Terms & Conditions

Gembroker New Zealand Limited Terms and Conditions

Effective Date: 02 October 2023

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Gembroker Background

Gembroker New Zealand Limited is part of the Maddition Group which is a global wealth management technology business that powers wealth building platforms like Gembroker and Gembot.

Gembroker partners with global companies to give you access to investment products. We do not create, issue  or own these products, so we are not responsible for them. It's important for you to carefully review the terms of each product to determine if it suits your needs and understand the associated risks before deciding to invest.

Warning

The Gembroker Service or associated products and businesses do not give financial advice.

The information  presented by Gembroker New Zealand Limited and provided in its website, videos  and/or mobile applications (Platforms) is factual information of a general nature only

Any information contained in the Gembroker Service  is general information only and has been prepared without considering your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should not rely on any information contained through the Gembroker Service and before making any investment decision  you should  consider whether it is appropriate for your situation and seek appropriate financial, taxation and legal advice. 

We provide information on  potential investment options for you to consider , but we don't give  financial advice. We do not provide any opinion or recommendation as to what you should invest in. It's up to you to make decisions about which products to invest in, taking appropriate advice prior to actioning any investment decision . When you invest real money, there is a real risk that you may lose some or all of your investment. You are solely responsible for your investment decisions and any losses you experience as a result, and not us or any of our partners.

Account Creation

To create an account, you must be:

1. At least 18 years of age;
2. A physical and tax resident of New Zealand;
3. Possess the legal right and ability to enter into a legally binding agreement with us; and
4. Agree and warrant to use the Gembroker Service in accordance with these Terms.

We retain the right to cancel your account for any reason, or refuse your account activation request.

Additionally you must:

1. Sign up for Gembot.ai;
2. Complete the Gembroker onboarding application;
3. Provide complete and accurate information that we and our partners need during the sign-up process;
4. Upload necessary documents that we and our partners need to verify your identity as required by law;
5. Gembroker will use electronic identity verification services to confirm your identity and perform customer due diligence checks, including checking for politically exposed persons (PEPs);
6. By applying for Gembroker, you give your consent for the company to verify your identity and conduct checks using these electronic services; 
7. Sign up for an individual brokerage account with Alpaca Securities LLC and Alpaca Crypto LLC [Process to be discussed/confirmed]
8. Agree that we and our partners can communicate with you electronically about all matters.

It is essential for us to have your updated information at all times. Please review your account details regularly and inform us promptly of any changes. We will provide you with a secure login to access your Gembroker Account via the Gembot Platform. It is your responsibility to keep your account secure at all times by choosing a strong password and updating it as needed, ensuring that nobody else has access to your account. If we receive an order from your account, we will assume it is from you and proceed accordingly.

Please note that we are not liable for any unauthorised use of your Gembroker Account or any financial losses resulting from such unauthorised use. Please take necessary precautions to prevent unauthorised access and protect your account.  If there is suspicion or a report of unauthorised use of your Gembroker Account, we have the right to suspend access to it. Additionally, we may suspend access if we believe the account's security is compromised, if it is being used for illegal purposes, or if required by law or regulatory authorities.

Whenever possible, we will inform you in advance if we are going to suspend your Gembroker Account and provide reasons for the suspension. However, in some cases, we may be required to act swiftly to ensure the account's security or may be prohibited by law or regulatory restrictions from notifying you. Please note that while your account is suspended, we are not responsible for any financial losses or missed opportunities you may experience.

You need to report any unauthorised use of your Gembroker Account to us immediately, by emailing us at [email protected]

We have made all reasonable efforts to secure the information you provide to us, but you understand and accept that you use Gembroker and provide information at your own risk. We are not responsible for any misuse of your information that may occur due to a breach of our security measures.

Gembroker Terms

When you open an account with Gembroker, which includes an individual brokerage account with Alpaca Securities LLC and Alpaca Crypto LLC (Alpaca), we refer to it as your "Gembroker Account". It's important for you to read and understand these  terms and agree to follow them throughout your lifecycle with Gembroker. We have the right to modify these terms at any time. We will notify you by email four weeks prior if the changes significantly impact the meaning or effect of these terms. However, minor changes that are inconsequential may be made without prior notification. 

If you disagree with any changes to the terms, you have the option to cancel your Gembroker Account before the new terms come into effect. By continuing to use Gembroker after the changes, we will consider you to have accepted the new terms. In addition to these general terms, there are specific terms that apply to each product available on Gembroker. To use those products, you will need to agree to the respective specific terms.

Your Gembroker Account    

We properly account for your funds in your Gembroker Account and display the value of your funds  and investments held with Gembroker. It's also where you place orders for your trading account.  When you deposit money into your Gembroker Account, it is received in a New Zealand bank account in trust with Gembroker NZ Limited and we then take the appropriate actions to transfer the funds to Alpaca Securities and then to the appropriate custodian. By signing up to the Gembroker Service you give us the authority to use the appropriate intermediaries to get the funds to your broker account as soon as possible. Funds will appear in your account generally within three (3) business days, however we endeavour to get the funds available in your account within one (1) day. We will get the best rate possible for foreign exchange and all fees charged will be clearly communicated via email confirmation upon the funds becoming available.

Funding an Account

 Before you can provide an Instruction to buy securities, you must fund your account. Gembroker retains the discretion to allow purchase of securities prior to any funding.

We may offer different payment methods and speeds for you to deposit funds to your account and transfer funds between New Zealand  and United States of America currencies. Gembroker is not liable for any losses arising from funding delays or errors, including transfers between New Zealand  and United States of America currencies. We may charge you a fee for certain payment methods or speeds. We reserve the right to change the type of payment methods and speeds, and fees associated with them, at our sole discretion.

