Consumer Information in Accordance with the Accessibility Reinforcement Act (Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz – BFSG)
Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG
Überseering 28
22297 Hamburg
Phone: +49 40 35060-0
Investment Advisory Services
Dear Customer,
Do you have questions about our investment advisory services or our related services? Below, we would like to answer your potential questions.
With this information, we fulfill the requirements of Section 14 (1) No. 2 of the German Accessibility Reinforcement Act (BFSG). The BFSG is designed to ensure the accessibility of products and services offered by companies. This means that all consumers should have easy access to the offered products and services without having to rely on third-party assistance. The goal is to enable all consumers to fully participate in society.
Please note: This information serves to explain investment advisory services and our related services. It is not legally binding.
This information sheet is structured into 4 parts:
- Part 1 contains specific information. Here, we explain investment advisory services and our services in connection with investment advisory.
- Parts 2, 3, and 4 contain general information.
- Are you dissatisfied with our services? In Part 2, we inform you about your options for filing a complaint.
- Would you like to know how our services meet the requirements of the BFSG? In Part 3, we inform you about the accessibility features of our service.
- Are you experiencing accessibility issues with our services? In Part 4, we inform you whom you can contact in this case. You will also find details about the competent market surveillance authority.
Sincerely,
Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG
1. Explanation of Our Service
In this section, we explain investment advisory services and our related services. We provide information on the key features and how investment advisory works.
1.1 What is Investment Advisory?
In investment advisory, we provide you with recommendations regarding financial instruments. The options are as follows:
- Buy: We recommend that you buy a financial instrument.
- Sell: We recommend that you sell a financial instrument.
- Hold: We recommend that you do not sell a financial instrument (but continue to hold it).
- Do not buy: We recommend that you do not buy a financial instrument.
As part of our investment advisory, we take your financial situation and personal preferences into account. With each advisory session, you will receive a suitability statement (Geeignetheitserklärung) from us. This is a document in which we explain how our recommendation matches your situation. Ultimately, you decide yourself whether you wish to follow our recommendation.
Please note: Our recommendation is only valid at the time of the consultation. We will only review the recommendation at a later date if we have explicitly agreed this with you beforehand. If you have purchased financial instruments, you must therefore monitor their performance yourself.
1.2 What are Financial Instruments?
The term "financial instruments" is defined in banking laws, such as the German Securities Trading Act (Wertpapierhandelsgesetz – WpHG). Financial instruments include:
- Securities, such as shares (equities), bonds, certificates, and warrants
- Units in investment funds
- Derivatives
1.3 What is the Process of Investment Advisory?
Investment advisory usually involves four steps:
- Scheduling an Appointment: You schedule an appointment with us for an advisory meeting. You can arrange this appointment personally or by telephone with your relationship manager. The meeting can take place in person at a branch, by telephone, or via video call.
- Information Gathering: We require certain information from you for investment advisory. Specifically, we ask you for certain personal data and your preferences regarding the investment of your assets. This is required by law: without this information, we are not permitted to advise you. Your details help us understand your interests and needs. We require the following information from you:
- Financial circumstances (What is your income? What are your expenses? What are your assets?)
- Capacity to bear losses (What financial losses could you bear?)
- Investment objectives (What do you want to achieve with the investment of your assets? For example: long-term wealth accumulation)
- Investment horizon (For what period of time do you wish to invest your money?)
- Risk tolerance (What financial risks are you willing to take? For example: price fluctuations, losses)
- Sustainability preferences (Should sustainability criteria be considered when investing your assets? For example: investments that contribute to achieving an environmental objective)
- Knowledge and experience in investing assets in financial instruments / knowledge and experience with services related to financial instruments
- Recommendation: Based on your information, we provide you with recommendations regarding financial instruments. However, we will only make a recommendation if it matches your details. You will receive information about the recommended financial instruments, either verbally or via information sheets. Examples of information sheets include the Product Information Document (PIB) for shares and bonds or Key Information Documents (KIDs) for investment funds.
- Documentation: In the final step, you will receive a written summary of our recommendation, the suitability statement. This summary includes our recommendation and an explanation of how it matches your profile. Ultimately, you decide yourself whether you wish to follow our recommendation.
1.4 What Costs Will You Incur in Investment Advisory?
You do not pay any fees to us for investment advisory. However, you will usually receive a cost disclosure (Kosteninformation). This provides an overview of the costs and charges associated with buying, holding, and selling a financial instrument. Where applicable, the cost disclosure also includes information that we receive a payment from a third party in connection with the purchase of a financial instrument (for example, a payment from a fund management company).
1.5 Is There a Contract Term?
There is no minimum contract term for investment advisory services.
1.6 Is There a Right of Withdrawal?
Please note: When buying or selling financial instruments, there is usually no right of withdrawal. However, there are exceptions. Only if you are exceptionally entitled to a right of withdrawal will you receive a withdrawal policy (Widerrufsbelehrung) from us before entering into the contract.
