IFA Sector Confirms the Importance of Qualifications
IFA Sector Confirms the Importance of Qualifications
29th October 2007
- New figures from Unbiased.co.uk reveal the ‘State of the IFA Nation’1
- Number of IFAs with incremental qualifications is now at an all-time high
- 65% of IFAs now have a company web address
- Investment and savings remains the most common area of IFA expertise
With the FSA’s Retail Distribution Review (RDR) now in consultation period and further changes to the IFA market still pending, Unbiased.co.uk takes a look at current ‘State of the IFA Nation’ and reveals some important changes within the market over the last 12 months.
Over the last year, Unbiased.co.uk has dealt with over 575,000 requests from consumers looking for a local IFA and consumer demand is now greatly influencing the way IFAs conduct and structure their businesses. White label versions of Unbiased.co.uk’s ‘Find an IFA’ service are now also available on 55 high profile consumer websites.
Incremental qualifications on the up
Unbiased.co.uk’s statistics show that over 150,000 consumers selected specific qualifications when searching for a local IFA in the last year. With three quarters (75%) of consumers saying it is important for an IFA to be qualified to a higher level than the minimum level required by the FSA, the number of IFAs holding incremental qualifications is set to increase even further over the next years.
Unbiased.co.uk’s member firms are taking note with 56% now having IFAs with incremental qualifications/ designations above the required benchmark, and almost 21,000 individual awards held by registered individuals; a record high to date.
With consumer demand for incremental qualifications/ designations on the up, the number of IFAs with long-term care qualifications in particular has risen, 55% over the last 12 months, further highlighting the importance for additional qualifications to give specialist advice. Incremental saving and investment qualifications held by Unbiased.co.uk’s member firms have increased by 19% over the same period, increasing the percentage of IFAs with this particular qualification to almost a third (31%) of the overall IFA database.
Almost one in four IFAs firms (24%) now list incremental tax qualifications / designations amongst their overall expertise, an increase of 17% compared to last year.
|
Incremental qualifications / designations above benchmark held by IFA |
Sep-07 |
Annual change |
% of total |
|
General qualifications |
4868 |
+1% |
56% |
|
Mortgage qualifications |
4835 |
-10% |
56% |
|
Tax qualifications |
2069 |
+17% |
24% |
|
Pension qualifications |
5156 |
+11% |
59% |
|
Long Term Care qualifications |
821 |
+55% |
9% |
|
Saving and Investment qualifications |
2731 |
+19% |
31% |
|
Corporate qualifications |
456 |
+15% |
5% |
Technology remains key
With 61% of UK households now having online access, the internet as a search tool is continually growing in popularity amongst consumers, and IFAs are increasingly recognising this trend. Over 90% of people requesting details of local IFAs through Unbiased.co.uk now do so online.
|
IFA E-offering |
Sep-07 |
% of total |
|
Email address |
8363 |
96% |
|
Web address |
5641 |
65% |
|
OMP subscription |
3316 |
38% |
Of Unbiased.co.uk’s member firms, 96% now offer their email address as a mean of communication. Almost two thirds (65%) of all member firms list a company web address as part of their Unbiased.co.uk profile.
More and more IFAs are recognising that it is important their online presence is visible to help consumers find their details easily. Over 3,300 IFAs now subscribe to Unbiased.co.uk’s Online Marketing Package (OMP). The OMP offers an enhanced service which is applied to members’ entries on Unbiased.co.uk and the 55 online white label versions of the search helping consumers to find their details more easily and quickly than with a standard listing.
The gender divide continues to persist
The IFA market has traditionally been male dominated industry and in 2007 this gap remains. Almost one in five (19%) of Unbiased.co.uk’s member IFA firms now employ a male as well as a female IFA, while in addition to that 257 firms state that they currently employ just female IFAs.
|
Gender of IFA available |
Sep-07 |
% of total |
|
Male IFA Only |
6758 |
78% |
|
Female IFA Only |
257 |
3% |
|
Both Male & Female |
1678 |
19% |
|
Total IFAP membership |
8692 |
N/A |
Consumers however remain neutral, with just as many enquirers searching for a male IFA as they do for a female IFA. All in all almost 7% of all searches specify gender as a search criteria.
Areas of specialism
Consumer demand for specialist advice remains high and the areas of specialism amongst IFAs clearly reflect that trend. Investment and savings is still the most common area of specialism, currently held by 97% of Unbiased.co.uk’s member IFAs, followed by personal retirement planning (94%) and personal protection (88%).
|
IFA top 9 product specialisms |
Sep-07 |
% of total |
|
Investment & Savings |
8406 |
97% |
|
Personal Retirement Planning |
8188 |
94% |
|
Personal Protection |
7654 |
88% |
|
ISAs / Unit Trusts |
6898 |
79% |
|
Mortgages |
5587 |
64% |
|
Group Pensions / Stakeholder |
4270 |
49% |
|
Taxation Planning |
4312 |
50% |
|
Personal Stakeholder Pensions |
3302 |
38% |
|
Offshore |
2347 |
27% |
The number of IFAs listing taxation planning and personal stakeholder pensions as one of their product specialism, has seen an increase over the last 12 months, with 50% and 38% respectively now specifying these in their company profiles.
