KidSave Terms & Conditions
Section 2: Additional Platform Terms
Section 3: Additional ISA Terms
Section 4: Additional JISA Terms
Section 5: Additional GIA Terms
Appendix 1: Conflicts of Interest Policy
Appendix 3: Glossary of Defined Terms
These Terms are for KidStart members who have applied for, or opened, a KidSave Account and contain important information about the services that we provide to you. Please read them carefully before accepting them. If there is anything contained in these Terms that you do not understand, please do not hesitate to get in touch by emailing us at [email protected].
They should be read in conjunction with the existing KidStart terms and conditions including the Membership Rules, Terms of Access, and Privacy & Security Policy. If there is anything in the KidStart terms and conditions that conflict with these Terms then these Terms shall prevail.
Last updated 31/03/24.
Section 1: General Terms
Your Agreement with Us
We (KidStart Limited, Company Registration number 05439349) are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), whose address is 12 Endeavour Square, London, E20 1JN. Our FCA registration number is 473606 and registered address is 10 Plato Place, 72-74 St Dionis Road, London, SW6 4TU.
Start of this Agreement
When you open a KidSave Account you will be accepting these Terms as a part of your application. Your Application is subject to our acceptance. We will notify you via the website once your application has been approved and your Account has been opened. Some terms relating to your KidSave Account may only become applicable once this has happened.
Appointment of Custody Provider
KidStart has entered into an agreement with Seccl Custody Limited (the “Custody Provider”) under which it provides the Platform and associated Platform Services in respect of your investments made through your KidSave Account. The Custody Provider’s terms and conditions are included in section 2.
By applying for a KidSave Account, you agree that we are authorised as your agent to appoint the Custody Provider to provide these services to you as outlined in section 2. You agree that we are authorised as your agent to terminate the appointment of the Custody Provider and to instruct the Custody Provider to transfer your Assets to an alternative provider selected and appointed by us.
You should direct all enquiries regarding your Account to us and not the Custody Provider as the Custody Provider will not accept instructions from you directly.
We will take all reasonable steps to ensure that the Platform Services are provided to you in accordance with these Terms, all applicable laws and all applicable FCA Rules.
Your Right to Cancel
You may cancel your Application at any time within 30 days of submitting your Application. If you notify us that you wish to cancel your KidSave Account, you agree that we may sell any investments that may have been made during the cancellation period and we will not be responsible for any losses that you may incur as a result.
Customer Protection
Both we and the Custody Provider will treat you as a Retail Client as defined by the FCA Rules. This entitles you to certain protections under these Rules.
The KidSave Services
The Services we provide to you include:
- -the provision of the Website (or, if the Website is not available for an extended period, such alternative means as we may specify) to allow you to apply for and open a KidSave Account, invest and manage your selected investments, and view information about your Account;
- -the functionality to allow you to invite others to contribute to your children’s Accounts;
- -arranging safekeeping for your investments
We will do our best to ensure that the Website and your Account are available for you to use at any time, However, there may be interruptions or delays to our services and times when the Website and your Account may not be available and where we may not be able to facilitate your investment instructions.
We may suspend the operation of our services if we consider it necessary, including because of technical problems, emergencies, maintenance, regulatory reasons, if we decide it is sensible for your protection, or in periods of exceptional trading activity.
KidStart is committed to treating you fairly when we manage your Account. Under the FCA’s Rules, when transmitting your instructions we are required to act in your best interests and to take all reasonable steps to obtain the best possible result.
Selecting Investments and Risks
We do not provide financial or investment advice. If you are unsure about what to do or do not understand any aspect of the products or services then you should seek advice from an appropriately qualified financial advisor BEFORE making any commitment.
Any investment made through your Account is subject to potential loss in value and we offer no guarantee as to its performance. You may not recoup the original amount you invested, up to and including losing the entire value of your investment. The past performance of your investment is not a guide to its future performance.
