Provision Newsletter

What you need to know about buy now pay later services

Buy now pay later payment services allow you to delay payment or pay by instalments (often fortnightly) over a period of time. Here we explain how these payment services work, what fees you’ll pay and how to avoid getting into financial trouble if you’re using these services.

What is buy now pay later?

Buy now pay later services are offered by providers such as:

• Afterpay

• Certegy Ezi-Pay

• zipPay

• Oxipay

• BrightePay

• Openpay.

Buy now pay later services are offered by retailers and service providers so you can buy a product immediately and delay payment. You then pay off the product in instalments over several weeks or, with some high-value purchases, over a longer period of time.

Buy now pay later isn’t only offered for low-value purchases, like clothes and beauty products. Solar panels and health services can also be bought using buy now pay later.

How do these payment services work?

Buy now pay later services are offered when you shop online or in-store as another payment option at the time of checkout.

You can apply for and set up a purchase plan through the provider’s app or website when shopping online.

If you’re shopping in-store, a shop assistant will set up the buy now pay later application on your behalf. The buy now pay later provider will contact you when your application is approved. This is usually a quick process.   

You will need to provide your bank or credit card details the first time you use these services so your payments can be deducted. You may also be required to pay either a deposit or the first instalment up-front.

Refunds and returns

If you have a problem with the product or service you’ve bought, the shop or service provider’s returns policy will apply, so contact them first. 

Are buy now pay later services worth it?

Buy now pay later services are often advertised as ‘interest-free’ or ‘0% interest’, but the cost will add up if you can’t make the repayments on time.

Here are some things to look out for before using these services.

• Late fees – There’s usually a late fee every time you miss a payment or pay late. These fees can add up over time.

• Monthly account-keeping fees – Some of these services charge you a fixed amount for every month you continue to use their service.

• Payment processing fees – You may be required to pay a fee for each payment, on top of your set repayment.

Case study: Mai struggles to make ends meet after using buy now pay later services

In the lead-up to Christmas, Mai decided to take advantage of some markdowns by buying a couple of items online.

She found a new pair of designer sneakers worth $150. As Mai was a bit tight on money, she signed up to a buy now pay later service to split her repayments. She then found a hair straightener at a reduced price of $300 at another online store. Mai used a different buy now pay later service to buy the hair straightener and stretch out her repayments.

A fortnight later, Mai discovered that her bank account was overdrawn. She then realised she had not checked before buying the items if she would have enough money in her account to make both repayments.

Mai was not only charged default fees by both buy now pay later providers, but her bank also charged her an overdrawn fee.

Is your credit history or ability to repay checked?

Most buy now pay later providers do not check your ability to make repayments or your credit history. This means you could end up taking on more credit than you can afford and could have trouble making your repayments.

This can affect your credit score as some providers report late payments to credit reporting agencies. 

Managing your buy now pay later payments

Stay in control when you use a buy now pay later service by following these tips: 

• Plan ahead: Make sure you can afford the full price and that the repayments fit into your budget. Consider any other bills or financial commitments due at the same time as your buy now pay later payments.

• Don’t get into debt: Consider linking your buy now pay later account to your debit card instead of your credit card. That way you’re using your own money and avoid credit card interest.

• Don’t overcommit: Stick to a limit and aim to have only one buy now pay later at a time.

• Ask for help: If you’re having trouble making repayments, contact your provider straight away. 

Taking on too much debt?

An ASIC review of the buy now pay later industry found that 1 in 6 users had become overdrawn, delayed other bill payments or borrowed money so they could make their buy now pay later payments.

Making a complaint about buy now pay later services

Most buy now pay later providers have dedicated complaints and hardship services. Contact your provider to discuss your complaint, or if you are having difficulty making repayments. 

A free financial counsellor can also help if you’re struggling financially.

Using buy now pay later when you shop can be a convenient way to pay for things, but you need to be careful not to overcommit financially or buy more expensive items than you usually would. 

Please contact us on |PHONE| if you seek further assistance .

