Privacy policy

Blackstone Financial Management Ltd – Privacy Notice

Blackstone Financial Management Ltd is committed to protecting your personal information.

Our Privacy Policy contains important information about what personal details we collect; what we do with that information; who we may share it with and why; and your choices and rights when it comes to the personal information you have given us.

What information do we collect about you?

We collect information about you when you engage us for the provision of financial advice. This information will relate to your personal and financial circumstances. It may also include special categories of personal data such as data about your health, if this is necessary for the provision of our services.

We may also collect information when you voluntarily complete client surveys or provide feedback to us.

Why do we need to collect and use your personal data?

We take your privacy seriously and we will only ever collect and use information which is personal to you where it is necessary, fair and lawful to do so.

The primary legal basis that we intend to use for the processing of your data is for the performance of our contract with you. The information that we collect about you is essential for us to be able to carry out the services that you require from us effectively. Without collecting your personal data we’d also be unable to fulfil our legal and regulatory obligations.

Where special category data is required we are allowed to collect & process this for the provision of protection or pensions as insurance underwriting purposes are exempt from the consent requirement.

If you do not wish us to collect and use your personal information in this way, it may mean that we will be unable to provide you with our any of our services.

How will we use the information about you?

We collect information about you in order to provide you with the services for which you engage us.

We will never sell your details to someone else. Whenever we share your personal information, we will do so in line with our obligations to keep your information safe and secure.

Who might we share your information with?

We may email you about other products or services that we think may be of interest to you on the basis of legitimate interests.

We won’t share your information for marketing purposes.

In order to deliver our services to you effectively we may send your details to third parties such as those that we engage for professional compliance, accountancy or legal services as well as product and platform providers that we use to arrange financial products for you.

Where third parties are involved in processing your data we’ll have a contract in place with them to ensure that the nature and purpose of the processing is clear, that they are subject to a duty of confidence in processing your data and that they’ll only act in accordance with our written instructions.

Where it’s necessary for your personal data to be forwarded to a third party we’ll use appropriate security measures to protect your personal data in transit.

To fulfil our obligations in respect of prevention of money-laundering and other financial crime we may send your details to third party agencies for identity verification purposes.

Where your information is processed The majority of your information is processed in the UK and European Economic Area (EEA). However, some of your information may be processed by us or the third parties we work with outside of the EEA, including countries such as the United States, New Zealand and India. Where your information is being processed outside of the EEA, we take additional steps to ensure that your information is protected to at least an equivalent level as would be applied by UK / EEA data privacy laws e.g. we will put in place legal agreements with our third party suppliers and do regular checks to ensure they meet these obligations.

How we protect your information

We take information and system security very seriously and we strive to comply with our obligations at all times. Any personal information which is collected recorded or used in any way, whether on paper, online or any other media, will have appropriate safeguards applied in line with our data protection obligations.

Your information is protected by controls designed to minimise loss or damage through accident, negligence or deliberate actions. Our employees also protect sensitive or confidential information when storing or transmitting information electronically and must undertake annual training on this.

Our security controls are aligned to industry standards and good practice; providing a control environment that effectively manages risks to the confidentiality, integrity and availability of your information.

How long do we keep hold of your information?

In principle, your personal data shouldn’t be held for longer than is required under the terms of our contract for services with you. However, we’re subject to regulatory requirements to retain data for specified minimum periods. We also reserve the right to retain data for longer than this due to the possibility that it may be required to defend a future claim against us.

You have the right to request deletion of your personal data. If we cannot delete your data we will archive it and cease any processing as requested.

You also have the right to request that we cease processing your personal data, and the right to have any errors corrected. We will comply with your request as soon as possible if you contact us.

How can I access the information you hold about me?

You have the right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you. If you’d like a copy of some or all of your personal information please email or write to us using the contact details noted below.

We have an obligation to ensure that your personal information is accurate and up to date. Please ask us to correct or remove any information that you think is incorrect.

You can ask for a copy of your personal information for your own purposes to use across different services. In certain circumstances, you may move, copy or transfer the personal information we hold to another company in a safe and secure way.

Marketing

We’d like to send you information about our products and services which may be of interest to you. We will ensure that such communications onthe basis of leigitimate interests will not prejudice your rights and freedoms.

What can you do if you are unhappy with how your personal data is processed?

You also have a right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority for Information Commissioner’s Office

Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

0303 123 1113 (local rate)

Changes to our privacy policy

We keep our privacy policy under regular review and we’ll inform you of any changes when they occur. This privacy policy was last updated on 7 February 2023.

How to contact us

Please contact us if you have any questions about our privacy policy or information we hold about you: by email, enquiries@BlackstoneFM.com or write to us at:

Blackstone Financial Management
22b Station Road
Cheadle Hulme
Cheshire SK8 7AB