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About IFAP

Unbiased.co.uk is the consumer facing brand of IFA Promotion.  IFA Promotion (IFAP) is a not-for-profit marketing organisation that has been running for over 20 years and is sponsored by 25 product providers.  IFAP is the industry body that promotes the benefit of independent financial advisers and the advice process to consumers and businesses.

This is primarily achieved through our ‘find an IFA’ search on Unbiased.co.uk which allows consumers and businesses to find an IFA in their local area based on their home or work postcode, and additional search criteria such as advice area, preference of gender, payment options and whether the enquirer requires their IFA to have an incremental qualification. In addition to the search on Unbiased.co.uk, we also have 60 whitelabel versions of the ‘find an IFA’ search running on high profile partner websites such as: Financial Times, the Guardian, Orange, and MSN.  Together, the ‘find an IFA’ service on Unbiased.co.uk and the 60 whitelabel searches receive around 500,000 searches a year. 

There are around 16,000 individual IFAs known as Registered Individuals (RI’s) listed on our ‘find an IFA’ search. In order for them to be listed they must meet the following criteria:

• There must be at least one investment IFA based at the branch address listed, which means that they are authorised by the FSA to transact investment business
• They must offer whole of market advice
• They must offer the choice of paying by fee

In addition to these three basic checks we also ensure that should the IFAs listed on our site request to list specific product areas on their profiles that they hold the relevant permissions with the FSA, these areas include mortgages, protection or general insurance. As well as completing weekly checks with the FSA to ensure that the IFA’s listed are authorised to conduct the business areas they list we also conduct an annual audit to ensure that they still meet the stipulations listed above.

IFAP promotes IFAs and the advice process in a positive light in both consumer and trade press though high profile media campaigns in print, online and broadcast media.  On average we produce 7,000 pieces of PR a year and the value of this media coverage (on an equivalent advertising value) exceeds £46 million (Panarc).

Recently we have expanded our online offering to become ‘the professional advice website’ by adding two complimentary searches: ‘find a solicitor’ and ‘find a mortgage adviser’, which lists only whole of market mortgage advisers.  These services are run in the same way as the ‘find an IFA’ searches, they are whitelabeled on high profile partner websites and are supported with PR campaigns to promote the advice types and the advice process.  We have also added a fourth ‘find an accountant’ search, to compliment these services, which we are currently data capturing for.