Remuneration
Con Brosnan T/A  Brosnan Financial Services, (as regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland)  act as an intermediary (Broker) between you the consumer and the product provider with whom we place your business. Full details of our remuneration are detailed below and for any enquires please call John Brosnan on : 01 4306767.

The Background
Pursuant to provision 4.58A of the Central Bank of Ireland’s September 2019 Addendum to the Consumer Protection Code, all intermediaries, must make available on their website, a summary of the details of all arrangements for any commission provided to the intermediary which it has agreed with its product providers together with details of any direct fees which may be charged directly by the intermediary to the consumer.

What is Remuneration?
Remuneration is the payment earned by the intermediary for work undertaken on behalf of both the provider and the consumer. The amount of remuneration is generally directly related to the value of the products sold and may include commission and or direct administration or advisory fees.

What is Commission?
Commission is a payment that may be earned by an intermediary for work undertaken for both provider and consumer, commission models include:
• Single commission model: where payment is made to the intermediary shortly after the sale is completed and is based on a percentage of the premium paid/amount invested.
• Trail/Renewal commission model: Further payments at intervals are paid throughout the life span of the product.
• Indemnity Commission: This is the term used to describe a commission payment made before the commission is deemed to be ‘earned’. Indemnity commission may be subject to a clawback (see below) if the consumer lapses or cancels the product before the commission is deemed to be earned. The typical earning period to avoid commission clawback is 5 years from policy inception.

Life Assurance/Investments/Pension Products
For insurer protection and investment products commission is divided into initial commission and renewal commission (related to premium), fund based or trail commission (relating to accumulated fund).

Trail commission, bullet commission, fund-based, flat commission or renewal commission are all terms used for ongoing payments. Where an investment fund is being built up through an insurance-based investment product or a pension product, the increments may be based on a percentage of the value of the fund or the annual premium. For a single premium/lump sum product the increment is generally based on the value of the fund.

Life Assurance products fall into either individual or group protection policies and Investment/Pension products would be either single or regular contribution policies. Examples of products include Life Protection, Regular Premium Life Assurance Investments, Single Premium (lump sum) Insurance-based Investments, and Single Premium Pensions.

Investments
Investment firms, which fall within the scope of the European Communities (Markets in Financial Instruments) Regulations 2007 (the MiFID Regulations), offer both standard commission and commission models involving initial and trail commission. Increments may be based on a percentage of the investment management fees, or on the value of the fund.

Commission Clawback
Clawback is an obligation on the intermediary to repay unearned commission. A commission can be paid directly after a contract is concluded but is not deemed to be ‘earned’ until after a specified period of time. If the consumer cancels or withdraws from the financial product within the specified time, the intermediary must return the commission to the product producer.

How Brosnan Financial Services Receives Remuneration
Brosnan Financial Services may receive remuneration by way of provider paid commission or by way of directly invoiced investment advisory, complex case, application alteration or early cancellation fees on the basis outlined below:

Commission
Where provider commission is paid to us, it is on a reduced basis to allow us to pass on savings to you the client by way of cheaper protection premiums and reduced investment and pension fund management charges.
Where we receive a recurring commission, this may form part of the standard remuneration for initial advice provided on Protection business/life insurance products and for a comprehensive level of ongoing support provided to you on Investment and Pensions business, details of this are provided below:

Protection
With regard to Protection products which include Mortgage Protection, Life Insurance, Serious Illness, and Income Protection, where provider “initial commission” is paid to us, it is on a reduced basis to allow us to pass on savings to you the client by way of cheaper fixed premiums. The level of once-off initial commission paid is based on the equivalent of the first years’ annual premium due and may be clawed back by the product provider, where the policy is cancelled within the first 2 years of policy inception.
Renewal commission to a maximum of 3% of the annual premium may apply.

Pensions, Investments & Savings
With regard to Pension, Investment & Savings products which include individual and group pensions, post-retirement AMRF’s/ARF’s and educational savings plans, where provider “initial commission” is paid to us, it is on a reduced basis to allow us to pass on lower investment charges to the client. The level of once-off initial commission paid is based on the lump sum invested or the equivalent annual premium for monthly contribution products and may be clawed back by the product provider, where the policy is cancelled within the first 5 years of inception.

