Purpose and scope
The purpose of the complaints handling policy (the Policy) is to describe how FRD intends to:
- establish an efficient and transparent framework for handling a complaint and ensuring that a complaint is treated fairly and promptly
- meet its regulatory obligations
- ensure that systematic and recurring matters are identified and rectified
- improve the internal service delivery function
The scope of this Policy requires all FRD employees to:
- understand the definition of a complaint and a complainant
- be aware of what to do if they receive a complaint
- understand their role in respect of complaint handling
- co-operate with staff handling a complaint and treat complaints as a priority.
FRD employees are responsible for adhering to the requirements of this Policy. FRD employees should consult their line Manager and or the Compliance function if they are uncertain with respect to the Policy.
Receipt of a complaint made by a complainant
For the purpose of this Policy and related Procedure, a complaint is to be considered as a filed statement in one of the official languages of Luxembourg (German, French and Luxembourgish) to recognize a right or to redress a harm addressed to FRD by a natural or legal person relating to the provision of the services rendered by FRD.
The complainant is defined as a natural or legal person who is presumed to be eligible to have a complaint considered by FRD and who has already lodged a complaint. The Complainant can address its complaint directly to FRD or indirectly through an FRD delegated party (Sub-distributor).
FRD employees shall inform the Complainant of the name and contact details of the CSSF approved person in charge of handling complaints on behalf of FRD (the Complaints Handling Officer) upon receipt of a complaint.
The Complaints Handling Officer will acknowledge receipt of a complaint in writing, within 48h hours of receipt and in any event not exceeding 10 business days of receipt.
Upon receipt of the complaint, the Complaints Handling Officer shall inform FRD’s Authorised management and propose the most relevant way to respond. if the complaint specifically addresses issues with a product promoted by the Company, the Complaints Handling Officer will liaise with the relevant department at the manufacturer’s level swiftly.
The Complaints Handling Officer will thoroughly investigate the complaint to ascertain all the relevant facts and endeavour to resolve the complaint as fairly as possible and at the earliest opportunity.
Within one month of receiving the complaint, the Complaints Handling Officer will report in writing to the Complainant on the outcome of the investigation, and, where the complaint is upheld, propose a fair resolution.
If a complaint is particularly complex, it may take longer to investigate or to reach a final decision; in which case, the Complaints Handling Officer still contacts the Complainant in due time after receiving the complaint and will inform when FRD expect to be able to provide a response. The contact details to be provided to a Complainant are:
Via email to:
frd_complaints@fundrock.com
Via post to:
FundRock Distribution S.A., Attention: Complaints Handling, Airport Center building, 5 Heienhaff, L-1736 Senningerberg, Luxembourg.
If the complainant lodges a complaint via the FRD Business and Development department or any other department within the Company, that department must forward the complaint to the Complaints Handling Officer immediately.
The complaints will be handled by the Compliance Department, which implies that the Chief Compliance officer is the Conducting Officer in charge of the complaints management and its support staff (the Compliance Officer) is the Company’s Complaints Handling Officer.
Admissibility of a complaint
To be considered as admissible, any complaint addressed directly to FRD should be in writing (regular mail or email), even though the Complainant initially raises the complaint verbally. FRD employees must request that the Complainant submit a formal written complaint in line with the process described in this policy, addressed directly to the Complaints Handling Officer at the above contact details.
A complaint is not to be confused with a query which is a request for information or a question that can be either handled at the first point of contact or requires further investigation, but it does not denote real dissatisfaction to recognize a right or to redress a harm related to a financial product or service rendered by FRD.
Technical aspects to be respected
The Complaints Handling Officer should provide a written response to the Complainant either via a letter or by electronic mail regarding the resolution of a complaint in line with the deadline set above.
