News - iticapital.com

A message from ITI Capital on operations during COVID-19

Dear Clients!

As COVID-19 (the coronavirus) continues to impact the global community, we want to assure you that during these volatile market conditions your assets and cash held with ITI Capital continue to be protected under CASS rules. As a firm, ITI remains well capitalised. In addition, we are doing what we can to continue providing you with the service you require from us.

In the build up to the recent events, ITI began implementing a multi staged BCP plan for all our critical functions globally. Based on guidelines from regulators and global health authorities, we have taken a number of steps to ensure business continuity and help halt the spread of COVID-19.

As ITI is a digital business, we have taken advantage of our investments in technology so that employees can work remotely in a safe and effective way. We have been coordinating efforts with our partners and suppliers so that the running of our platforms will not be impacted.

As part of our third-party impact assessment at this time, we have been advised by our bankers that any funds received in the form of cheque, is likely to be delayed and/or may not be settled. Therefore, for us to continue you to provide you with the highest level of support within our daily operations, we strongly suggest we use electronic fund transfers to send in any money you wish to be applied to your account. We have also instated strict travel policies and instructed all employees in how to conduct both external and internal meetings through digital tools.

As this is an unprecedented time for all of us, and the situation continues to evolve each day, we will continue to follow the situation closely, and update our approach and measures as required.

Message for Clients of SVS Securities

We would like to remind all SVS clients, that no matter where you are in the account registration process or if you don’t have full access to the Phoenix platform, please call the Dealing team at 0207 562 8001 or email us at dealing@iticapital.com and we will be glad to assist you by placing trades for you over the phone at the online rate.

Updated 25/09/2020

Important information for SIPP accounts and accounts with no email addresses:

ITI has set up an additional helpdesk for SIPP clients and accounts without email addresses.

For Clients with SIPP accounts, these help desk details will be provided to you shortly via email and have also been communicated to your Trustees:

The purpose of this desk is to provide additional support with a key focus on the following tasks:

Update of account details
Document Verification and assistance with the platform
Withdrawals
Statements and Valuations

We would also like to make you aware that all withdrawal requests should be sent to the detailed email address going forward and we will only act on instructions from the SIPP Trustee.

For clients without email addresses, ITI has instructed the send of postal letters with the relevant details and this should be with be with you over the course of next week.

We thank you for your continued patience and we look forward to serving you as a customer.

14/09/2020

ITI Capital is fully aware of its responsibilities in safeguarding client assets and the importance of onboarding new clients efficiently. Unfortunately, ITI has suffered certain technical problems during this on boarding process which has caused delays and regrets the anxiety and inconvenience this may have caused to those clients who tried to access their accounts. ITI is working hard to resolve these issues as quickly as possible and to increase staffing levels to support the higher call volumes from affected clients caused by the initial technical challenges.

We would like to make it clear that all assets, cash and investments are completely safe. The issue is one of data reconciliation not one concerning location of the assets, cash and investments. We are seeking to ensure all new accounts are reconciled as soon as possible. We are providing the FCA with regular updates and such information as they may require and are working round the clock with, our service providers to ensure that the problems with onboarding and reconciliation are quickly addressed.

We would also like to thank clients for patience whilst we complete the migration process and will keep providing regular updates to all our customers. As previously communicated to SVS customers, they have the ability to call in and place orders over the phone with Dealers and ITI will honour the online rate. ITI will now place trades for all customers over the phone, subject to call-handling times during volatile markets, regardless of the status of the client’s registration. The client will be required to validate their personal information before the trade instruction is accepted.

Fraud Alert: Protect yourself

Fraudsters claim to be from a legitimate firm authorised by FCA. Fraudsters look for new ways to scam consumers, but one scam increasingly reported to us and to the FCA involves share scammers pretending to be from a regulated firm, who are authorised by FCA.

These scammers typically cold-call investors to promote shares, property or other investment opportunities that are non-tradable, worthless, overpriced or even non-existent.

A new tactic has seen fraudsters using the name, ‘firm registration number’ (FRN) and address of firms and individuals authorised by us to suggest they are genuine

This is what we call a ‘clone firm’.

ITI Capital Limited does NOT make unsolicited cold calls!

PROTECT YOURSELF

If you are offered unsolicited investment advice, discounted shares, a premium price for shares you own, or free company or research reports, you should take these steps before handing over any money:

To reduce the chance of falling victim to investment fraud, the FCA advises consumers to, at the very least:

1.Reject unsolicited investment offers whether made online, on social media or over the phone.

2.Before investing, check the FCA Register to see if the firm or individual you are dealing with is authorised and check the FCA Warning List of firms to avoid.

REPORT A SCAM

If you are approached about a share scam you should tell the FCA using the Share Fraud Reporting Form, where you can find out about the latest investment scams. You can also call the FCA Consumer Helpline on 0800 111 6768.

If you have already paid money to share fraudsters you should contact ActionFraud on 0300 123 2040 or use the ActionFraud Online Reporting Tool. For the latest information on coronavirus-related fraud you can follow Action Fraud on Twitter.

More detailed information on this or similar activity can be found on the FCA web site.