1. Scope
The purpose of this Policy is to establish an efficient and transparent framework for handling client complaints, for the below entities, to ensure that complaints are handled fairly and promptly.
This Policy applies to a complaint defined, in section 2 ("Definitions"), as a complaint filed in accordance with the procedures herein, by any natural or legal person in order to recognise a right or to redress a harm in the name of KMG SICAV-SIF S.A. (the "Investment Scheme"), as defined below.
If there is no doubt that the communication is a complaint, the file will be immediately sent to the Complaints Handling Officer (as per Section 4). The Complaints Handling Officer will investigate and ensure the duly processing of the complaint. Note that simple requests for information or clarification cannot be considered as complaints.
KMG Capital Markets Ltd (the "Company") is a limited company, established in the Republic of Cyprus and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission ('CySEC'), in accordance with the Directive 2011/61/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2011 on Alternative Investment Fund Managers ('AIFMD') that was transposed
into Cyprus Law via the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Law of 2013 (Law 56(I)/2013) and into Luxembourg law via the Law of 12 July 2013 on Alternative Investment Fund Managers ("AIFM Law") and in accordance with section 111 of the Cyprus Open-Ended Undertakings for Collective Investment (UCI) Law of 2012 (the " CY 2012 Law") and the Directive
2009/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 (as amended from time to time) on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS). Its corporate object consists in incorporation and management of UCITS and Alternative
Investment Funds as well as other related activities in accordance with the AIFMD UCITS Directive.
KMG SICAV SIF S.A. is a Luxembourg Société d'Investissement à Capital Variable, regulated by the law of 13 February 2007 relating to specialised investment funds as modified and the law of 10 August 1915 on commercial companies as modified.
The SICAV is an umbrella, meaning that it may create one or several sub-funds.
For the conduct of its business activities, KMG SICAV-SIF S.A. is regulated by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (the "CSSF") as a public limited investment company whose business activities are governed by the provisions of the 13 February, 2010 Law relating to specialised investment funds.
KMG SICAV-SIF S.A., appointed the Company to act as the Alternative Investment Fund Manager both in its capacity as an Alternative management company operating under the regime set out in the Alternative Investment Fund Manager Directive (the "AIFMD") and as per the CY AIFM Law regime, and it is such that it typically delegates some of its portfolio management activities to third parties, while focusing on risk management activities as well as on its oversight function.
This Policy is designed with a view to complying with the requirements set out in:
- The Law of 17 December 2010 relating to undertakings for collective investment;
- the CSSF Regulation Nr 13-02 of October 28, 2013 relating to the out-of-court resolution of complaints (the "CSSF Regulation Nr 13-02");
- the CSSF Circular 14/589 of June 27, 2014 on details concerning the CSSF Regulation Nr 13-02 (the "CSSF Circular 14/589");
- Law of 13 February 2007 relating to specialised investment funds and amending the law of 20 December 2002 relating to undertakings for collective investment, as amended; amending the law of 12 February 1979 on value added tax, as amended;
- the Cyprus Law of Open-Ended Undertakings for Collective Investment (UCI) of 2012 (N78(I)2012)
In order to meet the high expectations of clients (the "Investors"), as defined below, under section '2. Definitions', and to enable the Company to conduct its business activities in a sound manner, it is important that complaints, as defined below under '2. Definitions' are always taken seriously and that the Company acts on such complaints in a prompt, satisfactory and efficient manner. When handling complaints, the Company shall aim to reach solutions that are adequate to the client's best interest as well as to the Company's and the Fund's business.
Several service third-part providers (the "Delegates") provide general investor support and operational services to the Company according to outsourcing service agreements, such as the Administrator, the Depositary, the Distributors, the External Valuers, the delegated Investment Managers, Property Fund Advisors and the Fund Advisors.
As a consequence, the Company is under the obligation to ensure that such Delegates have procedures in place to handle complaints and that such complaints received by the Delegates will be brought to the Company's attention by the latter.
The Director in Charge, as defined in section 4, as well as the Directors of the Company shall ensure that the present Policy is well implemented within the Company and shall provide adequate human and technical resources to implement it.
Furthermore, they shall safeguard that this Policy is regularly updated by its Compliance Department in order to comply with the related developments of the legal frameworks governing its management activities.