The response should contain:
- the outcome of the investigation
- a clear explanation as to why the complaint has been upheld or rejected
- details of any redress or compensation offered where applicable
- details of measures that will be considered in order to prevent further similar complaints
Where the Complainant did not obtain an answer or a satisfactory answer at the level at which s/he submitted his/her complaint in the first instance, the internal procedure shall give him/her the opportunity to raise the complaint up to the level of the Conducting Officer. In this respect, the Complaints Handling Officer shall provide the professional contact details of the Conducting Officer.
Where the complaint handling at the Conducting Officer’s level did not result in a satisfactory answer for the Complainant, the Conducting Officer shall provide the Complainant with a full explanation by FRD as regards to the complaint, inform the Complainant in writing of the existence of the out-of-court complaint resolution procedure at the CSSF and send a copy of this regulation or the reference to the CSSF website, as well as the different means to contact the CSSF to file a request.
FRD’s duties and responsibilities
Organisational arrangements
Although FRD employees must be aware of the Policy, the set of tasks and responsibilities are assigned to and shared between:
- senior Management
- a Complaints Handling Officer
- Compliance Department
- Internal Audit
Key requirements and key tasks
Senior Management:
- is in charge of the respect of the Policy and Procedure
- shall review the annual complaint handling report for the CSSF regarding the activity on complaints handling
- present quarterly complaints report to the Board of Directors.
Complaints Handling Officer:
- is responsible for the effective application of the processes set up by the Complaints Handling Policy, including the maintenance of a complaints registry in order to have a complete record of all complaints at all times.
- is in charge of the day-to-day management of the complaint handling process and notably the proper follow up of the complaints in accordance with the provisions on professional secrecy set by Article 16 of the Luxembourg law of 23 December 1998 establishing the regulator of the financial sector and confidentiality obligations deriving from article 7 of the CSSF Regulation 16-07 relating to out-of-court complaint resolution
- will prepare and file the annual complaint handling report to be provided to the CSSF latest by 1st of March each year and covering the previous calendar year
- given FRD’s specific business model and the low probability that the Company receives complaints, the Complaints handling officer will only provide reports to the monthly Management Committee and quarterly Board of Directors when complaints arrive at his desk.
Compliance Department:
- drafts and reviews on an annual basis the adequacy of the Complaints Handling Policy with relevant laws and regulations
- shall inform the relevant staff of any change in the existing regulation
- shall ensure compliance with the Policy, including by implementing testing as part of the Compliance Monitoring Plan if necessary
- shall ensure, in collaboration with the DPO that the complainant’s personal data are processed in accordance with the applicable legal provisions
Internal Audit:
- Must review as part of their audit plan the proper application of the policy / procedure and the adequacy of the policy / procedure with relevant laws and regulations.
Data protection
Pursuant to article 1 of the EU Regulation 2016/679 (the General Data Protection Regulation, hereafter “GDPR”), rules relating to the processing of personal data and to the free movement of the latter concern natural persons.
Although its business model excludes retail investors and despite the fact that it does not enter in a contractual relation with its investors, FRD targeting natural persons requesting to be treated as professional investors in the sense of Annex II of the MiFID II Directive is likely to put the Company in the position of data controller.
FRD takes the necessary measures to ensure that the processing of personal data during the handling of the compliant complies with the personal data protection rules set by the GDPR.
The Company will retain the complainant's personal data throughout the business relationship, and Seven years after the end of the business relationship. In the case of a complainant with whom FRD does not have a business relationship, personal data will be kept for 5 years after the closure of the complaint. The retention period was chosen in order to anticipate possible future legal proceedings.
Once one of these two retention periods have been reached, the complaints files will be completely erased from the Company’s drive.
Only the Compliance Department can access to the complainant’s personal data related to the complaint.
Any question relating to the processing of personal data may be addressed to the Data Protection Officer via the following email address: dpo.luxembourg@apexgroup.com.
Without prejudice to other legal and administrative procedures, the complainant has the right to lodge a complaint with the Commission Nationale pour la Protection des données in Luxembourg, or any personal data regulator of the countries where the branches are located when these are concerned.
