Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) Policy

Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) Policy

1. INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE

1.1 IUX Markets ZA (Pty) Ltd (“the Company”, “we”, “us”, “our”) is an authorised Financial Services Provider (FSP No. 53103) regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (“FSCA”) in South Africa. Registered address: 18 Cavendish Road, Claremont, Cape Town, Western Cape, 7708.

1.2 The Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s (“FSCA”) Treating Customers Fairly (“TCF”) initiative is an outcomes-based regulatory approach under which regulated financial institutions must deliver six clearly articulated fairness outcomes for financial services customers.

1.3 This Policy sets out how the Company embeds the TCF outcomes into its culture, governance, product life-cycle, client-facing activities and day-to-day operations as an intermediary routing CFD orders to its principal Mauritian execution affiliate (the “Execution Broker”). It must be read together with the Company’s Advertising and Marketing Policy, Conflicts of Interest Policy, Provider Due Diligence Policy, Complaints Resolution Policy, Privacy Notice, and Financial Intelligence Centre Act Risk Management and Compliance Programme (“RMCP”).

1.4 The Company also observes the diligence, care and skill requirements of sections 2 and 8 of the General Code of Conduct (“GCC”), which apply to intermediary services notwithstanding the Company’s execution-only model.

2. SCOPE AND APPLICATION

2.1 This Policy applies to the Board of Directors, senior management, the Key Individual, representatives, and all permanent and temporary staff (collectively, “Personnel”). It governs all client interactions, marketing initiatives, product oversight, complaints handling, and intermediary services. Compliance is a mandatory condition of employment and operational conduct.

3. THE SIX FSCA TCF OUTCOMES

Outcome 1 — TCF Culture and Governance

3.1. Customers are confident that they are dealing with a firm where the fair treatment of customers is central to the firm’s culture:

1. Leadership and Governance: the Board of Directors and the Key Individual have ultimate accountability for embedding TCF into strategic and operational planning. TCF is a standing agenda item at every quarterly Board meeting, with MI dashboards (see section 4) tabled for review.
2. Board attestation: at least annually, the Board records a written attestation confirming that TCF has been embedded in the Company’s culture, supported by the MI reviewed during the year.
3. Code of Conduct: TCF principles are formally integrated into the Company’s internal Code of Conduct, staff handbook, and performance objectives.
4. Training: all Personnel complete mandatory FAIS, FIC Act, POPIA, Conflicts of Interest and TCF training at onboarding, followed by annual refresher training and assessment. Training completion and assessment outcomes are tracked.
5. Performance and Remuneration: staff remuneration and incentive structures are reviewed by the Board at least annually to ensure they do not incentivise risky client behaviour, inappropriate sales, or compromise of fair client outcomes. The review is documented and any adjustments are minuted.

Outcome 2 — Product Governance and Target Market

3.2. Products and services marketed and sold in the retail market are designed to meet the needs of identified customer groups and are targeted accordingly.

1. Target Market Assessment: CFDs are complex, leveraged instruments suitable only for informed retail investors with a high risk tolerance and the financial capacity to sustain losses. The Marketing and Compliance Departments maintain a documented Target Market Assessment identifying the target market, exclusion criteria, and expected fair-value outcomes.
2. Product Oversight Committee: a Product Oversight Committee (comprising the Key Individual, the Compliance Officer, and a senior member of the Marketing and Operations functions) meets at least quarterly to review the product, its performance against the target market assessment, distribution channels (including affiliates and influencers), and any emerging issues.
3. Distribution Strategy: marketing, funnels and affiliate channels are calibrated to reach the defined target market. Marketing materials may not downplay CFD risks or guarantee profits, and must comply with the Advertising and Marketing Policy.
4. Product Diligence: the Company conducts an annual due diligence review of the Execution Broker’s platform and the mechanics of the products offered, using the Provider Due Diligence Policy, and updates the Target Market Assessment accordingly.
5. Appropriateness test: before a retail client is enabled to trade CFDs, the Company administers a knowledge-and-experience questionnaire to assess the client’s understanding of leverage, margin, risk and product mechanics. Clients who fail to demonstrate appropriate knowledge are either declined or required to complete further education and re-take the assessment.

Outcome 3 — Clear Information and Ongoing Communication

3.3. Customers are given clear information and are kept appropriately informed before, during, and after the time of contracting.