2. Your Options in the Event of a Complaint
Are you dissatisfied with our service? In this section, we inform you about your options for filing a complaint.
2.1 Customer Complaints
You can submit your complaint to us in various ways:
- In person, by telephone, or in writing: Directly to your advisor or to the office serving you.
- In writing to:
Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG
Beschwerdemanagement (Complaint Management)
Überseering 28
22297 Hamburg
Further information on complaints and dispute resolution can be found online at https://www.berenberg.de/rechtliche-hinweise/joh-berenberg-gossler-co-kg/.
2.2 Out-of-Court Dispute Resolution
If you have filed a complaint with us but no solution has been found, you have the option of out-of-court dispute resolution. As a bank, we participate in the dispute resolution process of the following consumer arbitration board: Ombudsmann der privaten Banken (Ombudsman of Private Banks).
You can contact the Ombudsman of Private Banks there. The ombudsman looks after your rights, mediating between you as a consumer and us as a company.
General information about the Ombudsman of Private Banks can be found at www.bankenombudsmann.de. Information on the exact procedure can be found in the Rules of Procedure of the Ombudsman of Private Banks (Verfahrensordnung des Ombudsmanns der privaten Banken). We will gladly provide you with the Rules of Procedure upon request, or you can view them online on the website of the Association of German Banks (Bundesverband deutscher Banken e. V.) at www.bankenverband.de.
You must submit your complaint to the Ombudsman of Private Banks in writing, for example by letter, fax, or email.
Address:
Ombudsmann der privaten Banken
Geschäftsstelle
Postfach 04 03 07
10062 Berlin
Fax: 030 1663-3169
Email:schlichtung%40bdb.de
3. Accessibility Features of Our Services
Would you like to know how our services meet the requirements of the Accessibility Reinforcement Act (BFSG)? In this section, we inform you about the accessibility features of our service.
Background: The BFSG obliges us, among other things, to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). These guidelines are designed to make web content as accessible as possible for everyone, particularly for people with disabilities. The guidelines are based on the following four principles of accessibility:
- Perceptibility: Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive.
For us, this means, for example: We must ensure that alternative text is provided for images and graphics. - Operability: User interface components and navigation must be operable.
For us, this means, for example: We must ensure that our web content can be operated using a keyboard. - Understandability: Information and the operation of the user interface must be understandable.
For us, this means, for example: We must present our web content in language that is as simple as possible. - Robustness: Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies. Assistive technologies include, for example, screen readers, screen magnifiers, or speech-to-text programs.
For us, this means: We must comply with standards for assistive technologies, such as technical structure and web content tagging standards.
We meet the requirements of the BFSG by implementing these principles across our services.
3.1 Accessibility of Our Services
These are the accessibility features of our investment advisory services:
You can place orders to buy or sell financial instruments:
- in person at one of our branches,
- by telephone, or
- by email.
3.2 Accessibility of This Information
These are the accessibility features of this information sheet:
- We provide you with this information through various access options, namely via the following sensory channels: personal handover in one of our branches, read-aloud options, and the bank’s website.
- The content of this information is written in easily understandable language. It does not exceed language level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). (Please note: This does not apply to the actual service contract, the General Terms and Conditions (AGB), and the Pre-contractual Information (VVI) associated with the service contract.)
- The layout of this information has a specific design: Headings are styled in the "Thunder" font in various sizes. The size of the headings depends on their hierarchy level. Body text is set in the "ES Peak" font. Care is taken to ensure sufficient contrast between the text and background colors. In this document, black text is set against a white background.
3.3 Accessibility of Documents for Our Services
These are the accessibility features of documents related to our services (including this information sheet):
- The documents are perceivable. This means that besides being readable on-screen with adjustable font sizes, they can be read-aloud, and consumers can adjust the volume.
- The documents are provided in PDF or web-based format. This format can be converted into other formats, making the documents available to you through multiple sensory channels.
4. Competent Market Surveillance Authority
Are you experiencing accessibility issues with our service? In this section, we inform you whom you can contact in this case.
The competent authority is: Marktüberwachungsstelle der Länder für die Barrierefreiheit von Produkten und Dienstleistungen (MLBF) (Market Surveillance Authority of the Federal States for the Accessibility of Products and Services). The MLBF monitors whether economic operators comply with specific statutory regulations. As a bank, we are also monitored by the MLBF.
If you have issues using our service, you can file an application with the MLBF. The MLBF will then, if necessary, initiate legal measures against us as an economic operator (Legal basis: Section 6 or Section 7 BFSG). In your application, you can claim that we have violated a requirement of the BFSG or a requirement of the Ordinance on the Accessibility Reinforcement Act (BFSGV), which was issued pursuant to Section 3 (2) BFSG.
Contact Details of the MLBF:
Address:
Turmschanzenstraße 25
39114 Magdeburg
Phone: (0391) 567 4530
Email:MLBF%40ms.sachsen-anhalt.de
Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG