ACCOUNT OPENING AND CLIENT INFORMATION
Investment accounts (hereinafter referred to as the “Account”) may be opened for the undersigned investor (“Investor” or “Account Holder”), subject to the Investor’s submission of the documents acceptable to First Metro Asset Management, Inc. (“FAMI” or “Company”), including the compliance with the minimum client information per Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), Anti-Money Laundering Council (“AMLC”) and other government agencies’ regulations and other relevant issuances, and after verification of Investor’s identity, signature and other pertinent details and other relevant information which Company policies and the law may require. All Accounts opened with the Company shall be covered by this Terms and Conditions and the terms and conditions indicated in the Company’s signature cards (“Agreement”). The undersigned Investor is aware of the Company’s policies that business transactions will not be conducted with the Investor if the Investor fails to provide satisfactory evidence of identity, including Representatives, as applicable, upon opening its/his/her/their Account. The Investor’s signature(s), including Representatives, as applicable, appearing on this Account Opening Form (“AOF”) is true and official signature(s) for the Account and may be used for verification of the said signature at all times and for all purposes. Under Philippine laws, shares of the Fund may be held by any person of legal age. Any reference to “Investor” or “Account Holder” shall be deemed to include co-Investors, co-Account Holders and duly authorized representatives (“Representatives”). Any references to a person shall include individuals, corporations, partnerships, trusts and government agencies and instrumentalities. The Company may use any acceptable Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the conduct of its verification of Investor’s identification.
WARRANTY OF INFORMATION
The Investor represents and warrants that all data, information and documents provided or submitted by the Investor pursuant to this Agreement, including the AOF, are true, complete and accurate. The Investor undertakes to update all of its/his/her/their information and records, particularly those indicated in the AOF and submit documents in support thereof, at least once every two (2) years or upon the Company’s request. In case of any change in said information including change of the Investor’s status from non-U.S. Person to U.S. Person as defined under Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), the Investor shall immediately inform and furnish the Company with all necessary supporting documents. In the absence of any change, the Company shall consider all Account information of the Investor as current until the Investor updates its/his/her/their Account information. The Investor also hereby authorizes the Company to conduct such credit or background checks to verify any information provided by him/her/them, and to ascertain its/his/her/their financial situation and investment objectives.
PURCHASE PRICE
The purchase price of one share is its NAVPS plus an entry fee or sales load together with any applicable taxes. If payment is received by First Metro Asset Management, Inc. (“FAMI” or “Company”) within the daily cut-off time which is 12 noon, NAVPS on the same banking day will be used. For payments received by FAMI after the daily cut-off time, NAVPS on the following banking day will be used. A banking day is defined as a day when commercial banks in Metro Manila are not required or authorized to close by law. For payments made through the Company’s facilities with Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company (“Metrobank”) (e.g. MetrobankDirect and Real-time Debit), the cut-off time is 1:30 PM.
DETERMINATION OF NAVPS
The NAVPS is normally computed by the end of each banking day. It is determined by taking the fair value of the Fund’s total assets less all its liabilities, and divided by the total number of shares outstanding.
RIGHT TO ACCEPT/REJECT AND SCALE DOWN APPLICATIONS
FAMI reserves the right to accept, reject, or reduce the number of shares applied for in any Application at its sole discretion and in such manner it may deem appropriate. In the event this Application is not accepted in whole or in part, FAMI will refund the corresponding investment to the Applicant without interest, within seven (7) days from the submission of this Application.
ACCEPTANCE OF PAYMENT FOR INVESTMENTS
The Investor shall make available funds for investment or placement in the form of cash, Investor’s debit authority from its/his/ her/their Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company account, credit or remittance to the Company’s designated bank account or manager’s check payable to the Company. The Company may accept payments in the form of personal check on a case to case basis. The Company has the right to refuse certain modes of payment to fund investments such as provincial, foreign, stale checks, uncleared remittance or uncleared balance and other similar items.