Source : ASIC’s Moneysmart February 2019 

Reproduced with the permission of ASIC’s MoneySmart Team. This article was originally published at https://www.moneysmart.gov.au/borrowing-and-credit/other-types-of-credit/buy-now-pay-later-services
Important note: This provides general information and hasn’t taken your circumstances into account.  It’s important to consider your particular circumstances before deciding what’s right for you. Although the information is from sources considered reliable, we do not guarantee that it is accurate or complete. You should not rely upon it and should seek qualified advice before making any investment decision. Except where liability under any statute cannot be excluded, we do not accept any liability (whether under contract, tort or otherwise) for any resulting loss or damage of the reader or any other person.  Past performance is not a reliable guide to future returns.

Important
Any information provided by the author detailed above is separate and external to our business and our Licensee. Neither our business, nor our Licensee take any responsibility for any action or any service provided by the author.

Any links have been provided with permission for information purposes only and will take you to external websites, which are not connected to our company in any way. Note: Our company does not endorse and is not responsible for the accuracy of the contents/information contained within the linked site(s) accessible from this page.

Investors around the world take environment, social and governance (ESG) issues into account when deciding where to invest, how to invest and how to measure returns.The ESG issues most likely to come under the microscope this year include some old favourites and a few new ones.

1. Climate change

Three years after the Paris Agreement promised to cap global temperature rises to below two degrees celsius, there is little agreement among governments on how or what to do to lower carbon emissions

Nevertheless, businesses have started investing for a lower carbon economy and investors are calculating how exposed their investments are to changes in global temperatures. The investment risks can be grouped into four key categories:

These risks are not clear-cut or easy to measure but investors in 2019 are asking companies to set goals around a transition to a renewables economy.

2. Regaining community trust

Following the Financial Services Royal Commission, investors are focusing more on issues at the core of the Commission: culture, remuneration and enforcement activities by the regulators.

Investors will consider processes and culture, especially where sales and profit targets rank against customers’ best interests. Attention is placed on regulators enforcing breaches of the law through the courts, which may impact companies’ profits and potentially their business activities.

3. The ethics of investing in social media

Social media users are typically happy to provide their personal information in exchange for free use of a platform. They provide this information assuming it will be handled and used in ways they expect. Trust is key. If user data is sold, stolen or mishandled, consumers question the safety of their information, undermining the social media companies’ business models.

The way social media companies respond in 2019 to laws and regulations being passed by governments to deal with privacy and the protection of users’ data will be critical to the success of the companies.  

Most popular social networks, January 2019, ranked by number of active users (in millions).

4. Access to medicine

Most Australians have access to affordable medicine, thanks to the pharmaceutical benefits scheme. Residents of many other countries, both rich and poor, are not so fortunate.
Some investors have been supporting a right of access to medicine for many years. AMP Capital signed the Investor Statement on Access to Medicine in 2016, an initiative that ranks global pharmaceutical companies on their efforts to balance profit with purpose, acknowledging the tension between affordable access to medicine, the need to cover expensive research and development costs, and a financial return to shareholders.

5. Investing for impact

Impact investing, whereby an investor looks for a social return as well as a financial return, is growing rapidly in Australia. The size of the local market more than quadrupled between June 2015 and December 2017, mostly in green bonds. 

The global market for impact investing is now worth around US$228 billion in assets under management. The majority is invested in food and agriculture, financial services and energy.

Many projects are in emerging markets including Asia and Africa. But there are a growing number closer to home. The next frontier in Australia is set to include affordable housing. 

6. Palm oil and deforestation

Palm oil is the most commonly used vegetable oil in the world because it has a long shelf life, can be used in everything from detergent to chocolate, and is higher yielding than most other oils. It is also the most controversial because it is produced in tropical rainforests and has led to some significant rainforest and biodiversity destruction in Asia.

Deforestation has led to a range of negative environmental impacts: carbon dioxide emissions, loss of pristine forests, soil erosion, air pollution, loss of habitat for animals including the orangutan, elephants, rhinos and tigers.
While some global initiatives have been put in place, challenges remain and investors are responding. They have started calling for better auditing and tracing of palm oil right back to the plantation.

7. The war on plastic

In 2018, waste became a key environmental issue for Australians. China stopped taking our recycling leading to huge stockpiles in warehouses all over the country. Around the same time, our largest supermarkets – Woolworths and Coles – banned single-use plastic bags.