1. Pre-contract disclosures: before opening an account, clients receive transparent, plain-language disclosures describing the Company’s role as a FAIS intermediary, the role of the Execution Broker (including the corporate affiliation), fee structures, spreads, overnight financing, leverage limits, margin-call mechanics, execution policy, cooling-off rights (where applicable), and complaints procedures.
2. Risk warnings: prominent CFD risk warnings (including the loss-rate and leverage warnings prescribed in the Advertising and Marketing Policy) are displayed across all Company platforms, landing pages and communications.
3. Ongoing communication: clients receive automated, accurate trade confirmations and statements. Material changes to trading conditions, fees, policies or platform functionality are notified in advance. The standard notice period is seven (7) calendar days, extended to thirty (30) calendar days for (a) fee increases, (b) changes to withdrawal procedures, (c) material changes to the Execution Broker or any change to the jurisdiction of execution, or (d) other changes that materially reduce the client’s rights or remedies.
4. Accessibility: client-facing materials are available in clear language. The Company monitors readability (for example, Flesch–Kincaid grade level) of its primary disclosures and aims for plain-language equivalence.

Outcome 4 — Suitability of Advice

3.4. Where customers receive advice, the advice is suitable and takes account of their circumstances.

1. Execution-only mandate: the Company operates strictly on an execution-only basis and does not furnish advice under the FAIS Act.
2. Factual information only: Personnel provide only factual information about market data, platform functionality, and product mechanics, and may not offer trading recommendations, opinions on specific instruments, or guidance on position sizing. Client-facing scripts and QA testing are used to monitor compliance.
3. Diligence obligations: even in an execution-only context, the Company observes the GCC section 8 diligence obligations, including taking reasonable steps to seek appropriate and available information regarding the client and ensuring that intermediary services are rendered with due skill, care and diligence.
4. Client autonomy: clients retain full responsibility for their own trading decisions. The Company provides educational resources and demo accounts to help clients understand the product before committing real capital.

Outcome 5 — Product Performance and Service Standards

3.5. Customers are provided with products that perform as firms have led them to expect, and the associated service is of an acceptable standard and what they have been led to expect.

1. Platform integrity: the Company requires the Execution Broker to maintain platform uptime of not less than 99.5% (measured over rolling 12-month windows), transparent pricing feeds, and execution consistent with published terms.
2. Service standards: client queries are acknowledged within 24 business hours and, for standard tickets, resolved within 72 business hours where reasonably practicable.
3. Execution quality monitoring: the Company continuously monitors execution-quality reports, slippage, latency and margin-call processes, and escalates outliers to the Key Individual and the Provider Due Diligence Committee.

Outcome 6 — No Unreasonable Post-Sale Barriers

3.6. Customers do not face unreasonable post-sale barriers to change products, switch providers, submit a claim, or make a complaint.

1. Withdrawals: verified withdrawal requests are processed within 24 to 48 business hours of verification, without arbitrary delays or hidden exit penalties, subject to applicable AML/CFT, exchange control and source-of-funds verification requirements.
2. Complaints handling: the Company maintains a transparent, accessible and free Complaints Resolution Policy aligned with Chapter VI of the GCC. Complaints are acknowledged within 24 business hours; the Company targets resolution within three (3) weeks of receipt, and in any event within six (6) weeks. Root-cause analysis is undertaken for all complaint clusters.
3. FAIS Ombud escalation: if a complaint cannot be resolved internally to the client’s satisfaction within six (6) weeks, the Company will inform the client in writing of their statutory right to escalate to the FAIS Ombud, providing the current contact details and submission guidance for the Ombud.
4. Switching and account closure: clients may close their accounts at any time in accordance with the Client Agreement, without penalty; the Company will provide reasonable co-operation and required records to support switching.

4. MANAGEMENT INFORMATION (MI) AND MONITORING

4.1. To ensure TCF principles are actively measured and enforced, senior management and the Compliance Department review specific Management Information (MI) on a monthly basis, including:

1. volume, nature, categorization, and resolution time of client complaints, and root-cause analysis;
2. complaint trends broken down by channel, target-market segment, and affiliate;
3. withdrawal volumes and processing times, measured against the 24–48 business-hour SLA;
4. system uptime, execution quality and incident reports from the Execution Broker;
5. client retention, churn, and reasons-for-closure analytics;
6. QA scores on client-facing communications;
7. TCF, FAIS, FIC Act, POPIA and COI training completion rates;
8. outcomes of appropriateness testing, including fail-rates, re-tests and exclusions.

4.2 Negative trends or control deficiencies are escalated to the Key Individual and the Board, with documented corrective action and follow-up.

4.3 MI is retained for at least five (5) years and is available for FSCA inspection.

5. REVIEW AND ADOPTION

5.1 This Policy is reviewed by the Compliance Department at least annually, and promptly on any material change to FSCA regulations, Conduct Standards, the Company’s business model, or the Execution Broker arrangement.

5.2 Material amendments require Board adoption. The Compliance Officer records annual written confirmation of implementation and monitoring.