Guide To Foreign Exchange

Guide To Private Client Foreign Exchange

Foreword

The Foreign Exchange Market is the largest financial market in the world. Over the last decade the market has changed dramatically, primarily because of the sharp increase in the number of people buying property and emigrating abroad.

When it comes to international financial transactions, many people assume that the exchange rate of their bank is a competitive price, however research has consistently shown that this can be costly. Whatever your reason for transferring funds internationally, you can make your money go further by using a specialist currency broker, such as deVere Foreign Exchange.

At deVere Foreign Exchange we are dedicated to helping our clients save money by ensuring that you have access to top-end commercial exchange rates. In addition to this, deVere Foreign Exchange clients will also receive:

• A dedicated FX Trader • Free, fast international transfers • Various contract options to manage FX exposure and reduce risk • Expert Market Information • No Commission on all international transfers • Facility to trade all major global currencies

Introduction

At deVere Foreign Exchange we aim to provide you with the best exchange rates, together with the most accurate market information to help you make informed decisions when executing a trade.

Save MoneyOur competitive exchange rates are designed to potentially save you thousands of pounds, compared to your bank or building society. Savings could be anything up to 5% of the value of your transaction, and there is no commission to pay.

Free fast, Cost-Effective International TransfersMost of the international transfers we make will reach the receiving bank the same day, there will be no charge for the transfer.

Up-to-date market informationOur daily market updates keep you up-to-date with what is happening in the currency market and the data releases which could ultimately affect your purchase. This will allow you to make the most informed decision possible when fixing your rate of exchange.

Global Foreign Exchange SolutionsdeVere Group have offices in more than 50 countries and clients in more than 100 countries. We aim to provide the highest possible level of customer service to all clients, allowing you to manage your FX requirements wherever you are in the world.



Currency options tailored for youWith a wide range of flexible options, we aim to tailor the FX services we offer to each individual client. Whether you are buying a property or investment abroad, or transferring a regular pension income to your country of residence, deVere Foreign Exchange can help you. We offer: • Straight-forward immediate transfer of funds • Fixing an exchange rate for up to 2 years, minimising risk and exposure to market fluctuation • Multiple payment solutions – allowing clients to fix an exchange rate and make payments of the secured currency to more than one destination account • Regular International Payments Solutions, ideal for pension and mortgage transfers

Market ExpertsOur experienced team of FX Traders are here to help, providing you with insight into the workings of the foreign exchange market, and highlighting the releases that might effect your purchase. Your FX Trader will assist you through the entire process, ensuring that you receive the highest possible level of personal service.

Your Options

Contract Types: We refer to a currency transfer as a currency “contract”. A contract is simply an agreement to buy or sell currency. 1) Spot contract Spot contracts are ideal if you have all of your funds available and want to make a fast transfer. You can buy or sell currency for immediate delivery, and benefit from our excellent exchange rates. The “spot” price is the live rate that is available in the interbank currency market. 2) Forward contract Forward contracts allow you to fix your exchange rate for a future trade, even if you don’t have all of your funds ready. This option allows you to take advantage of favourable exchange rates up to 2 years before you actually need to send your currency. You can buy the currency now, and pay later. A 10% deposit is payable at the outset, followed by 90% when the contract matures. This option is ideal if you are in the process of purchasing an overseas property. Once you have agreed the purchase price it’s important to remember that the cost in Sterling can still rise if the exchange rate moves against you. By fixing your exchange rate using a forward contract you remove this risk and protect yourself from any fall in the value of Sterling. 3) Regular Payments Contract Ideal for sending a regular fixed amount for monthly payment of overseas expenses with minimal hassle and expense. Simply set up a standing order and let dVFX do the rest. They buy the currency each month and send it to your nominated account.

Order Types:Exchange rates fluctuate constantly and can be difficult to predict, so as well as simply buying at the current rate, dVFX offers the following order types to help you make the most from your transaction. This is particularly relevant to clients who have a strong view on future exchange rates.


