS cover with primebroker, visit our dedicated FSCS Protection page.

When you sign up for a primebroker Plan, we'll use the bank details you give us and online sources (such as the electoral roll and credit reference agency databases) to check both your identity and address. We need to obtain this information in order to comply with UK anti-money laundering regulations.

Occasionally, we may not be able to verify your identity electronically, in which case we'll get in contact with you to request additional forms of identification.

The type of identification we ask for will depend on what details we need to confirm. We will ask you to send one or more items from LIST A if we need proof of address identification, and one or more forms of ID from LIST B if we need proof of identity. Both lists are below.

Please note:

• Please only send us certified copies of your photo ID; don’t send original copies, as we cannot accept responsibility if they get lost.
• We accept original or certified copies of statements and letters, but unfortunately can’t guarantee to return these. Please don’t send originals if you need them back.

A certified copy is a photocopy or scan of your original ID, signed by a responsible third party to certify that it is a true copy. There’s a list of suitable certifiers below.

Proof of Address

N.B. Your proof of address MUST CLEARLY show your full address to be accepted. PO Boxes WILL NOT be accepted.

We will accept:

• Utility bill issued within the past three months
• Local authority council tax bill for the current council tax year
• Bank, Building Society, or Credit Union statement or passbook dated within the last 3 months.
• Original mortgage statement from a recognised lender issued for the last full year.
• Solicitor’s letter confirming recent house purchase, or land registry confirmation of address.
• Council or housing association rent card, or tenancy agreement for the current year.
• Benefit book or original notification letter from Benefits Agency (not acceptable as proof of name).
• Inland Revenue self-assessment or tax demand.
• NHS Medical card
• Letter from a care home

Proof of identity

DO NOT send originals of the documents in this list as we CANNOT guarantee to return them, and we DO NOT accept responsibility for loss of original documents sent to us.

Please send certified copies only i.e. a photocopy or scan of your original ID, signed by a responsible third party to certify that it is a true copy. A list of suitable certifiers can be found below.

We will accept

• EEA member state identity card (this can also be used as evidence of address if included).
• Current UK or EEA photocard driving licence.
• Full old-style (paper) driving licence.
• Photographic registration cards for self-employed individuals in the construction industry (CIS4).
• Benefit book or original notification letter from Benefits Agency.
• Firearms or shotgun certificate.
• Residence permit issued by the Home Office to EEA nationals on sight of own country passport.
• National identity card bearing a photograph of the applicant.

Approved certifiers

The person who certifies the copy of your original identification must hold a position of responsibility, such as those described in the list below.

• Bank or building society official
• Councillor
• Minister of religion
• Dentist
• Chartered accountant
• Solicitor or notary
• Teacher or lecturer

The person certifying your documents must also:

• Print their name, sign and date the copy document, and state in writing ‘I certify this to be a true copy of the original document, which I have seen’.
• Confirm their position (in line with acceptable certifiers list below) and provide a contact telephone number or email address where they can be contacted.
• Where a document has a photograph, the certifier must confirm in writing ‘I certify that this is a true likeness of (your name)’.

If available, they should stamp the copy with an official company stamp.

We partner with Credas and Onfido to collect ID documents when you sign up for a primebroker account. Should you need to send us documents, one of our operations team will send you a Credas link where you can securely upload your documents.

Alternatively, you can send your ID in the post to: primebroker, Tec Marina, Terra Nova Way, Penarth, CF64 1SA.

It’s up to you. You should not send any original ID to us, as we cannot take any responsibility for it being returned safely to you, this makes it less necessary to use registered post, however you can if you wish.

No, we don’t run a formal credit check. We use the credit reference agencies to verify your details and this leaves a footprint on your profile, but it doesn’t affect your credit rating in the same way as a credit check.

You can find our Terms and Conditions here: www.primebrokerageinc.com/terms-and-conditions

You can find all of Winterflood Securities Limited policies by clicking on the links below:

Privacy Policy

Conflicts of Interest Policy

Complaints Policy

Best Execution Policy

We need to know your nationality as part of our regulatory requirements. If you’re a UK national, this is covered with your National Insurance Number; for non-UK nationals or those with dual-nationality, we’ll need your National Client Identifier.

Please note: US citizens or those paying tax to the US are not able to invest or save with primebroker.

Please note: MIFID II only applies to our investment products.
Its full name is Market in Financial Instruments Directive II. Its key aims are to offer better investor protection and increase transparency.
It does this in several ways, and we’ve included the highlights below.

Costs & charges
Traditionally, some investment companies haven’t included all the costs that relate to the service provided. For instance, not including fund charges or the transaction costs related to buying and selling investments. These must now be included to make it clear exactly what you’re paying for.

Research has previously found that some customers struggle to understand charges when displayed as percentages. MiFID II requires investment companies to show this in both percentages and monetary amounts, making it easier to see what the service costs you.

Knowledge & competence of employees
MiFID II introduced new rules around the knowledge and competence of employees, ensuring that the employees you speak to have an excellent understanding of the products and services we offer. Clearly, this has always been a top priority for us!

Suitability
The new regulation has strengthened the rules around, ensuring that companies offer their customers suitable investment portfolios. We do this when you go through our questionnaire when you first sign up to primebroker.

Transaction Monitoring
We are now required to report the trades we place to the regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This allows the FCA to keep tabs on all the trades placed by investments companies throughout the UK, to protect both the financial system and yourself from any potential market abuse (sometimes called insider trading).

Please note: MIFID II only applies to our investment products.

If you do not provide your nationality details, we will not be able to buy and sell exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on your behalf, and this could impact on the performance of your primebroker Investment Plan. As we cater for both Channel Islands and UK mainland, it is necessary to know your nationality details so that we're able to generate the appropriate Consolidated Tax Certificate.

Please note: MIFID II only applies to our investment products.

The new rules require us to share your name, date of birth, nationality, and National Client Identifier (NCI) with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for every Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) trade we place on your behalf.

We issue a yearly tax statement to customers who hold investments within a general investment account (GIA) or in other words a 'non-ISA' account.

If you hold a GIA, you'll receive a Consolidated Tax Certificate (CTC), which includes details of any dividends and income for the period.

As dividend, income or capital gains are not reportable on ISAs, you will not receive a report if you hold an ISA plan.

Each time we buy and sell investments on your behalf, it results in a capital gain or loss. Your account will contain all transaction information, which can then be used to calculate this figure, since we may still trade on your behalf during periodic rebalancing of customers’ Plans. If you need to declare capital gains on your self-assessment tax return, you’ll need to combine this figure with any other capital gains or losses made from other investments you hold. If you're subject to UK tax in the usual way, you have a capital gains total allowance of £6,000 in the financial year 2023/24, and will only need to report total gains in excess of this.

Receiving a CTC does not mean that you have to complete a tax return — we are required to send this information to customers who held any investments outside an ISA for any time during the period.

If you’re unsure if you have to complete a tax return, visit www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns/who-must-send-a-tax-return or call the HMRC helpline on 0300 200 3300.

Learn more about Capital Gains Tax: www.gov.uk/topic/personal-tax/capital-gains-tax

The tax treatment of your investment will depend on your individual circumstances and may change in the future.

Interest generated on your Savings Account is classed as taxable income. This means, depending on your personal circumstances, you may need to fill out a self assessment of the interest your savings generate. For more information (and to find out if it applies to you), click this link to the HMRC website.