AUTHORITY TO PROCESS AND SHARE INFORMATION
The Investor hereby knowingly, voluntarily and willfully authorizes and gives its/ his/her/their consent to the Company, its directors, officers and representatives and its subsidiaries and affiliates to process, obtain, collect, record, organize, store, update, modify, use, access, and/or share/disclose within the Metrobank and its subsidiaries, affiliates and partners (“Metrobank Group”) and third party service providers that the Company may engage in the conduct of its business in providing services to its clients/Investor, with corresponding duty to keep such information/data/opinion confidential, without prior notice to or consent from the Investor, relevant Account information/data/opinion pertaining to the Investor, including but not limited to personal circumstances, privileged information, sensitive personal information, information in the AOF, Account balances and any and all other information pertaining to all of my Account/s now existing or which may hereafter to be opened, whether or not assigned as collateral, which consent/authorization in favor of the Company and/or Metrobank Group is sufficient and in accordance all bank deposit secrecy laws, including but not limited to, RA 1405 or the Law on Secrecy of Bank Deposits, RA 6426 or the Foreign Currency Deposit Act and RA 8791 or the General Banking Law, as well as R.A. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and other confidentiality laws enforced or which may hereinafter enforced. The absence of any written notice to the contrary shall be deemed by the Company as a continuing authorization and/or consent by the Investor as given hereto. By availing of the Company and Metrobank Group’s over-the-counter payments services via debit from Investor’s Account, Investor authorizes and gives his/her/their consent for the Company to disclose his/her/their Account number and Account name to government institutions for record-keeping purposes only. The Investor hereby undertakes to notify the Company in writing if it/he/she/they decide not to consent to the sharing of information provided herein.
CLOSING OF ACCOUNTS AND TERMINATION
The Investor hereby authorizes the Company to close the Account without need of prior notice in case the Investor misrepresented matters concerning its/his/her/their identity, nature of business and/or any other pertinent information, the Account is used for illegal activities or in any other event when the continuation of the Account is not in the best interest of the Company, or as may be required by law(s) or regulation(s).
In an event of closure or termination by reason of misrepresentation by the Investor, the Company shall issue a cashier’s check for the balance of the Account. In an event of closure by reason of illegal activities, the Company shall only release the balance of the Account from a lawful order of a competent court. The Company shall send by registered mail/e-mail to the Investor at its/his/her last known address/e-mail address indicated in the Company’s records, notice of the closure/termination of the Account and stating the reason(s) thereof and the manner for the Investor to claim or obtain from the Company the balance of the Account, if any, and an instruction to return to the Company the original copy of the promissory note/COS/Investment certificate in its/his/her possession.
DEPOSIT FOR FUTURE SUBSCRIPTION
In case of deficiency of registered shares, shares that have been applied for will be considered as deposit for future subscription until such time that the Fund has registered new shares with the Securities and Exchange Commission. As such, the deposit for future subscription will be based on the Fund's Net Asset Value per Share at the time of the deposit and any withdrawal from said deposit will likewise be computed using the Fund's Net Asset Value per Share at the time of the withdrawal.
DELIVERY OF STOCK CERTIFICATE
In the interest of economy and convenience, a stock certificate representing ownership of shares in the Fund will not be issued unless requested by the shareholder in writing. Shares are recorded on a stock register; shareholders who do not elect to receive stock certificates have the same rights of ownership as if certificates had been issued to them. Issued stock certificate/s must be surrendered when redeeming the related shares or when transferring such assets from one fund to another. If the certificate is lost, the Investor cannot carry out such transaction in his/her/their Account until the certificate has been replaced, a process which, for legal reasons, can take more than one year. A fee of PhP1,000.00 will be charged to replace a lost certificate. The Investor-applicant shall not assign, transfer, or convey this Application, the Fund shares covered by this Application, and any of the Investor-Applicant’s rights and obligations under this Application, without the prior written consent of FAMI and/or the Fund.
REDEMPTION
FAMI shall honor redemption requests any day it is open for business. If complete redemption documents are received by FAMI before 12 noon, NAVPS on the same banking day will be used. For complete redemption documents received by FAMI after 12 noon, NAVPS on the following banking day will be used. Redemption proceeds less fees and taxes (if any), shall be payable not later than seven (7) banking days from the date of verification of the Company’s Redemption Form.
FUND TRANSFER
FAMI will immediately transfer the funds on behalf of the Investor following its customary procedures and subjected to bank charges but in no case shall FAMI be liable for delays or additional charges that occur due to acts of correspondent or intermediary financial institutions or through any cause beyond the control of FAMI.