Prior to making any decision to invest you must read the “Key Investor Information Document” or “KIID” relating to the relevant Fund or Security. The KIID contains important information of which you should be aware. You can access the KIID via the Website.
Your Use of our Website
KidStart will provide you with security details to access your Account. You must keep these details safe and confidential and notify KidStart immediately if you think that someone else may know these details and/or may have unauthorised access to your Account.
You must not undertake any action that could compromise the security or effective working of our Services. Any such action will be considered a material breach of these Terms.
You are responsible for monitoring your Account, ensuring that you read all messages that have been sent to you (whether through the Website, via the email address you have provided to us, or any other means) and informing us if there is something wrong on your Account.
Opening your KidSave Account
Before we open your KidSave Account, we are required to verify your identity under UK anti-money-laundering legislation. We will search your record for this purpose at credit reference and other agencies and you authorise us to do so, sharing your personal information if necessary. These checks may be recorded at the credit reference agencies but should not affect your credit score or be visible to others.
In support of our verification checks, we may ask you to provide us with documents and other information from time to time and you will provide these and warrant to us that these documents and all information you give us will be complete and correct.
You confirm that (a) you are aged 18 or over, (b) you are UK resident for tax purposes, and (c) you are not a U.S. Person. You agree to notify us immediately if any of these ceases to be correct.
We reserve the right to reject your Application at our discretion without giving you a reason. We will typically open your Account once we have validated your identity to our satisfaction and when a Contribution is expected.
Your KidSave Account can be used to invest in Permitted Investments through one or more KidSave Products. Specific terms relevant to these Products are included in sections 3-5.
Contributions / Transfers In
Contributions into a Product within your Account must be in Sterling and can be made as a one-off or regular payment using a direct debit instruction from a bank account in your name, a transfer of an existing ISA, Child Trust Fund or JISA and/or other methods as communicated through our Website from time to time.
In the case of a KidSave JISA, Contributions can also be made through a transfer of KidStart Savings (as defined by the KidStart Member Rules); and/or a payment from third party donors you invite to contribute.
In the case of Contributions made by direct debit, Contributions may be subject to certain minima, as notified from time to time through the Website. We will notify you when and how your Contributions will be collected after your direct debit instruction is set up through us.
To comply with anti-money-laundering legislation, we may require you to provide additional documentation in support of a Contribution, and we may decline any Contribution entirely at our discretion.
Contributions will be held in accordance with the Payment Services Regulations 2009 in a segregated account with a financial institution and will not be available for investment until cleared.
You are responsible for ensuring that contributions to your KidSave ISA and/or a KidSave JISA for which you are the Registered Contact, are within allowable limits set out in the ISA Regulations. We may return any over-subscription without your further authority or we may credit such over-subscription to a GIA that we may set up for this purpose. (The provisions of section 5 will apply to such account.)
Any Transfer In of an existing ISA, Child Trust Fund or Junior ISA must be in cash.
Investment Allocation and Dealing
When you apply for a KidSave Account, we ask you to choose how you would like Contributions to be allocated between Permitted Investments (“Allocation”). You may change the Allocation at any point through the Website but you are solely responsible for determining the Allocation.
Receipt of cleared Contributions in cash in your Account will constitute an instruction to use those funds to purchase investments in the proportion set by your Allocation in place at that time. Any funds which cannot be invested due to the amount not being sufficient to purchase units or a fraction of a unit of your selected funds will be held in cash.
The Custody Provider execute your Order in line with their Execution Policy (available at seccl.tech/order-execution) and their conditions contained in section 2.
Funds are priced based on the value of their underlying holdings and most funds will calculate and publish a price every working day typically at noon, meaning there is no continuous pricing of fund units during the day. (To check when your funds value, you should check the specific KIID for the fund).
Orders will generally be routed by the Custody Provider to the appropriate fund manager for execution at the next available valuation point for the particular fund which depending on when the cleared Contributions are received in your Account could be the same day or next working day.
