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Consumers continue to put their faith in IFAs

CONSUMERS CONTINUE TO PUT THEIR FAITH IN IFAs FOR ADVICE ON PROTECTING THEMSELVES AGAINST THE HOUSING SLUMP AND VOLATILE MARKETS

        Unbiased.co.uk’s Advice Drivers report shows a massive increase of 50% in requests for independent financial advice on mortgages in the first quarter of 2008 relative to the previous three months

        UK consumers continue to support independent financial advice by requesting advice on investment (up by 33%) and specific investment products (up by 62%) on the final quarter of 2007

New figures from Unbiased.co.uk, the find an Independent Financial Adviser search, reveal that the number of consumers seeking independent financial advice on mortgages and investment rose dramatically in the first quarter of 2008 relative to the previous three months.  Increased demand in these two product areas resulted in 30,000 more people using the ‘Find an IFA’ service in the first three months of 2008, than in the final quarter of 2007; an increase of nearly a third (31%).

Unbiased.co.uk’s Advice Drivers report demonstrates once again consumers’ commitment to independent financial advice, with Unbiased.co.uk receiving over half a million requests for details of local IFAs in the last 12 months. As the housing market has begun to slow, consumers have continued to put their faith in IFAs to advise them on how to finance their home loans. The number of consumers seeking advice on mortgages has risen by nearly two thirds over just three months, with nearly 30,000 people requesting details of a local IFA to advise them on mortgages in the first quarter of 2008.

The Advice Drivers report also highlights consumer demand for advice on investment and also specific investment products such as ISAs and Unit Trusts. These product areas showed greater uplift in the last few months than in the same “ISA season” in 2007, reflecting consumers’ faith in IFAs to guide them through choppy markets as we are currently experiencing.

David Elms, Chief Executive of Unbiased.co.uk, commented:

“Our latest report demonstrates that when economic conditions are unpredictable, consumers seek independent financial advisers as their guides through hazardous markets. Consumer needs are constantly changing and whole-of-market IFAs are the best-positioned of all advice types to serve these needs.”

The figures reveal an increasing level of demand for advice on personal protection and also a fall in requests for advice on equity release and expatriate services relative to the last quarter of 2007.

The top ten Advice Drivers in the first quarter of 2008 were as follows:

The report is compiled on a quarterly basis from comprehensive data collected as a result of individual consumer selections made when requesting details of a local IFA through Unbiased.co.uk.

^{*IFA Promotion figures using consumer searches on www.unbiased.co.uk NB: more than one product area can be selected}

Consumers can obtain details of local IFAs who focus on specific product areas by visiting www.unbiased.co.uk.  They can search for IFAs with incremental qualifications, specific payment options, or state a preference to see a male or female IFA.

ENDS

For further information please contact:

David Elms	Anna Schirmer/Jonathon Grove
Chief Executive	Lansons Communications
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 22,000 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 29 leading financial institutions, and in the past 12 months, over 575,000 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

  Abbey for Intermediaries	Lutine Assurance Services
  Aberdeen Asset Management	MetLife
  AEGON Scottish Equitable Plc	National Savings & Investments
  Alliance Trust	New Star Investment Funds
  AXA Life	Norwich Union Life
  Bright Grey	Prudential
  Canada Life Ltd	Scottish Life
  The Children’s Mutual	Scottish Life International
  Clerical Medical Investment	Scottish Widows Plc
  Defaqto	Skandia UK Group
  Friends Provident	Standard Life Assurance Company
  The Hartford	Tomorrow
  Invesco Perpetual	Unum
  Legal & General	Zurich Intermediary Group
  Lincoln Financial Group

   

  Registered Office: IFA Promotion Ltd, 90 St. Vincent Street, Glasgow G2 5UB. Registered in Scotland: No. 114606