FACSIMILE AND ELECTRONIC MAIL (“E-MAIL”) TRANSMISSION AND PHISHING, SPOOFING AND PHARMING
FAMI shall honor documentations, instructions and forms sent through facsimile (“fax”) or e-mail transmissions, without the requirement to submit originally signed copies, with the exception of the initial original AOF wherein this fax/email indemnity should be originally signed. The Investor is aware of the possible risks inherent in the giving of instructions by facsimile such as the possibility of forgery of non-original signatures and transmission to wrong numbers, phishing or spoofing or pharming, internet virus or malware, thus, making the instructions known to third party and never reaching FAMI. The Investor do not hold FAMI responsible of verifying the identity of the person/s giving any faxed/e-mailed instruction made on the Investor’s behalf or the authenticity of any signature on any faxed/emailed instruction. The Investor authorizes FAMI to act on any faxed/emailed instruction believed to be coming from him/her/them whether such instruction was made with or without his/her/their authority, knowledge, or consent.
The Investor agrees that it/he/she should be held wholly and solely liable for any and all withdrawals from its/his/her Account using its/his/her Account information through phishing/spoofing/pharming (or similar cyber-crimes). The Investor further agrees to indemnify and hold free and harmless the Company, its subsidiaries and affiliates, as well as any of its officers, directors and employees against any and all losses, claims, damages, penalties, liabilities related to this.
AMLA COMPLIANCE
In relation to Republic Act No. 9160, otherwise known as the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, as amended by R.A. 9194 (“AMLA”) and international anti-money laundering laws and regulations, the Investor authorizes the Company to disclose to local and/or international government entities, Company’s subsidiaries and affiliates and to its local and/or foreign correspondents, information which shall include without limitation, the following personal information i.e., birthdate, birthplace, employment, profession, business, contact numbers, address and date when investment or placement was established. The foregoing includes Investor’s authority in favor of the Company, and Company’s own authority, to supply any supporting transaction documents, when required by any of these entities.
FATCA COMPLIANCE
In relation to Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of the United States of America (“FATCA”), the Investor hereby undertakes to inform the Company in writing of any change in its/his/her initial declaration in the Company’s Customer Information Sheet (CIS) and accompanying forms, on whether or not he/she is a U.S Person. Any information that will affect the accuracy of such declaration should be reported to the Company within thirty (30) calendar days from the date of occurrence of such change. Further, the Investor hereby acknowledges that the Company shall operate the Account on the basis of such declaration. In the event that the Company discovers that the Investor is a U.S. Person, the Company, its subsidiaries and affiliates, are hereby absolutely and unconditionally authorized to report and disclose to U.S. Internal Revenue Service the required information.
CHANGE OF ADDRESS
The Investor shall promptly notify the Company in writing of any change in its/his/her address/e-mail address. All correspondence relative to the Account, including demand letters, summons, subpoenas or notifications for any judicial or extra-judicial action, shall be sent to the Investor in the last known address/e-mail address indicated in the Company’s records. The mere act of sending any correspondence by mail/e-mail or by messenger to said Investor’s last known address/e-mail address shall be valid and effective notice to the Investor for all legal purposes and the fact that any communication is not actually received by the Investor or returned unclaimed to the Company or that no person was found at the last known address/e-mail given or the last known address cannot be located or identified despite diligent efforts made by the Company to locate or identity the same, shall not relieve the Investor from the effects of such notice.
CHANGE OF SPECIMEN SIGNATURE AND SIGNATORIES
The Investor may from time to time update its/his/her specimen signatures with the Company; provided such update shall be made by the Investor in person at office hours before any of the Company’s authorized officers. The Investor’s last specimen signature in the Company’s record shall be the basis for any valid, binding and effective transaction of the Account.
For Non-Individual Accounts, it shall be the responsibility of the Investor to inform the Company in writing of any changes in its authorized signatories. For avoidance of doubt, the Company has the right to rely upon the Investor’s authorization/board/resolution/certification for its authorized signatories indicated in the Company’s records and any and all acts done and transactions made by the Investor’s authorized signatories identified thereat shall be valid, binding and effective upon the Investor until and unless the Company has received the original copy of the latest resolution(s) of Investor’s Board of Directors or Secretary’s Certificate stating its authorized signatories and duly authenticated samples of specimen signatures of authorized signatories or changes thereto.
JOINT ACCOUNT (“OR” ACCOUNTS)
The shares in a “OR” Account are owned entirely by any of the Account Holders jointly and severally, and shall be payable to and collectible by any one or more of the Account Holders. The Investors of the “OR” Account authorize FAMI to accept subscription, fund switch and redemption instructions from any of the Investors who is/are Account Holders of the Account and whose signatures are indicated in the specimen signature card, and automatically vests in any one of the Account Holders to do whatever is desired with the shares without the need of securing the consent of the other Account Holders/co-Investors.