1) Buy Now This is the simplest and most commonly used order type. This means you simply decide when you want to buy or sell currency, and call your dVFX account Trader to make the transaction. 2) Limit Order A limit order is an order that you leave with your dVFX Trader to buy your currency at a pre-determined market level (i.e. better than the current rate). dVFX Traders monitor your order 24/7 and your currency is purchased automatically when your target level is achieved. 3) Stop Loss Order A stop loss order allows you to set a minimum rate at which to buy your currency. This would effectively be your worst acceptable exchange rate. If the market falls to this rate, your currency will be purchased automatically. This gives you peace of mind that if you are holding out for an improvement in the exchange rate, you are also protected from a dramatic deterioration in the exchange rate. Some clients use a limit order and stop loss order together, protecting against risk while hoping to achieve a better rate than is currently available. Whichever level is reached first will be the level that your transaction is completed at. This strategy guarantees that the exchange will be made within a certain price range, helping you to budget in advance. The markets are constantly moving, so our traders will monitor your orders and keep you informed. Orders can be adjusted or cancelled at your instruction at any time prior to being fulfilled.

You will not be asked for payment until your order has been fulfilled (with the exception of some exotic currencies for which dVFX require payment in advance).

Useful Transfer Information

Sending money overseas can be confusing. Depending on which country you are sending money to there are different banking requirements specifying the information that needs to be included on your transfer to ensure it is processed quickly. dVFX are dedicated to making this as simple as possible for you and have prepared the following guide for payments to their most popular destinations.


EuropeWhen you transfer money to European countries you will need the following information: • Beneficiary name and address • Bank name and address • IBAN (International Bank Account Number) – See IBAN key below • BIC (Bank Identification Code), also known as SWIFT codeAn “IBAN” is an International Bank Account Number. It is made up of digits that include the account number, but also include a country code and other information that are necessary to ensure your payment is fast and accurate. The following key shows you the correct format for each European country. Country Country Code IBAN Length Example Andorra AD 24 AD1001101000100010011110 Austria AT 20 AT111100101000111010 Belgium BE 16 BE10111010011101 Bosnia BA 20 BA110110110001110010 Bulgaria BG 22 BG11XXX101110101101010 Croatia HR 21 HR1110110101010100111 Cyprus CY 28 CY11110011101010101011010101 Czech Rep CZ 24 CZ1110111101111100001010 Denmark DK 18 DK1010111101100011 Estonia EE 20 EE110101011010100101 Finland FI 18 FI1110101111010101 France FR 27 FR1110011101010101011X10101 Germany DE 22 DE11100101110101101010 Gibraltar GI 23 GI11XXXX110111100111001 Greece GR 27 GR1101101110000000011100111 Hungary HU 28 HU11101011101101001100000000 Iceland IS 26 IS111010010011010101101110 Ireland IE 22 IE11XXXX01110101101010 Italy IT 27 IT10X0111111101000000111111 Latvia LV 21 LV10XXXX0000111100011 Liechtenstein LI 21 LI11011100001101010XX Lithuania LT 20 LT111000011101001000 Luxembourg LU 20 LU100010100111110001 Macedonia MK 19 MK01100000000011111 Malta MT 31 MT11XXXX011000011111XXXXXXX001X Netherlands NL 18 NL11XXXX0111111101 Norway NO 15 NO1010011111010 Poland PL 28 PL10111010010000100101110110 Portugal PT 25 PT10000101111101011100110 Romania RO 24 RO11XXXX1101111100001010 Serbia CS 22 CS11100101110101101010 Slovakia SK 24 SK1110111101111100001010 Slovenia SI 19 SI01111000000000111 Spain ES 24 ES1101101011010010110111 Sweden SE 24 SE1110111101111100001010 Switzerland CH 21 CH1100111011111000111 Tunisia TN 24 TN1101101011010010110111 Turkey TR 26 TR111010010011010101101110 UK GB 22 GB11XXXX01110101101010


AustraliaWhen you transfer money to Australia you will need the following information: • Beneficiary name and address • Bank name and address • Account Number • BSB number • BIC (Bank Identification Code), also known as SWIFT code The USAWhen you transfer money to the USA you will need the following information: • Beneficiary name and address • Bank name and address • Account Number • ABA / Routing code (9 digits, identifies bank, used instead of a BIC) • Routing bank info if applicableSouth AfricaWhen you transfer money to South Africa you will need the following information: • Beneficiary name and address • Bank name and address • Account Number • BIC (Bank Identification Code), also known as SWIFT codeNew ZealandWhen you transfer money to New Zealand you will need the following information: • Beneficiary name and address • Bank name and address • Account Number • BIC (Bank Identification Code), also known as SWIFT code

How To Open An Account

First Step - How to get Started First, you need to read the enclosed Terms and Conditions at www.dv-fx.com If you have any queries, or would like to discuss your currency needs in further detail, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected]

Once you are ready to start trading, please complete the application form.