For clarity, the forward pricing system used by funds means that you will not know the exact price at which you will buy or sell. Contributions made to your Account are initially made into a pooled Client Account held by the Custody Provider before being reconciled to your Account and, although this will typically happen immediately, it can take longer so that we cannot guarantee when Contributions made will be traded.
Over time, the value of the individual Funds or Securities in your Account may change so that they are in a different proportion to the Allocation you initially set. It is your responsibility to monitor your account to decide if you would like to change the Allocation. If you change your Allocation and your existing assets are in a different proportion to your new Allocation, this will create an Order to sell some or all of your existing Securities or Fund and reinvest the proceeds in another Security or Fund. This is known as a ‘Switch’.
The sale will normally be placed for next valuation point after receipt of your Order. Switching will be carried out in accordance with the Execution Policy of the Custody Provider applicable from time to time. The Switch may take a number of working days to implement to allow for cash generated by selling one fund to settle before buying the other fund. (The time take for funds to settle varies but can be several days after the date of the actual order being implemented).
On executing Orders, some cash may be automatically retained in your account in order to settle future fees. The process of allocating your Contributions may also result in small differences to your Allocation due to rounding.
We will give access to your Documentation via the Website confirming the details of any transaction promptly upon receipt by us of such Documentation.
You must notify KidStart if you receive confirmation of an Order which you did not place or which has not been completed in accordance with your instructions. Please note that you are responsible for checking the accuracy of Documentation and informing us immediately if there appears to be an inaccuracy.
Transfers Out and Withdrawals
You can transfer out your KidSave Product to another provider at any time, subject to the applicable legislation and HMRC regulations (“Transfer Out”). You will need to contact your new plan manager and make arrangements in accordance with their requirements. Your new plan manager contact us to arrange the transfer.
You may only Transfer Out your entire KidSave ISA or KidSave JISA in cash; partial transfers are not permitted.
Subject to the specific terms relating to the individual KidSave Products, requests for Withdrawals from your account can be made via the Website and will be sent by bank transfer to your Nominated Bank Account. If your Withdrawal request is for greater than the balance in your Cash Reserve Account, an Order to sell Funds or Securities to the required amount proportionately across your holdings will be placed on the next working day. Depending on the fund it can take several days after the order being implemented for proceeds to settle and the Withdrawal will then typically be paid to you within five business days of receipt of all proceeds by the Custody Provider.
For clarity, as for purchases the forward pricing system used by funds means that you will not know the exact price at which you will sell, nor can we guarantee the day on which the Order is placed.
Payment may be delayed if a fund manager has not sent settlement proceeds to the Custody Provider or if anti-money-laundering and bank verification checks have not been completed successfully. To prevent fraud, we may also delay payment while we confirm bank details for the payment.
You may only request one Withdrawal at a time and you will be unable to place a further Withdrawal request until the previous Withdrawal has been completed. If a Switch order is in process, then the Withdrawal may also be delay until the Switch is completed.
We may deduct from any amount to be paid to you any outstanding fees due from you. In addition, we may hold back an amount which we reasonably estimate will be enough to meet any tax liability due to HMRC under the ISA regulations or otherwise.
We may delay payment until we know that all payments made by you have cleared and we have received all amounts you owe to us.
You may close your account at any time by emailing or writing to us and Withdrawing all the assets (as permitted under the specific terms relating to the individual KidSave Product), or transferring them in cash to another provider.
Fees
You are responsible for the fees set out in the Schedule of Charges attached at Appendix 2 in respect of our provision of the Services.
Fees are calculated monthly, based on the end of month Account value, and will be deducted from the respective Cash Reserve Account as outlined from time to time on the Website and in Appendix 2.
We will also be entitled to charge all taxes, duties or levies to which we or the Custody Provider become liable as a result of acquiring, holding or disposing of any investment or other asset allocated to your KidSave Product. We reserve the right to pass on any charges imposed by any third parties incurred by any transfer, Withdrawal or termination.
