Complaints Handling

As a firm which is duly authorized by the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) to conduct regulated activities relating to investment management services, Maha Capital Partners LLC (the “Company”) has made it a priority to provide its customers and clients with the highest possible quality of service and is dedicated to building long-term, sustainable and loyal relationships with such customers and clients.

In addition, the Company is committed to deal with complaints addressed to it in a professional and fair manner, efficiently and with due diligence and consideration, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

The following summary (the “Summary”) outlines the complaint handling procedures of the Company.

A complaint may be addressed free of charge to the customer or client’s usual relationship manager, account manager or usual point of contact in the Company (the “client-facing employee”), either verbally during a conversation within the Company’s premises or, preferably in writing or through an e-mail communication or by postal mail addressed to the Company’s registered office. Any personal data in relation with the complaint filed with the Company will be kept and processed in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

Acknowledgement of receipt

All complaints will be acknowledged in writing by the Company within five (5) business days after receipt from the client-facing employee.

To such effect, the client-facing employee shall issue an acknowledgement of receipt to the client or customer in a durable medium, which shall (i) inform the complainant that their request or claim has been received and is being investigated, (ii) provide the client or customer with this Summary of Complaints Handling and a confirmation that a designated individual (with their full name and function/title) is investigating such complaint, and (iii) confirm that a response will be provided by the Company to such client or customer within the best possible timeframe.

This acknowledgement of receipt may of course be combined with a full response to the complaint, if the Company can provide such response within five (5) business days after the day when the complaint was received.

For the purpose of this Summary:

• if the Company received the complaint on a day that is not a business day (or on a business day, but after close of business), the complaint shall be treated as having been received by the Company on the following business day;
• the term “business day(s)” shall mean a day (other than Friday, Saturday and Sunday) when the offices of the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) are open and when commercial banks are open for their general business in Doha, in the State of Qatar.

Management of complaint

Upon receipt of the complaint, the client-facing employee shall follow the internal procedures to report the complaint and obtain approvals in relation to a response to be issued to the complainant, based on an investigation conducted by a designated individual (who shall, as general principle, be located within the legal function of the Company) who must be competent to investigate such matter and independent from the persons and parties who are targeted by the complaint (the “Complaint Processor”), the results of which are then submitted to the Company’s compliance oversight function (COF) and senior executive function (SEF) for their respective approvals.

The Company must provide a final response to the customer or client in a durable medium, which must state one of the following:

• accept the complaint and, if appropriate, offer redress;
• offer redress without accepting the complaint; or
• reject the complaint and state the reasons for such rejection.

In addition, if the complainant is eligible to apply under the Customer Dispute Resolution Scheme Rules 2019 (CDRS), the final response must inform the complainant that, if the complainant is dissatisfied with the Company’s response, the complainant may apply under that scheme, but must do so within four (4) calendar months after receiving the Company’s final response, and must provide the complainant with the contact details for the CDRS scheme.

If the Company has not provided the customer or client with the final response at the end of four (4) weeks after the date on which the complaint was received, the Company must provide the complainant with an interim response, in a durable medium, explaining why it has not been able to resolve the complaint and indicating when it will contact the complainant again about the complaint (using caution and due diligence in doing so).

If the Company has not provided the customer or client with the final response at the end of eight (8) weeks after the date on which the complaint was received, the Company must:

• provide the complainant with an interim response, in a durable medium, explaining that the Company has not been able to provide a final response, the reasons for this further delay and indicating when it expects to be able to give a final response (using caution and due diligence in evaluating such expected delay); and

• if the complainant is eligible to apply under CDRS, inform the complainant that the complainant may apply under that CDRS scheme if dissatisfied with the delay.

Provision of redress to the complainant

If the Company has considered the complaint and decided, in the final response provided to the complainant, that redress is appropriate, then the Company must provide the complainant with fair compensation(financial or otherwise) for any acts or omissions for which the Company was responsible and must give effect to any offer of redress that the complainant accepts.

Complaints Registry

A Complaints Registry setting out the main terms of each complaint received and managed by the Company shall be maintained and kept up to date by the COF of the Company, on the basis of information provided to it by other employees, and shall make it available upon request to other control functions in connection with any internal controls, inspections or audits.

Annual review of complaints

The Company shall review the complaints received and managed during a year with a view to address any patterns which may be identified in the course of such complaints.

Right of complainant to apply to the Customer Dispute Resolution Scheme (“CDRS”)

A person is eligible to apply to a review by an “Independent Adjudicator” (as such expression is defined under Part 2 of CDRS Rules) of the Company’s decisions, (i) if it is a business customer (as defined in CIPR) but only if the applicant’s business has no more than twenty (20) employees or (ii) if the applicant is an individual who is or was a beneficiary under a group policy issued by the Company (in each case, the “Applicant”).

For the avoidance of doubt, it is reminded that “retail” clients are not eligible for service by the Company and are therefore not relevant for eligibility under the CDRS Rules with respect to the Company.

The Applicant may apply within four (4) calendar months after a final response was received (even if it was given after the end of the authorized response period) or if the response period has ended without the Company having provided any response. In exceptional cases, the Independent Adjudicator may accept, consider and decide on an application which is made after the four (4) months-delay if it is satisfied that there is sufficient reason for the delay in applying.

Such application to the Independent Adjudicator must be made by the Applicant to the QFCRA at its address for the purpose notified on an approved website or in any other way authorized by QFCRA.

If the Company’s actions or decisions is the subject of an application to the Independent Adjudicator, the Company must participate in the adjudication process and cooperate fully with the Independent Adjudicator. This includes an obligation to provide further information or copies of documents upon request from the QFCRA.

Application made to the Independent Adjudicator in respect of the Company’s response to a complaint does not result in – and shall never be interpreted by any employee or representative of the Company as – relieving or reducing the confidentiality obligations owed by the Company towards the customer or client and which remain fully attached to the content of the Applicant’s file and subject matter.

The Independent Adjudicator has the power to direct the Company to pay compensation of no more than QAR 400,000 to an Applicant for losses and expenses that the Applicant has actually incurred as a result of the actions by the Company that gave rise to a complaint.

To provide further detailed information about the types of issues arising in adjudications, the QFCRA has made available on its website a list of featured CDRS case studies based on CDRS cases managed in the past, which may therefore be used as indicative guidance.

A written decision rendered by the Independent Adjudicator must be accepted by the Applicant (within twenty-one (21) days after being in receipt of such decision or longer if extended by the Independent Adjudicator) for it to become valid and enforceable: if such is the case, it becomes binding on both parties and must be fully complied with by the Company, including by paying any awarded compensation “as soon as reasonably practicable”.

A decision by the Independent Adjudicator, if accepted by the Applicant, is final and is not subject to an appeal. The Applicant is entitled to refuse such decision, in which case it becomes void and non-enforceable.

Last, a person who is entitled to make a complaint to the Company under Part 3.8 of CIPR may also apply to the Civil and Commercial Court of the QFC for a restitution order if the person has suffered loss or damage as a result of a “contravention of a relevant requirement” (as such expression is defined by articles 84 and 85 of Financial Services Regulations) by the Company in relation to its regulated activities.