2. Definitions
For the proper implementation of this Policy and compliance with the applicable legislation and regulations a complaint is defined, for the purpose of this policy, as a written expression of dissatisfaction by an investor, whether made by a legal or natural person, of the relevant Investment Scheme which is directly addressed to the Investment Schemes or through a delegate in relation to a service provided or withheld by the relevant Investment Scheme or about the behaviour of any employee or officer of the Investment Scheme or the delegate. A complaint is not necessarily founded on valid arguments.
A complaint is considered as a complaint, only when and if, an investor has expressed and addressed in a written format material dissatisfaction with an individual matter related to its investments in the relevant Investment Scheme to the Complaints Handling Officer, as defined below under section 4 "The Complaints Handling Officer" or to the Delegates.
In particular, investor complaints may be divided into two categories: those which are related to portfolio management issues on one hand, and those which arise from operational issues on the other hand.
Portfolio management problems typically will revolve around, but with no limitation to other issues, investment performance concerns.
Operational issues could for example be related to errors and omissions regarding the processing of subscription and redemption orders received from investors.
However, basic information requests as well as oral and/or written expressions of dissatisfaction about circumstances of law that are solved by an initial contact or by a direct corrective measure will not be regarded as complaints by the Company, its Delegates or the Investment Schemes.
3. Information Offered to Investors
The investors shall be informed in an easily accessible manner via the Investment Scheme's website, i.e. the www.kmgsicavsif.com of the available actions if they are dissatisfied and want to file a complaint about their investments in the Investment Scheme.
The 'Complaints' Section of the Investment Scheme's website includes a copy of the 'Complaints Handling Policy' (this policy), which provides clear, detailed and up-to-date information on the complaint handling process including:
| 3.1 | Details of how to complain (type of information to be provided by the investor, identity and contact details of the Complaints Handling Officer, etc.); |
| 3.2 | The procedure that the investor will need to follow to handle their complaint (provided that the Company acknowledges receipt thereof, indicative timetable for handling the complaint, existence of the procedure for out-of-court resolution of complaints before the CSSF, etc.), as described herein. |
A 'Complaints Form' has also been added to the 'Complaints' Section of the Investment Scheme's website, which allows investors to submit a complaint to the Investment Scheme by filling in their contact details and providing a brief summary of their complaint (including attaching any relevant documentation to support their complaint).
4. The Complaints Handling Officer
In line with the provisions of CSSF Circular 14/589, one member of the Board of Directors of each Investment Scheme will be appointed as the person/director in charge for the oversight of the customer complaint handling process vis-à-vis the CSSF.
In the Company, the day-to-day management of this process has been delegated to the Complaints Handling Officer; such delegation as well as its name must be notified to the CSSF in advance as well as the name of the Director in charge of overseeing the Complaints Handling Officer's functions and compliance with the CSSF applicable regulations and guidelines.
The Complaints Handling Officer shall be responsible for:
| 4.1 | Organizing the handling of investor complaints addressed to the Delegates based on a commonly consented complaints handling procedure and on a periodic communication with the authorised persons of the Delegates in relation to managing such complaints; |
| 4.2 | Ensuring that the Delegates' authorised persons are regularly delivered with updated information concerning the legal framework governing complaints handling; |
| 4.3 | Communicating the complaints received directly by the Company (or the Complaints Handling Officer itself) to the relevant Delegate; and |
| 4.4 | Ensuring that each complaint as well as each measure taken to handle it is properly registered. |
5. Receiving Valid Complaints
Complaints may reach the Company via:
| 5.1.1 | Complaints made directly to the Company; |
| 5.1.2 | Complaints made to a Delegate |
All received complaints must be forwarded to the Complaints Handling Officer. The Complaints Handling Officer will be responsible for ensuring that the Delegates acknowledge the issuing of this Policy and that they deliver to the Complaints Handling Officer's attention any and all valid received complaints regarding their services and that they inform the investors that their complaints have been brought to the responsible Complaints Handling Officer's attention.
The Delegate, to which the complaint is directly addressed, subject to the applicable manner specified in this Policy, shall also provide the Complaints Handling Officer with a statement if and how it will deal with the complaint and/or suggest appropriate responsive measures to the complainant, together with accompanying information and/or documents (i.e. a copy of the investor's complaint, the communication with the concerned investor, etc.).