We do not take “renewal commission” but may in some cases receive a minimum fund-based trail commission of 0.25% PA, for ongoing investment updates, advice and support.

The maximum commission levels made available to all intermediaries by our product providers is outlined via our product provider links below, please note that unlike the majority of intermediaries, we do not take a maximum commission on any protection, pension, savings or investment product, but always apply reduced commission rates to reduce your costs.Where possible we have included the actual commission levels that we receive via these links, but should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us:
  • Irish Life
  • New Ireland
  • Royal London
  • Zurich Life
Direct Fees
We do not charge fees as a matter of course or for any quotes or initial telephone or electronic advice, or for the audit on any existing protection, pension or investment product. However, where the consumer chooses to engage our services by way of an online application or request a face to face meeting direct fees may be applicable in the following circumstances:

Protection Fees
(A) Pre Policy Issue – Cancellation
In circumstances where you the customer receive your free on-line discounted quote and free initial application advice and then decide to engage our services by proceeding with your application, which will then involve;

(1) Inputting all details onto the chosen insurer’s platform;
(2) Recording all correspondence on an in-house CMS;
(3) Issuing statements of product suitability;
(4) Liaising with the insurers new business administrators;
(5) Liaising with the insurers underwriting team;
(6) Obtaining health reports if required.

but then choose not to proceed with your policy for any reasons including delays with underwriting requests, policy exclusions, or being declined or postponed, a flat one-off fee of €100.00 will be chargeable via direct invoice to cover our time.

These administration fees, which fall outside of the 30 days cooling-off period will be invoiced directly.

Full details of any known medical condition must be disclosed on any protection application and such issues may be discussed with a Brosnan Financial Services Financial Adviser in advance of application return for advice free of charge.

No fee is chargeable where full medical disclosure is made at the application stage that would indicate a decline or postponement, halting the application.

(B) Change in Application Details
Where a change of policy start date, cover amount or policy term occurs and revised policy documentation is requested, a flat one-off fee of €35.00 will be chargeable via direct invoice.

(C) Post Policy Issue – Cancellation
Where you instruct the issue of your policy documents post-application, but then decide to cancel your policy within 24 months of policy start date an administration fee of €100.00 will be chargeable.

Private Consultation & Audit Fees
Investment Advisory
Where clients have decided to exclude a 0.25% trail commission for ongoing investment-related advice an annual review will occur as standard, but any personal requests for investment advice relating to pensions or investment bonds will be subject to a flat fee of €150.00 by directly and invoiced by Brosnan Financial Services.

Private Consultation
Our fee is €250.00 to have a face to face meeting with a Senior Qualified Financial Advisor to carry out an impartial full financial review, or to discuss any other specific financial requirements, regarding existing pension or investment plans, including post-retirement options.

Audit Fees
For carrying out an audit of any existing pension or investment product, a flat fee of €150.00 will apply payable directly to and invoiced by Brosnan Financial Services.

Advisory – PRSA’s
For advising on the set up of an individual PRSA we offer a once-off fee-based option granting 100% investment allocation with the set 1% AMC. The fee for this service which includes provider comparison and personal investment risk profiling is €300.00 payable directly to Brosnan Financial Services

Employer Consultation – Group Occupational Pensions
We provide a wide choice of leading investment managers, pension scheme administration and trustee services. These low-cost solutions save the employer money by way of maximum investment allocation and minimised investment costs. For this service, our fee is €2,500.00, inclusive of employee presentation, and scheme set-up.
Employer Consultation – Group PRSA Scheme
We provide a wide choice of leading investment managers and pension administration. These low-cost solutions save the employer money by way of maximum investment allocation and minimised investment costs. For this service our fee €1,500.00, inclusive of follow up meetings, employee teleconference, and scheme set-up.

Employer Consultation – Group PRSA Scheme
We provide a wide choice of leading investment managers and pension administration. These low-cost solutions save the employer money by way of maximum investment allocation and minimised investment costs. For this service our fee €1,500.00, inclusive of follow up meetings, employee teleconference, and scheme set-up.