At current rates of urbanisation and population growth, global waste is estimated to rise to 2.2 billion tonnes per year by 2025, which translates into 1.42 kilograms of waste per person per day. Australians generate 53 million metric tonnes of waste every year, or about four kilograms per person per day.

Waste management hierarchy

Source: Waste Management Association of Australia, “Never waste a crisis: the waste and recycling industry in Australia”, Senate Environment and Communications References Committee, June 2018.

In response, businesses and investors are now talking about the circular economy – that is, a system without waste and pollution where materials are used and reused.

There have been some exciting initiatives. In 2017, Apple issued a green bond to fund the research and development of recyclable material for its iPhones. Coca Cola has committed to collecting and recycling the equivalent of all its packaging by 2030 and McDonald’s claims that all of its packaging will come from sustainable sources by 2025.

8. Modern slavery and supply chains

Six years ago, the treatment of workers in clothing factories in Asia was exposed when a factory in Bangladesh burned down, killing 1,100 garment workers. Encouraging progress has been made on worker rights and safety in the country since then, partly as a result of investor engagement. But there is much more work to be done.

Workers are still not paid enough to live above the poverty line and there are many barriers to union representation and collective bargaining.

Minimum wage in A$/hour 

Source: Oxfam Australia, “What She Makes. Power and Poverty in the Fashion Industry.” October 2017.

The Australian government took an important step last year by introducing a Modern Slavery Act which effectively forces large Australian businesses to understand the risk of slavery in their operations and supply chains. We expect even more attention on the treatment of the world’s factory workers in 2019.

9. Child labour in cocoa

Cocoa production is labour intensive. Farm wages are low and the use of child labour is widespread. More than two million children are estimated to work on farms in West African countries Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, the two countries that account for almost 70% of cocoa production worldwide.
Chocolate producers first started committing to take steps to combat child labour in 2001 and in 2010 committed to reduce the worst forms of child labour by 70 per cent by 20209.
Our Responsible Investment Leaders funds have joined a global investor initiative, alongside investors that have been working with Nestlé, Mondelez, Hershey’s, Lindt & Sprungeli, and Cargill to identify and remediate cases of child labour.

10. Antibiotics in our food supply

This year, antibiotic resistance is estimated to claim about 50,000 lives in the US and another 50,000 lives in Europe. The numbers are much higher in developing countries with high rates of malaria, HIV or tuberculosis.
By 2050, it is estimated that 10 million people globally may die every year because of antibiotic resistance. This exceeds the number of people who currently die from cancer every year.
The potential health and economic impacts are enormous and likely to be key public health issues and a focus for ESG investors in 2019. We expect investors will increase their levels of engagement with companies in the food and agricultural industries, calling for better disclosure and the reduction, or in some cases abolition, of antibiotics use in farming and food production.

Conclusion

The relevance of ESG issues has never been greater. Investors want data on, and progress around, some of the biggest ESG challenges. Get ready to hear much more about it throughout 2019.

1 https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/palm-oil-health-impact-environment-animals-deforestation-heart-a8505521.html
2 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-08/the-demise-of-kerb-side-recycling/9407650
3 Senate Environment & Communications References Committee June 2018
4 https://www.greenpeace.org.au/blog/trash-selfie/
5 https://s22.q4cdn.com/396847794/files/doc_downloads/Apple_GreenBond_Report_Feb2018.pdf
6 https://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/world-without-waste
7 https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/scale-for-good/packaging-and-recycling.html#goals
8 United States Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs:https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/child-labor-cocoa
9 Framework of Action to Support Implementation of the Harkin-Engel Protocol athttps://cocoainitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Cocoa_Framework_of_Action_9-12-10_Final-1-1.pdf

Author: Kristen Le Mesurier – Portfolio Manager, Multi Asset GroupSydney, Australia

Source: AMP Capital February 2019 

Important note: AMP Capital Funds Management Limited (ABN 15 159 557 721, AFSL 426455) (AMPCFM) is the responsible entity of the Responsible Investment Leaders Fund (Fund) and the issuer of the units in the Fund. To invest in the Fund, investors will need to obtain the current Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) from AMP Capital Investors Limited (ABN 59 001 777 591, AFSL 232 497) (AMP Capital). The PDS contains important information about investing in the Fund and it is important that investors read the PDS before making a decision about whether to acquire or continue to hold or dispose of units in the Fund. Neither AMP Capital, AMPCFM nor any other company in the AMP Group guarantees the repayment of capital or the performance of any product or any particular rate of return referred to in this document. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. 

