The TEP Exchange is an online exchange for traded Endowment Policies (TEPs). Featuring a highly advanced trading platform, The TEP Exchange links Market Makers and IFAs in an environment where they can buy and sell TEPs efficiently and quickly.

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The TEP Exchange provides an online trading platform for Market Makers and IFAs to conduct deals and does not buy or sell TEPs.

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All with-profit endowments can be traded. There is no minimum surrender value or minimum term.

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When you submit a client's policy details to The TEP Exchange, our sophisticated matching engine, which contains the market makers' buying criteria, will instantly display the best offers available on the system. The highest price can then be accepted or declined.

Should the policy not meet the market makers' buying criteria, the policy will automatically be sent to the auction platform (see below).

If the auction does not provide an offer that is acceptable to your client, we will
e-mail the policy to 19 TEP market makers/buyers, who will contact you directly.

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If the policy you submit is sent to auction, you will have the option of setting a minimum offer price, known as a 'reserve price.' Once bidding has closed, the system will automatically accept the highest offer, provided that it is higher than the reserve price.

If you choose not to enter a reserve price, you will need to review the bids yourself (see below.) Once a satisfactory bid has been made, you should click the "accept" button. The bidding will still continue, and after the closure of the auction, the system will automatically accept the highest bid.

You can keep track of the bids by viewing the "Policy Under Auction" screen for the particular policy. This will display a full record of any offers received. The system will also display the commission and the net price to your client for the current highest offer.

Six working hours after the final bid has been placed (24 hours), the auction will close, and the system will automatically accept the highest bid, provided that the reserve price has been met. Where no reserve price was set, the system will automatically accept the highest bid if an offer has been accepted.

If the reserve price is not met, (or in a case where no reserve price was entered, there are no satisfactory bids, i.e. no offer was accepted) the auction will close with no trade resulting six working hours after the final bid.

Working hours are Monday to Friday, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, excluding all public holidays in England.

The TEP Exchange support team will endeavour to contact you if a new bid is made for a policy auction. However, it is recommended that you check on the auction process at least once a day.

Additional notes

You may also submit any specific notes pertaining to the auction of this policy in the "auction notes" text box. These notes are available to all parties involved in the auction and should include any known reasons why the policy has been sent to auction, eg. alterations, reasons for non-qualifying, unitised policy etc. These notes can only be edited by you at this initial stage, once these details have been submitted, they will be editable only by The TEP Exchange administrators.

Once these details have been submitted, you will have the opportunity to fill in any other notes in the "personal notes" text box; these notes can only be seen and edited by you.

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Once you have accepted an offer, either through an auto offer or the auction process, you will receive an automated online document pack. The deal is subject to contract until your client has signed the documentation and sent it to the Market Maker's TEP transfer agents. Only then is your client committed to proceed with the policy sale.

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Registration is free, and there is no cost for submitting polices to The TEP Exchange.

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Only those firms authorised to conduct investment business in the UK, as a firm of Independent Financial Advisers (IFA), are able to deal on The TEP Exchange. If you are not authorised as an IFA, please consult the non-IFAs page on our website.

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You choose your own commission rate that is agreeable with your client.

When you register you tell the system your normal (or default) commission. It is made up of two parts: a flat fee (irrespective of final price for the policy) and a percentage, which is a proportion of the final offer price. This means you can charge:

• A percentage, say 3%,
• A fixed amount, say £100,
• Or a combination, say 3% plus £100.

You can change your commission structure for a particular policy by overwriting your default value on the "Submit New policy" Screen, when you submit details of a policy for sale.

You can alter your default commission by editing your "Account details" screen

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Yes!

If an offer (from either an auto-sale or auction) is only just above surrender value, the deduction of your commission could mean that the policy holder receives less than surrender value - this is obviously unacceptable.

The system currently has a lowest limit of £220 above surrender value and if this price can't be offered by any MM, the sale will not go ahead.

At that level you will get £100 and the Policy Holder with get £120 above surrender value.

You are therefore guaranteed a minimum of £100 commission.

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If your client is willing to pay it, nothing, other than the fact that the higher the commission, the less attractive the deal will be for your client.

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Subject to certain conditions, advanced commission may be paid as soon as the Market Maker's TEP transfer agent confirms receipt of the policy document and signed documentation. Otherwise it is paid when clear title has been received.

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Where advanced commission is paid, you will receive the commission from The TEP Exchange (subject to repayment if the deal is subsequently cancelled). Otherwise, you will be paid by the Market Maker.

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Increasingly, IFAs are charging their clients a fee according to the amount of time taken to complete the sale of the policy. In this case you should enter a zero commission and arrange matters privately with your client.

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Any pc operating system can be used e.g. windows 3.1, 95, 98, NT, 2000 or ME.

An e-mail program (preferably MS Outlook) is strongly recommended. We also recommend MS-Office with Word and Excel.

Modem/Comms lines

The system will run on a 28K dial-up, but this may be slow for retrieving the longer reports and we would advise you to use a 56K modem. It is assumed that you have access to the internet through your favoured ISP (Internet Service Provider).

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The standard screen resolution on your computer should be 800x600. However, if you cannot view all the screens clearly, then try changing it to 1024x768. To do this, press the Start button, choose Settings, and Control Panel. Then open up Display and from the tabs at the top, click on Settings. Near the bottom right hand corner, you will see something marked Screen Area. Below it is a little marker. Move this marker either to the left or right by dragging it with the mouse. Once you have found the correct size press OK. You will then get a pop-up message to confirm your change. Click on Yes. The size will now be changed. If you are using Internet Explorer, you may also find it useful to press the F11 key to get a larger view of the page. Press F11 to change it back again.

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Yes, and in the interests of security it is advised that you change your password as soon as you receive it. You should also change your password at least once a month.

To change your password, follow the procedure below:

1. Press on the ACCOUNT DETAILS button towards the top right hand side of your "home page"
2. Press the EDIT DETAILS button
3. Enter your new password and reconfirm it
4. Verify all other account details and amend if necessary
5. Scroll to the bottom of the page and press the SUBMIT DETAILS button

Your password must be between 4 and 12 characters in length and can contain any combination of letters, numbers or spaces. Please note that the password is case-sensitive.

If you forget your password, you can always request a new one via the Login screen.

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Yes, as long as you observe the following simple precautions:

• Do not disclose your password to anyone
• Do not write down your password
• Do not send an e-mail containing your password
• If you think that someone knows your password, change it immediately