Charges will be applied to, and paid from, the Cash Reserve Account for the KidSave Product in which the Assets generated the charge, save that charges relating to Assets held within a KidSave ISA or KidSave JISA may be applied to the KidSave GIA providing a KidSave GIA exists and has sufficient cash to cover the charges.
Where your account does not hold sufficient cash to pay the fees dues, we will be entitled to dispose of investments at our discretion and without liability in order to pay the amounts due, or require you to pay us the amounts due.
If for any reason the value of your investments is insufficient to meet any such fees, charges, expenses or tax payable, you agree to pay us on demand the amount of any such shortfall.
Communications and documentation
We will give you documentation regarding the investment transactions you carry out in your Account in accordance with the FCA Rules. These can include contract notes, valuation reports, periodic statements, and your annual consolidated tax certificate (“Documentation”).
By entering into the KidSave Agreement you agree and consent to the electronic delivery of Documentation via email and the Website. Should you wish to receive paper communications, this may be subject to additional fees as outlined in the Schedule of Charges in Appendix 2.
We will send all notices and correspondence to you using the information you have given us by such means as we shall consider appropriate which may include communication by email, by post and/or via the Website.
You are responsible for ensuring that the contact information we have for you is up-to-date. You accept that where we are required to provide you with written notice then this may be given to you via the last email address you have provided and an email sent to that email address will be deemed valid notice for all purposes.
If we require your input and are unable to reach you, we may temporarily suspend or close your KidSave Account and/or KidSave Product(s).
We cannot guarantee that electronic communications will be successfully delivered, or that they will be secure and virus free. We will not be liable for any loss, damage, expense, harm or inconvenience caused as a result of a communication, including email, being lost, delayed, intercepted, corrupted or otherwise altered, or failing to be delivered for any reason beyond our control.
All communications in relation to these Terms, and the agreements and services they refer to, will be in English.
Instructions Given Via the Website
When you use the Website to make changes to your KidSave Account or the KidSave Product(s), or to indicate your intention to undertake an investment transaction, such use and interaction will constitute your instructions to us.
You understand that, in certain circumstances as detailed in these Terms, we may restrict or suspend your access and use of the Website. In particular, you should note that we may take this action where (a) we reasonably believe that the security of your KidSave Account or KidSave Product has been compromised, and/or (b) it is illegal or against any relevant rule or regulation for instructions to be sent to the relevant third parties.
You agree that all instructions and authorisations given by you in relation to the KidSave Products and the investments made in respect of your KidSave Account must be sent by you personally and by no other person, and that your instructions are effective when they are received by us.
When receiving and transmitting instructions from you to buy or sell your investments, the Custody Provider will apply their Order Execution Policy (available at seccl.tech/order-execution). Where a delay occurs in transmitting an instruction due to factors outside our reasonable control (including, without limitation, where the Website is unavailable) we will ensure that your instruction is executed as soon as possible. However, we will not otherwise be responsible for any delay.
Your Personal Information and Data
By applying to open a KidSave Account and by using the Website in relation to the KidSave Services and the Platform Services you hereby consent to our processing your personal data in accordance with our Privacy & Security Policy.
You authorise us to provide HMRC with any information required by them concerning your KidSave Accounts.
Conflicts of Interest
We, or anyone connected with us, may carry out certain transactions for you where we, or another client of ours, have a duty that may conflict with our duty to you.
We are determined to treat our clients fairly at all times. We have a policy to ensure that we identify and handle conflicts between the interests of the KidStart, our employees and our clients and also between clients fairly and treat our clients with honesty and integrity at all times.
Our Conflicts of Interest Policy is detailed in Appendix 1. The policy sets out the types of actual or potential conflicts of interest which may arise given the nature of our business and provides details of how these would be managed.
Our Liability to You
Subject to the FCA Rules, we shall not be liable for any losses suffered by you unless such loss arises from our negligence or fraud, or from our failure to comply with applicable laws or the FCA Rules.