Right now, investors are focused on corporate profits. Australian companies are forecast to show earnings growth of between four and five per cent this results season, which is a modest result compared to recent years. This decline is in large part due to the deteriorating performance of the resources sector compared to recent results seasons.

But many indicators suggest that broader economic conditions are also deteriorating, on the back of the softer earnings season. Consequently, we expect interest rates to drop, but not until after the federal election, which is expected to take place in May.

Growth slows

The slowdown in earnings growth in Australia reflects a broader set of economic numbers that show business activity has slowed. The disappointing run of numbers has included a downtrend in business confidence over the past year.

On a seasonally-adjusted basis, building approvals figures also tumbled by 22.5 per cent year-on-year for the year to December 20181. House price data is also lacklustre, with the combined capital cities down 6.9 per cent for the year to January 31, and 1.2 per cent in month of January alone2.

Consumer sentiment has also been hurting, with the Westpac Bank Consumer Sentiment Index ending 2018 at its lowest point since September 2017, though it has recovered somewhat in early 2019. Retail spending is also down, with retail trade numbers down by 0.4 per cent month-on-month in December 20183.

Monetary policy to react

In combination, these numbers suggest that the Australian economy is likely to underperform in 2019. We believe gross domestic product (GDP) growth will be around 2.5 per cent, which is below average and under the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) forecast of 2.75 per cent.

As a consequence, inflation is likely to remain low this year. Importantly, this also means the RBA is likely to cut interest rates, because economic growth and inflation will underperform its expectations. We think the central bank will cut rates twice this year, but not until after the federal election is over, which makes rate cuts a story for the second half of the year

Overall, we expect the cash rate to end the year at about one per cent as a consequence of the softening economy.

https://vimeo.com/316935422

1 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Building Approvals, December 2018. 
2 Core Logic, Hedonic home value index, February 2019.
3 Trading Economics, Australian retail sales month on month.

Author: Diana Mousina, Economist – Investment Strategy and Dynamic Markets Sydney Australia

Source: AMP Capital February 2019

Important notes: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this article, AMP Capital Investors Limited (ABN 59 001 777 591, AFSL 232497) and AMP Capital Funds Management Limited (ABN 15 159 557 721, AFSL 426455) makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy or completeness of any statement in it including, without limitation, any forecasts. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. This article has been prepared for the purpose of providing general information, without taking account of any particular investor’s objectives, financial situation or needs. An investor should, before making any investment decisions, consider the appropriateness of the information in this article, and seek professional advice, having regard to the investor’s objectives, financial situation and needs. This article is solely for the use of the party to whom it is provided.

Since the 1970s governments have spent relatively less on vital infrastructure. With the aftermath of the global financial crisis constraining government finances, that underinvestment has continued.

The private sector is stepping up to meet a surge in demand for new infrastructure – across water, energy, transport and communications — and that is creating opportunities for investors in global listed infrastructure.

Infrastructure is vital to economic growth. It creates a virtuous, never-ending cycle: investment in infrastructure helps stimulate sustainable long-term economic growth which then creates a further need for infrastructure.

The World Economic Forum estimates that every dollar spent on infrastructure generates an economic return of between 5 to 25 percent.

But since the 1970s, real public infrastructure investment in advanced economies has been falling as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

This has left many infrastructure projects deferred or even abandoned, ultimately magnifying an infrastructure gap that is only expected to widen going forward.

The need for infrastructure investment is dominated by the core industry sectors –

1. Water: Demand is expected to exceed supply;

2. Energy: Investments in energy efficiency will be important;

3. Transport: Many forms of transport are set to double or triple in demand; and

4. Communication: According to Cisco, global mobile data is expected to surge more than 6-fold from 2017 to 2022.

An infrastructure shortfall

Governments have traditionally funded a nation’s infrastructure investment, usually through a combination of tax revenues and tax revenue-backed debt.

