Equity release: make sure you have a tight grip on the facts
Visit www.impartial.co.uk for IFA Promotion’s FREE guide to equity release
Demand for equity release advice more than doubles from April 2004
Equity release business is booming - the latest Bank of England figures show that the amount of equity people unlocked from their homes in the last quarter of 2005 jumped to 11.8bn, compared to the 8.9bn in the previous quarter. More providers are expected to enter the equity release market this year, including the high street banks, but will the increasing number of products available mean healthy competition or consumer confusion?
Releasing equity from your home is clearly an extremely important decision and it is essential that people receive impartial professional advice on this highly complex area. In fact, IFA Promotion, the organisation promoting independent financial advice, has seen demand for equity release advice, through its hotline and online search, more than double since April 2004. To help consumers understand the different options available IFAP is offering consumers a free guide to equity release and urging them to seek independent financial advice.
Check out IFA Promotion’s FREE guide to equity release schemes. It aims to demystify equity release plans by looking at the potential benefits and pitfalls of such schemes. It addresses a number of essential questions, including:
How do equity release plans work?
What are the different schemes available?
How might this affect my family?
What are the alternatives and benefits?
Where should I go for advice?
By using the Find an IFA search on www.impartial.co.uk you can search for an IFA that holds one of the relevant qualifications for equity release such as CeMap, Cert MA, CF6 & CF7 and CeLM. There is also a consumer friendly description of these qualifications available on the website.
Karen Barrett, Marketing Director for IFA Promotion, says: ”Many retired people who manage on a small pension and limited savings are also living in properties which have soared in value in recent years so it’s clear to see why equity release has become a popular choice. This is a highly complex area however and the options can be overwhelming – for example, yet another new range of lifetime mortgages will be launched this month that will make it possible for property investors to release equity from their buy-to-let holdings or holiday homes. An Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) will look at your finances with a holistic view to see if equity release is really the best option for you and help you find the right type of scheme.”
For a free copy of the guide, together with details of local independent financial advisers who can advise you on equity release, and whether it would be a suitable option for you, call the IFA Promotion consumer hotline on 0800 085 3250 or visit www.impartial.co.uk
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For further information, please contact:
Karen Barrett Liz Willder/Chloe Mann
Marketing Director Lansons Communications
IFA Promotion 020 7294 3677/ 020 7294 3681
020 7833 3131
For expert comment or case studies from over 100 media-friendly mortgage IFAs, journalists should call IFA Promotion’s Media Services hotline on 020 7294 3682 or search online in ‘Media Services’ at www.impartial.co.uk
1. Independent Financial Adviser Promotion
IFA Promotion was 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 and is sponsored by 32 leading financial institutions. In the past 12 months, over 530,000 consumers and businesses used IFA Promotion 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
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Aberdeen Asset Management |
National Savings & Investments |
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Abbey |
NatWest Business Banking |
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AXA Life |
New Star Investment Funds |
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Bright Grey |
Norwich Union Life |
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BUPA Health Services |
Old Mutual Asset Managers (UK) |
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Canada Life Ltd |
Prudential |
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The Children’s Mutual |
Scottish Equitable Plc |
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Clerical Medical Investment |
Scottish Life |
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Friends Provident |
Scottish Life International |
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Defaqto |
Scottish Widows Plc |
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GE Life |
Skandia UK Group |
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GMAC Residential Funding |
Standard Life Assurance Company |
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Legal & General |
Unum Provident |
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Lincoln Financial Group |
Webline Limited |
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London Mortgage Company |
Zurich Intermediary Group |
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Mortgage Express |
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