If a complaint related to a service offered by a Delegate is addressed directly to the Company and/or the Complaints Handling Officer, the Complaints Handling Officer will be under a duty to forward the complaint to the relevant Delegate and request information on the measures to be taken. The draft response, prepared by the relevant Delegate, shall be sent back to the Complaints Handling Officer for review and approval and then to the Board of Directors of the relevant Investment Scheme for their final review and approval.
All exchanges of communication with the investor must also be handled in a well-mannered and professional-oriented method. All complaints must be filed with the Complaints Handling Officer, even if the complaint is dealt with by another employee of the Company and/or the Delegate within the two-week period written notice, as indicated in section 7.
| 5.2 |
The complaint shall be addressed in writing by letter to:
KMG Capital Markets Ltd
Harmony House, Floor 1,
4 Theklas Lyssioti Street,
Limassol 3030, Cyprus.
Fax: (+357) 25 74 97 55
E-mail of the Complaints Handling Officer: compliance@kmgcapitalmarkets.com
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Investors will also have the possibility, as aforementioned, to lodge their complaints directly with Delegates, who will escalate the complaint to the Company.
The following information shall be provided to ensure a prompt handling of the complaint:
| 5.3.1 | Identity and contact details of the investor; |
| 5.3.2 | Reason of the complaint; and |
| 5.3.3 | Where necessary, copies of any documentation supporting the complaint. |
6. Evaluating Valid Received Complaints
To evaluate complaints, the Complaints Handling Officer will gather and investigate all relevant evidence and information on each received complaint.
Upon receipt of a valid complaint it shall be categorised into one of three categories below.
| 6.1 |
Basic complaints, characterised by all of the following requirements:
| 6.1.1 | Objections or claims that are simple; |
| 6.1.2 | Nature and causes of the error which are obvious; |
| 6.1.3 | No suspicion of impropriety on the part of the investor, the Company or the Delegates. |
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| 6.2 |
Serious complaints, categorised by at least one of the following characteristics:
| 6.2.1 | Unclear circumstances surrounding the object of the complaint; |
| 6.2.2 | The individual investor's compensation claim is not of material significance; however the grounds for the complaint are applicable to several investors such that the total compensation claim could be significant; |
| 6.2.3 | Focus of the complaint on the actions of a specific person, suspected negligence, bad faith, inadequate procedures or intentional error; |
| 6.2.4 | Suspicion of impropriety or other kinds of misconduct from the investor; |
| 6.2.5 | Exposure to possible legal or reputational risk; |
| 6.2.6 | Statements/warnings from the investor that it will inform the CSSF or initiate legal proceedings; or |
| 6.2.7 | Legal representative acting on behalf of the investor. |
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| 6.3 |
False complaints, characterised by unlawful, dishonest or unreasonable demands and/or assertions and/or intentions.
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The Complaints Handling Procedure is separated in several phases:
| 6.4.1 | Complaint reception; |
| 6.4.2 | Acknowledgement of receipt; |
| 6.4.3 | Registration and information; |
| 6.4.4 | Investigation; |
| 6.4.5 | Answer to the complainant; |
| 6.4.6 | Reconsideration of the complaint at a second level; and |
| 6.4.7 | Existence of the out-of-court complaint resolution at the CSSF (where applicable). |
7. Replying to the Complaints
The written acknowledgement of receipt of the complaint will be provided to the investor within a period which shall not exceed fourteen (14) Luxembourg business days after receipt of the complaint, unless the response itself is forwarded to the investor within this period.
The Complaints Handling Officer shall provide an answer regarding the grounds for the complaint without undue delay and in any case, within a period which cannot exceed one (1) month between the date of a proper receipt of a complaint and the date at which the answer to the client was sent.
Where an answer cannot be provided within this period, the Company shall inform the client of the causes of the delay and indicate the date at which its examination is likely to be achieved.
Complaints shall always be replied to in a written format. The reply shall be expressed in an easily understood manner. In the event the complaint is rejected, a notice with a clear justification to its rejection shall be provided to the investor within a period not exceeding one (1) month commencing on the date of receipt of that complaint.
Where the investor did not obtain an answer or a satisfactory answer from the Complaints Handling Officer, it shall be given the opportunity to raise the complaint up to the director in charge as mentioned in section 4 above.
In this respect, the Complaints Handling Officer shall provide the client with the contact details of the director in charge.