We will not be liable for any loss incurred by you which arises, either wholly or in part, as a result of an event which is beyond our reasonable control to prevent and the effect of which is beyond our reasonable power to avoid in relation to your KidSave Account including, by way of example, our inability to communicate with you due to computer failure or any breakdown or failure of transmission, delays or changes in market conditions, currency fluctuation, failure of any relevant third party to perform its obligations, riots, civil commotion, acts of terror or war, industrial action, governmental restrictions, acts of God or nature, or our taking any action, or omitting to take any action, to the extent we are required to do so under applicable laws and regulations.
We are not responsible for any loss including loss of profit or loss of value in any investment acquired or disposed of or not acquired or disposed of at your request or otherwise in accordance with our rights under these Terms unless such loss results from fraud, wilful misconduct, negligence or breach of regulatory duty by us or any of our employees.
We will be entitled to dispose of any investment if, in our reasonable opinion, continued retention of such investment would be unlawful, contrary to the ISA Regulations or would impose tax or other costs on us or expose us to liabilities which in each case we may not be able to meet from your KidSave Product(s).
We will be entitled to dispose of any investment if required to do so by the terms of any agreement to which we are a party. We will inform you of such an event in advance where feasible.
We will take reasonable care and exercise reasonable due skill, care and diligence in the assessment, selection and appointment of the custodians, bankers, counterparties, agents and other third parties. We accept responsibility for any losses, damages or costs suffered or incurred by you to the extent these are caused by our negligence, wilful default or fraud in the assessment, selection or appointment of such persons. We will not be responsible in any other circumstance for the acts or omissions of any such third parties.
In any event our liability to you will not exceed a sum equal to the charges that have been paid to us in respect of your investments in the twelve month period preceding the event giving rise to any such liability. Nothing in this clause will act to limit our liability in respect of any liability that cannot be limited as a matter of law.
Your Liability
You will be responsible for any liability or loss suffered or incurred by KidStart (including taxes for which you are primarily liable and any expenses reasonably and properly incurred) as a result of your breaching these Terms or providing untrue, inaccurate or incomplete information in connection with your KidSave Account.
This clause will not apply if and to the extent that any liability or loss arises from any negligence, fraud, breach of duty or other basis for loss which cannot be limited by law on the part of KidStart.
No provision of the KidSave Agreement will or is intended to restrict, qualify or exclude any duty owed to you under applicable laws relating to the provision of services or under the FCA Rules. For further information about your rights under these applicable laws contact your local Citizens’ Advice Bureau.
Tax
You are responsible for all tax liabilities associated with your KidSave Product(s).
Under current HMRC legislation, income and gains generated within the KidSave ISA and KidSave JISA tax wrappers are free from tax.
A KidSave GIA is not a tax-sheltered account. You may incur tax liability on any gains made through the sale of investments held in a KidSave GIA.
We do not provide any financial, investment, legal or tax advice. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances, current law, and HMRC practice, which may be subject to change. You are advised to seek advice from a tax professional prior to investing on the tax treatment of all your investments.
Delegation
We may appoint another person or entity (“Delegate”) to advise on or perform all or part of the KidSave Agreement, provided that we take all reasonable steps to ensure that such Delegate is suitably competent and qualified to do so. Where we appoint a Delegate (a) this will not affect our liability to you for the KidSave Services we have delegated, and (b) this will be undertaken in accordance with these Terms and all applicable laws and the FCA’s Rules. Any group company shall be entitled to enforce provisions of these Terms which shall apply to it as if it were a party to the contract.
Amendments
We may amend these Terms, the KidSave Agreement, at our sole discretion for any reason we consider necessary or appropriate. Your continued use of your Account and the Platform after any changes are posted means you agree to be bound by the Terms as amended.
If we propose to make a change to these Terms that we consider is not detrimental to you, we can make the change immediately. We will make information available to you about the change within twenty eight (28) days of the change. If we make a change to these Terms that may in our view be detrimental to you, we will provide you with at least twenty eight days advance notice of the proposed change.