But the ability of governments to maintain their role as the primary provider of infrastructure is weakening. Government finances have come under considerable stress since the global financial crisis because of lower tax revenues and rising spending, and many have turned to austerity measures to cut spending. Governments in developed countries face other structural pressures on finances including ageing populations.

The OECD estimates that governments need to invest some US$70 trillion in infrastructure. But with governments investing less, the Business20 Infrastructure and Investment Taskforce says only US$45 trillion will be spent, including a sizeable participation from the private sector, creating a US$25 million shortfall by 2030.

That shortfall means that further involvement of the private sector in the provision of infrastructure is inevitable.

Portfolio enhancement

The good news is the private sector’s greater involvement will create more opportunities for investors.

Investors have been increasingly recognising the benefits of global listed infrastructure and its stable, reliable and growing cash flows.

Global listed infrastructure also complements other asset classes in a balanced portfolio. It can play the role of a low-risk bedrock within a global equities allocation; or be an alternative to fixed income investments due to its attractive income component.

With such unique investment characteristics, built on the stable, reliable and growing cash flows, global listed infrastructure can play a number of roles in a balanced portfolio and we believe it should be a key consideration for every investor.

Ongoing opportunities

Infrastructure is the backbone for economies to develop and remain competitive. The future growth in infrastructure will not only be driven by the need for new infrastructure, particularly in developing economies, but also the replacement of existing ageing infrastructure, perhaps first constructed decades ago in developed economies.

With governments’ ability to fund infrastructure constrained, the private sector will increasingly need to step up and drive investment, which will continue to open up opportunities for investors in global listed infrastructure.

Author: Joseph Titmus – Portfolio Manager/Analyst, Global Listed InfrastructureSydney, Australia

Source : AMP Capital January 2019 

Important notes: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this article, AMP Capital Investors Limited (ABN 59 001 777 591, AFSL 232497) and AMP Capital Funds Management Limited (ABN 15 159 557 721, AFSL 426455) makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy or completeness of any statement in it including, without limitation, any forecasts. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. This article has been prepared for the purpose of providing general information, without taking account of any particular investor’s objectives, financial situation or needs. An investor should, before making any investment decisions, consider the appropriateness of the information in this article, and seek professional advice, having regard to the investor’s objectives, financial situation and needs. This article is solely for the use of the party to whom it is provided.

You might remember that late last year markets fell sharply because investors were worried the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, wasn’t ‘dovish’ enough.

Investors fretted that the Fed would keep raising rates through 2019 in the face of financial market volatility and signs of slowing global growth.

The sell-off was exacerbated by the US Government shutdown, instability surrounding Donald Trump, and ongoing fears over the impact of the US/China trade war.

https://vimeo.com/310495795

The Fed is listening

But it’s since become quite clear the Fed is actually quite dovish. (A ‘dovish’ Fed favours looser, more stimulatory monetary policy and lower interest rates; while a ‘hawkish’ Fed is looking to raise rates to cool the economy.)

It’s clear the Fed is sensitive to volatility in financial markets; it is aware of some of the slowdown in growth indicators around the world; and it is continuing to focus on inflation, which remains relatively low in the US.

Below I outline the two key reasons I think US interest rates are set to go on hold:

1. Dovish messages

A dovish message has been coming from various Fed officials, including Chairman Jerome Powell.

Powell, for example, recently told the Economic Club in Washington DC that with inflation low and under control the Fed can afford to be patient.

“We’re in a place where we can be patient and flexible and wait and see what does evolve, and I think for the meantime we’re waiting and watching,” Powell said. “You should anticipate that we’re going to be patient and watching and waiting and seeing.”

Powell has also indicated the Fed is listening to the message that markets have been sending through increased volatility.

2. Not a clear-cut decision

The recently released minutes from the Fed’s December meeting also indicated that the Fed is more dovish than first thought when it last raised rates.

The Fed hiked rates in December last year by a quarter of a percentage point – the fourth increase for the year.

But minutes from their meeting showed it wasn’t a clear-cut decision, and some of the officials were opposed to the rise. They were particularly worried about financial market volatility and concerned about the outlook for global growth.