Furthermore, where the complaint handling by the Complaints Handling Officer did not result in a satisfactory answer for the investor, the Complaints Handling Officer shall also provide the client with a full explanation of the Company's position as regards the complaint and inform the investor in writing of the existence of the out-of-court complaint resolution procedure at the CSSF and send the client a copy of CSSF Regulation Nr 13-02 or the reference to the CSSF Website, as well as the different means to contact the CSSF to file a request.
8. Handling of Complaints
The complaints shall be handled, centralised and followed-up by the Complaints Handling Officer.
9. Threats or Other Misconduct from the Investor
If threats or other kinds of misconduct from an investor occur, the Complaints Handling Officer shall seek advice from the Board of Directors of the relevant Investment Scheme, regarding a possible report to the CSSF.
10. Documentation and Record Keeping
Complaints shall be documented by short representations in a Complaints Register for which the Complaints Handling Officer shall be responsible for its establishment and filing. The Directors of the Investment Scheme shall approve the format and model of the Complaints Register before its implementation and shall conduct periodic review of its content. The Complaints Handling Officer shall ensure that each complaint as well as each measure taken to handle it will properly be registered and shall keep the Board of Directors of each Investment Scheme informed each time a change to its content occurs.
The Complaint Register shall include the following information:
| 10.1 | Date of the complaint; |
| 10.2 | Name of the investor; |
| 10.3 | Summary of the complaint; |
| 10.4 | Status/category of the complaint (as specified in section 6); |
| 10.5 | Date of notification of the complaint to the Board of Directors of the relevant Investment Scheme; |
| 10.6 | Summary of corrective measure; and |
| 10.7 | Remarks concerning the need to follow up and suggestions, if any, on possible procedural improvements |
Once a complaint has been fully handled, a report and all documents relating to the complaint shall be registered in the Complaints Register. All written communication with the investor - including email messages - shall be linked to the registration in the Complaints Register. Notes shall also be made in the Complaints Register regarding date and time for telephone calls with the investor regarding the complaint. Unless indicated upon receipt (email or fax), the dates of documents that are received or prepared concerning the matter shall also be noted.
Any original documents related to the complaint shall be kept at the registered address of the Company. All received, handled and closed complaints shall be electronically archived in their entirety. The files shall be obtainable and easy to reach for the Directors of the relevant Investment Scheme's review. The length of time that the matter remains filed shall be based on its nature, as well as the Company's, the Investment Schemes' and the investor's need for documentation. However, all complaints shall remain on file for at least five (5) years.
11. Follow-up
Complaints that have been properly received shall be followed up and sent on a quarterly basis by the Complaints Handling Officer to the Directors of the Investment Scheme for their review. If deemed necessary, an action program shall be drawn up to prevent situations like the one that caused the complaint from recurring.
In particular, the Complaints Handling Officer shall regularly review and analyse the data relating to the complaint handling, in order to enable the identification and treatment of any recurring or systemic problems, as well as any potential legal and operational risks:
| 11.1 | by analysing the causes of the individual complaint(s) in order to identify the origin of the complaint(s) common to certain types of complaints; |
| 11.2 | by considering whether the causes of the complaint(s) may also affect other processes or products, including those to which the complaints do not relate directly; and |
| 11.3 | by correcting these foundation of the complaints, when it is reasonable to do so. |
12. Information to the Board of Directors
As part of the Compliance Report, which is handed quarterly to the Board of Directors of the Investment Scheme, an account of the total number of complaints, of the previous quarter, shall be prepared and submitted for the Directors' review, together with any additional information that is of importance.
Any additional information may be provided to the Directors upon request at any time, as the case may be.
13. Reporting to the CSSF
Although delegation of the handling of the complaints herein is envisaged by the directors in charge, the said directors will remain the sole contact persons towards the CSSF.
Therefore the director in charge will be required to provide the CSSF with, and as comprehensive as possible, answers within the context of the handling of the investor's complaints and requests and shall co-operate with the responsible officer of the CSSF for any additional information requested, and shall keep informed the Complaints Handling Officer in this regard, at any time.
On an annual basis, the Complaints Handling Officer will prepare a table, including the number of complaints registered, their nature as well as their status, classified by type of complaints, as well as a summary report of the complaints and of the measures taken to handle them. This will be communicated to the CSSF by the Director in charge.