You agree that funds deposited via any funding method may not be available for withdrawal until the funds have cleared at Gembroker, which generally takes up to seven (7) business days. After this time, if the funds have cleared they may be withdrawn by you.

You authorise Gembroker, relevant intermediaries and any Service Provider, if required, to facilitate the transfer of funds deposited into your account (which are not the result of a withdrawal from the United States of America) to the United States of America client account of Gembroker’s broker-dealer (Alpaca Securities, LLC or ‘Alpaca’) (the ‘Alpaca Account’).

You may also receive funds deposited into your account by Gembroker as a result of promotions Gembroker may run from time to time.

Where you initiate a foreign exchange transfer on Gembroker, you authorise Gembroker to book a deal with Foreign Exchange Partners, such as Wise (TransferWise  Pty Limited) to convert your funds into United States of America dollars. The applicable exchange rate will be the rate at the time the funds are received (rather than when they are sent by you). We may provide an estimated exchange rate at the time you initiate the transfer, however if you do not select an instant payment method (for example a  bank transfer), the actual exchange rate applied at the time that the funds are received may vary from the estimate provided.

Funds transferred will be sent to one of our  Foreign Exchange Partners , and then remitted to your United States of America client account in United States of America dollars. Gembroker has contracted with its Foreign Exchange  Partners directly and you are not entering into a contractual relationship with that Foreign ExchangePartner (unless explicitly disclosed).

You will be notified once the funds have cleared in the Alpaca Account and are available to invest through Gembroker.

You confirm that the intention of using these funds is not for any improper or illegal activity.

If you fund your Gembroker Account directly (not explicitly within the Gembroker Service, but through your own channel) you acknowledge that Gembroker is not responsible or liable for any loss. Gembroker does not support third party deposits. You acknowledge that third party deposits may be rejected and sent back to source and Gembroker may take any other action in respect of your account, including suspension and/or charging a fee.

You must not fund your Gembroker Account from an international source.

Gembroker is responsible for maintaining accurate records of your money and ensuring the correct amount is transferred to your Alpaca Account. However, Gembroker is not liable for any losses resulting from fluctuations in the exchange rate or delays caused by Gembroker or the banks it works with.

If you have any concerns or disagree with the investment records provided by Gembroker, you must notify us promptly, preferably within two (2) days. If you have any issues with your Gembroker Account statement, please inform us within five (5) days.

In the case we are unable to match the money deposited with a Gembroker customer, we may return the money to its original bank account.

If you or we decide to close your Gembroker Account, we will ensure that any investments held through Gembroker are sold and the resulting funds are returned to your bank account.

Your investments are held by Alpaca, or its sub-custodian, on your behalf and not directly by Gembroker. Refer to the information below regarding our business partners.

Gembroker Availability  

Our Gembroker Services will be fully available between 08h00 to 18h00 New Zealand Time Monday to Friday and our team will be available during these core business hours to address any service failures 

While we endeavour to ensure our services are highly available, we can not guarantee this due to production defects or reasons beyond our control.  As such we are not liable if Gembroker is not available for any reasons beyond the core business hours. 

Fees  

While we don’t charge any fees to open a Gembroker Account, there are fees for using any of the products and services on the Gembroker Platform. Our current fee schedule is here:

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Go to pricing

How we Make Money

1. Trade Fees - up to 0.4% per trade
2. Interest on Cash Balance held on your behalf
3. Payment for Order Flow
4. Spread on Crypto Transactions 0.75%
5. Foreign Exchange for New Zealand Dollar Deposits and Withdrawals of 1%
6. Subscription fees for Gembroker Plus which enables users access to free transactions and other premium services and features

Complaints

If you have a complaint, please bring it to our attention at Gembroker.

If we are unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you have the option to escalate it to our external dispute resolution scheme free of charge:

Financial Dispute Resolution Services (FDRS)

 Level 4, 142 Lambton Quay, Wellington 6011, New Zealand

www.fdrs.org.nz | 0508 337 337 | [email protected]

 Our Privacy Obligation 

In order to effectively deliver Gembroker products and services, we and our partners  need to collect personal details from you.  Failure on your part to provide this requisite data will lead to you unable to use our products and services. We treat this information with utmost respect as detailed in our Gembroker Privacy Policy in alignment with New Zealand Privacy Law. 

Additionally some of the information we request is for Alpaca.

It's important to note that Alpaca is not governed by New Zealand law and may not be obligated to protect your information in a manner that provides equivalent safeguards as required by New Zealand privacy laws.

Alpaca handles and safeguards your information according to their Privacy Policy, which you should read and understand. You agree for us to share your information with Alpaca as a result of using Gembroker.

Gembroker Partners With  

Alpaca Securities LLC and Alpaca Crypto LLC (Alpaca)

Alpaca is a United States of America broker-dealer that provides brokerage services on Gembroker and holds investments on your behalf, either directly or through a sub-custodian or another provider.

With your Gembroker Account, you can purchase shares in companies and Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)and cryptocurrencies using Alpaca’s brokerage service. You have the flexibility to invest any dollar amount, even if it's a fraction of a share.

Alpaca offers access to shares from over 4,700 well-known companies and  more than 1,200 ETFs.

When you sign up for the United States of America share market product, you agree to Alpaca’s Account Application and Customer Agreement. It is important to thoroughly read and understand this Agreement as it outlines the responsibilities and limitations of both Alpaca and yourself when trading through Gembroker.

Please note at all times that Gembroker does not offer financial advice, and the information on this website should not be considered as a recommendation or opinion   to invest in any specific product or company.  All investments come with risks, and there is always a possibility of losing money, including the initial investment. It is advisable to consult a licensed financial adviser for professional advice before making any investment decisions.

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