Rates on hold

The bottom line is that the Fed is not going to be overly aggressive in raising rates as it doesn’t want to crunch growth.

The Fed is likely to do something like it did back in 2016 when we saw share markets come down quite sharply in the early part of the year and the Fed went on an extended pause.

I think it is again heading to pause US interest rates – at least through the first part of this year.

Author: Dr Shane Oliver – Head of Investment Strategy and Economics and Chief Economist, AMP CapitalSydney, Australia

Source: AMP Capital January 2019 

Important notes: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this article, AMP Capital Investors Limited (ABN 59 001 777 591, AFSL 232497) and AMP Capital Funds Management Limited (ABN 15 159 557 721, AFSL 426455) makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy or completeness of any statement in it including, without limitation, any forecasts. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. This article has been prepared for the purpose of providing general information, without taking account of any particular investor’s objectives, financial situation or needs. An investor should, before making any investment decisions, consider the appropriateness of the information in this article, and seek professional advice, having regard to the investor’s objectives, financial situation and needs. This article is solely for the use of the party to whom it is provided.

A year may not seem like a long time, but a lot can happen in 365 days. Since last February, you may have changed jobs, received a raise, gotten married or divorced, brought home a baby or had one of your kids move out of home.

A yearly financial checkup can ensure that your financial plans are in tune with your life. It doesn’t need to take long. You can do a big-picture review quickly and save follow-up tasks for later, start now if you have 15 or 30 minutes, or pin this list on your fridge or at the top of your to-do file to get 2019 off to a profitable start: 

• Add up your assets, including your super and other investment and savings accounts, and your liabilities such as your mortgage or car loan. Can you access all those accounts easily? That is, do you know the account numbers for each and where the password is if you have online access?

• Figure out whether your net worth (assets minus liabilities) is growing or shrinking. Ideally, your assets should be growing and your liabilities shrinking. If that’s not the case, figure out why. You may have a good reason, such as making a down payment for a house with a mortgage that increased your liabilities. But if the reason is not positive, decide whether you need to change anything to get those numbers heading in the right direction.

• Review big changes in the last year that may affect your finances. For example, if you got a raise, consider directing some or all of it into your super or another investment. If you had a child, you may want to start saving for university or review your insurance to determine whether your coverage is still appropriate. Do you need to change beneficiary designations on any accounts?

• Consider rebalancing your portfolio to make sure your investments continue to be aligned with your financial goals. Your asset allocation – the amount of your portfolio dedicated to shares, bonds and cash – should be diversified according to your goals, age and risk tolerance. The ups and downs of financial markets may put your allocations out of whack. Selling assets that have appreciated and reinvesting in those that have fallen in proportion to your overall portfolio can restore your desired allocation and reduce your vulnerability to a decline in a single asset class.

• Take a look at your budget. Is your spending aligned with your income and your personal goals? If you don’t have a budget, create one. You don’t have to track every gold coin unless you want to, just be sure you capture the majority of your expenditures. If you want help, you could try out some popular budgeting apps.

Now, make a list of follow up tasks, and you’re on your way.

Please contact us on |PHONE| if you seek further assistance .

Source : Vanguard February 2019 

Written by Robin Bowerman, Head of Corporate Affairs at Vanguard.

Reproduced with permission of Vanguard Investments Australia Ltd

Vanguard Investments Australia Ltd (ABN 72 072 881 086 / AFS Licence 227263) is the product issuer. We have not taken yours and your clients’ circumstances into account when preparing this material so it may not be applicable to the particular situation you are considering. You should consider your circumstances and our Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) or Prospectus before making any investment decision. You can access our PDS or Prospectus online or by calling us. This material was prepared in good faith and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. Past performance is not an indication of future performance.

© 2019 Vanguard Investments Australia Ltd. All rights reserved.

Important:
Any information provided by the author detailed above is separate and external to our business and our Licensee. Neither our business, nor our Licensee take any responsibility for any action or any service provided by the author.

Any links have been provided with permission for information purposes only and will take you to external websites, which are not connected to our company in any way. Note: Our company does not endorse and is not responsible for the accuracy of the contents/information contained within the linked site(s) accessible from this page.