Whenever one or more of the Account Holders redeem from a “OR” Account, this is understood to be with the explicit and sworn declaration under penalty of perjury, that the co-Investor/s is/are still living on the date of redemption. Upon the death of a co-Investor, the redemption proceeds in a “OR” Account shall be subject to Company policies in claiming of deceased client’s fund investment, applicable Philippine laws, rules and regulations and orders of a court of competent jurisdiction.
The value of the Investor’s investment may change in relation to changes in market value of the fund. The price at the time of subscription may be lower or higher than the price at the time of redemption.
Any reference to historical data should not be interpreted as projections to future performance servicing. Past performance is not an indicative of future returns. References to historical prices are for illustration purposes only.
It is expected that the Investor has read and understood the prospectus prior to investing. Should there be queries, these should be said with the servicing FAMI Certified Investment Solicitor.
INDEMNIFICATION
The Investor hereby releases and holds the Company, its directors, officers and staff, free and harmless from any liabilities, suits, actions, losses, penalties and/or damages that may arise out of its/his/her/their transactions with the Company, including but not limited to, request for release of funds in “or” and/or “and” accounts and disclosure and authority as mentioned above and hereunder, including under FATCA, AMLA, R.A. 10173 or Data Privacy Act of 2012 and other laws and regulations requiring processing/sharing/disclosure of personal information, sensitive personal information and privilege information as defined under R.A. 10173, and its authority to process/share/disclose information related to the Investor and the Investor’s Account and information sent to you through e-mail and/or by electronic means and undertakes to indemnify the Company, its officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, assigns, successors-in-interest, for any and all costs, penalties and expenses that the latter may incur in prosecuting and/or defending against any and all liabilities, demands, claims, actions, suit, losses or damages whatsoever that may be instituted arising from or connected from the Investor’s request for release of funds in “or” and/or “and” Account and disclosure of information and other transactions.
AUTHORITY TO HOLD/DEBIT/FREEZE THE ACCOUNT/S
The Investor understands and agrees that the Company may be authorized by a lawful order of a competent court, without notice to or prior consent of Investor, to hold/debit the Account(s) in case of erroneous transaction, fraudulent acts of whatever nature including but not limited to misrepresentation, the submission of false, forged, or misleading documents or information and similar transactions. In case the Company receives any information or notice of any conflict among the Account holders, authorized signatories, officers, directors, shareholders and/or other persons claiming interest, involving the Account, the Investor agrees that the Company may freeze/hold the Account until it is satisfied that the conflict has been resolved judicially or extra-judicially or is in receipt of a court order directing the Company to release/dispose the funds in favor of the Account holder(s) or to any person lawfully designated by the court. In such a case, the Company will notify the Investor or the Account Holders either by phone or in writing at its/my/his/her designated contact information.
SMS, E-MAIL AND ELECTRONIC DATA AND DOCUMENTS
The Investor hereby agrees and confirms, that the Company may send or communicate with him/her/them via text message (“Short Message Service” or “SMS”) through its/his./her SMS-enabled mobile number or electronic mail ("e-mail") through its/his/her e-mail address or other electronic alerts, specific prompts, reminders, transactional confirmation and/or notices from time-to-time concerning matters related to its/his/her Account by the use of any mobile number and/or e-mail address indicated in the Company’s AOF and in all the other forms of the Company. By providing the Company with its/his/her mobile number and/or e-mail address, the Investor hereby agrees to have all its/his/her Accounts covered by these electronic communication facilities. The Investor hereby acknowledges and accepts that each SMS/e-mail sent to it/him/her without being encrypted and may include its/his/her name, personal information, if applicable, and information pertaining to its/his/her Account. Likewise, the Investor fully understand that in communicating to him/her/them through SMS/e-mail, the Company will, in no case, ask from him/her/them any information about its/his/her Account. It is the Investor’s responsibility to ensure security of its/his/her mobile phone as well as its/his/her personal e-mail address and hereby holds the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates, as well as its directors, officers and employees free and harmless against any liabilities, losses, claims, damages, penalties, choses of actions and costs of any kind, including but not limited to those relating to laws and rules and regulations, if any, should the SMS or e-mail be accessed by a person other than the Investor. The absence of a written notice to the contrary shall be deemed by the Company as a continuing consent to receive communications or notifications from the Company through said electronic communication facilities.