Second Step – Placing Your Trade Once we have confirmed that your account has been opened, one of our FX Traders will give you a call to finalise your account with you. By discussing your currency requirements, we will then be able to decide which transaction is most suitable for you. This will give you the peace of mind in knowing that the currency will arrive when you need it, ensuring you have the funds in place by the settlement date.


Final Step – How to Pay & Receiving your Funds Once we have processed your transaction we will send you a trade confirmation by email, fax or by post. The trade confirmation will show the date on which the transaction will need to be cleared in our account and the settlement date for your currency to be transferred to your onward destination.

We accept payment by CHAPS, which is a same-day transfer done electronically from your bank; BACS which is a three-business day electronic transfer; as well as by cheque which we allow up to 7 working days to be cleared.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How much will my transfer cost?A. At deVere Foreign Exchange we strive to offer you a bespoke service and the best exchange rates, and thus, there is no commission and no transfer fees.

Q. How long do my transfers take?A. We will send the currency as soon as we have cleared the funds in our account. A Spot Contract usually takes around two working days after you have initiated the transaction, whilst Forward Contracts are settled on the pre-arranged settlement date.

Q. When do I need to pay for the contract?A. For Spot Contracts we usually allow two working days for you to settle the funds with us, for a Forward Contract you will need to have paid us by the pre-agreed settlement date.

Q. What deposit do I have to pay for a Forward Contract?A. For a Forward contract you will typically be required to put down 10% of the final balance due.

Q. How can I pay deVere Foreign Exchange?A. We accept payment by CHAPS which is a same-day transfer done electronically from your bank, or BACS which is a three-business day electronic transfer.

Q. What happens if I need to cancel my transaction?A. When you enter an agreement for a foreign exchange transaction, you are legally bound to pay for the currency in full. However, at deVere Foreign Exchange we know that circumstances may change, in which case we will strive to help you either by extending or cancelling your existing contract. Extending your contract will often mean additional costs.

How to RegisterTo register visit www.dv-fx.com and complete the application for an account.

Questions?Please email [email protected] to speak to one of our FX Traders’

www.devere-group-foreignexchange.com

Copyright deVere Group 2012 © All rights reserved

The above comments are only our views and should not be construed as advice. You should act using your own information and judgment. Although information has been obtained from and is based upon multiple sources the author believes to be reliable, we do not guarantee its accuracy and it may be incomplete or condensed. All opinions and estimates constitute the author’s own judgment as of the date of the briefing and are subject to change without notice. Any rates given are ‘interbank’ thus are not indicative of the rate offered by deVere Foreign Exchange. The companies below are part of the deVere Group: deVere and Partners (Belgium) Limited BVBA is authorised by the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA- www.fsma.be) in Belgium and registered on the intermediaries register under number 61476; subject to FSMA supervision solely for the purposes of insurance mediation under the EU Insurance Mediation Directive. The following branches operate under the same license: Cyprus, Luxembourg, Spain and France. deVere Germany GmbH is registered in the commercial register of the local court of Frankfurt am Main under HRB 55281. deVere Group Limited GmbH (Switzerland) is authorised by the PolyReg General Self-Regulatory Organisation. deVere Hong Kong Limited is registered as an Authorised Insurance Broker and is regulated by the Hong Kong Confederation of Insurance Brokers (CIB). deVere & Partners Japan is authorised and regulated by the Kanto Local Finance Bureau, investment advisory business licence register. deVere Investment South Africa (Pty) Ltd is an Authorised Financial Services Provider in South Africa and is regulated by the Financial Services Board. deVere and Partners (UK) Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (469151). deVere Malaysia is authorised and regulated by the Labuan Offshore Financial Services Authority (LOFSA). deVere Uganda is authorised and regulated by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA). deVere USA, Inc is authorised and regulated by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation (Florida). Professional Investment Consultants (Middle East) Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates and are licensed to conduct financial and investment consultations in the United Arab Emirates under the trade name “Professional Investment Consultants Co. Ltd., Dubai”. PIC is wholly owned by the deVere Group. International Alliance Muscat (L.L.C) is authorised and regulated by the Sultanate of Oman Capital Market Authority. International Alliance Muscat (L.L.C) is wholly owned by the deVere Group. “deVere Investment Advisory (Mauritius) Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Mauritius Financial Services Commission”

Documents

Guide To Foreign Exchange