The Complaints table is based on a form, available on the CSSF Website, which is used as a template for the purpose of complying with the yearly reporting requirements.
14. CSSF complaints handling
As the Investment Scheme is subject to prudential supervision by the CSSF, the latter is competent to receive complaints by the Fund's investors and to act as an intermediary with them in order to seek an amicable settlement to these complaints.
The CSSF shall undertake to assist the investor(s), the Investment Scheme and the Company to settle the complaint(s).
However, the CSSF's opinion is not binding on the investor and the Investment Scheme, as indeed they are free to accept or refuse to follow it. The CSSF's powers are neither those of a judge or arbitrator passing a mandatory judgment nor those of an ombudsman in charge of defending the citizens' rights against public authorities. Furthermore, the investor may seek, upon its sole discretion, expense and on its own behalf legal advice in regards to the handling of its complaint.
The investor can file a complaint with the CSSF in the following situations:
| 14.1.1 | The investor shall first submit in writing the complaint to the Complaints Handling Officer.
The intervention of the CSSF will be subject to the conditions that the complaint is first dealt with by the Complaints Handling Officer; |
| 14.1.2 | If, following one (1) month from the date of communication of the complaint to the Complaints Handling Officer, the investor has not received a position which it accepts or even an acknowledgement of receipt, the investor may contact the CSSF, in writing, by post, by fax, by email or online on its website, in order to deal with its complaint. |
The CSSF may end the procedure at any time if it finds that the investor or the Complaints Handling Officer, the Investment Scheme and/or the Company uses the procedure for purposes other than reaching for an amicable resolution of the complaint(s).
Upon receiving the investor's written request for intervention to handle the complaint, the CSSF will acknowledge receipt and shall communicate the investor's letter to the relevant Investment Scheme and/or the Company requesting a response within one (1) month. The CSSF will, then, inform the investor of this position and of the follow-up on its file.
The CSSF will address a reasoned conclusion within a ninety (90) day-period, which starts on the date of receiving the request and provided that all the documents referred to therein are provided by the investor to the CSSF, which are necessary to the initiation of the procedure.
In particular, there are three types of conclusions that can be reached by the CSSF, as follows:
| 14.2.1 | When the request is not admissible, the CSSF shall send in writing a detailed explanation of the reasons why it will not accept to deal with the complaint to the investor and to the Complaints Handling Officer, who shall undertake to inform the Directors of the relevant Investment Scheme immediately, within three (3) weeks of the date of receipt of the request; |
| 14.2.2 | Where the analysis of the file relating to the request is completed, the CSSF shall address a conclusion letter to the investor and the Complaints Handling Officer, who shall undertake to immediately inform the Directors of the Investment Scheme(s), including the statement of reasons for the position taken. Where it concludes that the request is totally or partly justified, it shall ask the investor and the Complaints Handling Officer to communicate in order to settle their dispute in view of the reasoned conclusion and to inform it of the follow-up; and |
| 14.2.3 | Where the CSSF comes to the conclusion that the positions of the investor and the Complaints Handling Officer are irreconcilable or unverifiable, it shall inform them of this in writing. |
The request shall be deemed not admissible by the CSSF in the following cases:
| 14.3.1 | Where the complaint has already been subject to a court order or resolved by arbitration in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg or abroad; |
| 14.3.2 | Where the complaint has been submitted to the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg or a foreign court or arbitrator of a competent jurisdiction; |
| 14.3.3 | Where the complaint has been submitted to the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg or foreign alternative dispute resolution body other than the CSSF; |
| 14.3.4 | Where the complaint concerns a product or service of a non-financial nature; and |
| 14.3.5 | Where the request is made subject to the investor's bad faith or misconduct. |
Moreover, there are no restrictions on investors exercising their rights and can therefore file their complaints in the official language or one of the official languages of their Member State, to the Company.
The investor may correspond with the CSSF in English, French, German, and Luxembourgish.
The Company may correspond with the client either in English or in Greek.
The handling of complaints by the CSSF is free of charge for the client.
Moreover, the CSSF will take the necessary measures to ensure that the processing of personal data complies with the applicable rules on personal data protection. The agents in charge of handling requests for the out-of-court resolution of complaints within the CSSF are bound by the professional secrecy referred to in Article 16 of the Law of December 23rd, 1998 establishing the CSSF.
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