David Elms, Chief Executive of Unbiased.co.uk comments, “Independent financial advice has made the headlines in 2007, greatly fuelled by the FSA’s publication of its Retail Distribution Review findings. Our facts and figures show that the IFA sector remains robust, clearly adjusting to changing consumer demand.
“It is especially encouraging to see that more and more IFAs are adding incremental qualifications and designations to their business model. Earlier this year we enhanced and simplified the qualification section of our ‘Find an IFA’ search, helping consumers to better evaluate which qualification is important for their individual advice needs. We will continue our work aiming to make independent financial advice as easy to understand and as accessible as possible for the consumer.”
Consumers can obtain details of local IFAs by visiting www.unbiased.co.uk or by calling 0800 085 3250. To find an IFA who best matches their needs, consumers can tailor their search by selecting from a host of criteria including product specialisms, IFAs with additional qualifications, certain payment options, or they can state a preference to see a male or female IFA.
-ends-
1 All data is based on Unbiased.co.uk’s member database
|
Sep-07 |
% of total |
|
|
Email address |
8363 |
96% |
|
Web address |
5641 |
65% |
|
OMP subscribers |
3316 |
38% |
|
IFA top 9 product specialisms |
Sep-07 |
% of total |
|
Investment & Savings |
8406 |
97% |
|
Personal Retirement Planning |
8188 |
94% |
|
Personal Protection |
7654 |
88% |
|
ISAs / Unit Trusts |
6898 |
79% |
|
Mortgages |
5587 |
64% |
|
Group Pensions / Stakeholder |
4270 |
49% |
|
Taxation Planning |
4312 |
50% |
|
Personal Stakeholder Pensions |
3302 |
38% |
|
Offshore |
2347 |
27% |
|
Gender of IFA available |
Sep-07 |
% of total |
|
Male IFA Only |
6758 |
78% |
|
Female IFA Only |
257 |
3% |
|
Both Male & Female |
1678 |
19% |
|
Total IFAP membership |
8692 |
N/A |
|
Incremental qualifications / designations above benchmark held by IFA |
Sep-07 |
% of total |
|
General qualifications |
4868 |
56% |
|
Mortgage qualifications |
4835 |
56% |
|
Tax qualifications |
2069 |
24% |
|
Pension qualifications |
5156 |
59% |
|
Long Term Care qualifications |
821 |
9% |
|
Saving and Investment qualifications |
2731 |
31% |
|
Corporate qualifications |
456 |
5% |
For further information please contact:
|
David Elms |
Anna Schirmer/ Jonathon Grove/ Anna Moulds |
|
Chief Executive |
IFAP Media Services |
|
Unbiased.co.uk |
020 7294 3682 |
|
020 7833 3131 |
|
For expert comment or case studies from over 200 media-friendly IFAs, journalists should call unbiased.co.uk’s Media Services hotline on
020 7294 3682 or search online at www.unbiased.co.uk/media
1. Independent Financial Adviser Promotion
Unbiased.co.uk is the consumer brand of IFA Promotion, the organisation established in 1989 to promote the value and accessibility of independent financial advice to the public. It represents around 9,000 firms of independent financial advisers across the UK, incorporating over 17,000 registered individuals. These individuals hold over 20,000 incremental qualifications which are each individually verified by the awarding body. IFA Promotion welcomes the prominent display of incremental qualifications and further developments into the credentials of independent financial advice.
IFA Promotion is sponsored by 27 leading financial institutions, and in the past 12 months, over 600,000 consumers and businesses used unbiased.co.uk to find local independent financial advice.
IFA Promotion believes Independent financial advice should be:
· Affordable. The option to take independent financial advice should be available, by right, to all- not just the wealthiest in society.
· Convenient. IFAs should be available in the location of the consumer’s choice, wherever they live in the UK.
· Transparent. It must be clearly transparent to consumers who is able to offer independent financial advice and who is not.
2. Independent Financial Adviser Promotion’s sponsors
|
Aberdeen Asset Management |
Lincoln Financial Group |
|
Abbey |
National Savings & Investments |
|
AEGON Scottish Equitable Plc |
New Star Investment Funds |
|
Alliance Trust |
Norwich Union Life |
|
AXA Life |
Prudential |
|
Bright Grey |
Scottish Life |
|
BUPA Health Services |
Scottish Life International |
|
Canada Life Ltd |
Scottish Widows Plc |
|
The Children’s Mutual |
Skandia UK Group |
|
Clerical Medical Investment |
Standard Life Assurance Company |
|
Defaqto |
Tomorrow |
|
Friends Provident |
Unum |
|
Invesco Perpetual |
Zurich Intermediary Group |
|
Legal & General |
|
Registered Office: IFA Promotion Ltd, 90 St. Vincent Street, Glasgow G2 5UB. Registered in Scotland: No. 114606
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