Commercial Terms

Your firm’s commission retention

Calculated based on your firm’s projected turnover, your retention rate will be initially be agreed between you and your account manager, and then confirmed to you in your letter of authorisation.

This will be reviewed at the end of every calendar year, based on your performance. We may then discuss increasing your retention rate, depending on your business results. You will receive written confirmation of any changes to your firm’s retention rate ahead of the new rate being applied, and are always welcome and invited to discuss your retention rate with your Regional Key Account Manager at any point.

MINIMUM RETENTION

All firms are subject to a 12-month minimum retention of £11,000 . This is assessed in 2 separate 6-month periods in isolation, £5,500 in the period 1st May to 31st October & £5,500 in the period 1st November to 30th April.

If a minimum retention is applicable for your firm, you will need to pay this within three months of the annual period. As a new member, the minimum retention will not be applied in the first six months from the date of your authorisation. Instead, it will be prorated for the remainder of that year thereafter.

Should you decide to leave the Sesame network, the minimum retention due will be calculated and any balance will be applied on your official leaving date.

NETWORK FEES

Your network fees will be paid weekly. The standard fee is £45 +VAT per week per adviser. However, if you are exclusively advise on home insurance, then a weekly charge of just £12 +VAT is applicable.

Equity Release

Provisional Authorisation for Lifetime Mortgages / Equity Release: £110 + VAT per quarter.

Full Authorisation for Lifetime Mortgages / Equity Release: £55 + VAT per quarter.

OTHER FEES

Once you receive FCA authorisation, your firm will become part of the compulsory jurisdiction of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and the Financial Service Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

The FOS is funded by a general levy, as well as by case fees charged to firms to deal with complaints. It acts to resolve disputes in the financial sector.

Should your firm be required to pay any relevant regulatory fees and interim levies, these will be calculated based on your firm’s turnover, and subject to a minimum fee. To help you manage the cost of this, Sesame will agree a budget plan, designed to spread the charge over a period of time and alleviate any initial impact to your cash flow.

Should your firm leave the network, any balance outstanding will be applied immediately, in full.