Termination
You may terminate your Agreement at any time by providing us with notice, subject to the settlement of all outstanding transactions. Transactions already in progress will be completed in the normal course of business. Where possible under applicable law, we will close your Account as soon as practicable after receiving your notice to terminate the Agreement. These Terms will continue to apply to any Account that continues in existence.
Our fees (as set out in Appendix 2) shall continue to apply until the later of (1) the date of the termination of the Agreement, or (2) the settlement of all outstanding transactions in respect of your Account (3) the due closure of the Account.
We may terminate your Agreement at any time by giving you thirty (30) business days’ prior notice subject to the settlement of all outstanding transactions.
We may terminate your Agreement immediately, freeze your Account, or take steps to freeze transactions through your KidSave Product(s) without giving you advance notice if we reasonably believe that you:
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have materially breached any of the terms of the Agreement or have otherwise provided us with false or misleading information;
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are using, or allowing another person to use, your Account illegally or for criminal activity;
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have behaved in an inappropriate manner (for example, if you abuse any of our staff); or
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have failed to pay any of the amounts owed under the Agreement.
We may also terminate the Agreement immediately if we reasonably believe that providing you with a service exposes us to action or censure from any law enforcement, government or regulatory body.
Where we terminate the Agreement immediately or freeze your Account as set out above, we will inform you in writing immediately of our decision and our reasons for making that decision.
On termination of the Agreement for any reason, we will re-register your assets and transfer your cash as you reasonably request. If you make no reasonable request, we may at our discretion take steps to re-register your assets into your own name and to transfer your cash to you, or take advice from HMRC as to the appropriate steps in the circumstances.
If relevant to you, please also see the Additional ISA Terms set out in Section 3 and the Additional JISA Terms set out in Section 4 below for additional termination provisions with respect to these respective KidSave Products.
Complaints
If you have any complaint in relation to the services provided by us, please notify us by email at [email protected]. We will acknowledge your complaint promptly and arrange for the matter to be investigated in accordance with the rules of the FCA (the “FCA Rules”) and report the results to you. Please contact us for a copy of our Complaints Handling Policy.
If your complaint is unresolved or not settled to your satisfaction, you may refer it directly to the Financial Ombudsman Service (“FOS”). The address of the FOS is Exchange Tower, London E14 9SR. You can also telephone the FOS at: 0800 023 4 567, or email the FOS at: [email protected]. You can find out further information about the FOS on its website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.
Compensation
KidStart is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (“FSCS”). You may be entitled to compensation from the FSCS if we have ceased trading or have been declared to be in default and unable to meet our respective obligations. Further information about compensation is available from the FSCS (www.fscs.org.uk).
If an investment does not meet its objectives or underperforms, this will not in itself entitle you to compensation from the FSCS, as investment performance is not guaranteed.
Assignment
This agreement is personal to you and may not be transferred to another person.
We may transfer our rights and obligations under these Terms and/or the KidSave Agreement at any time without your consent to another entity within our group, or to a third party outside of our group where we reasonably consider that the transfer will not compromise your rights.
Death
Upon your death, your legal representative should inform KidStart as soon as possible. An ISA or JISA automatically terminates upon the plan holder’s death. Upon death, your KidSave ISA or KidSave JISA will cease to be tax exempt and will be closed.
We will continue to hold your Assets and any cash until we receive a sealed Grant of Probate or equivalent document, together with instructions from your executors or personal representatives, upon whom these Terms become binding. We will cease to reclaim tax on any income distributions received after the date of death and will repay to HMRC any tax refunds already received in respect of income paid after the date of death.
We will not reinvest Income but will hold it in your Client Account until we can pay it as your executors or personal representatives direct. Any tax reclaimed on Income distributions paid between the date of your death and notification of your death will be deducted by us.
Governing Law
Any dispute arising in connection with this Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with English law and the English courts will have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any such dispute.
If any provision of these Terms become invalid or unenforceable, the relevant provision will be treated as if it were not in the Terms, and the remaining provisions will still be valid and enforceable.
Third Parties
A person who is not party to this agreement may not enforce any of its terms under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.