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Retirement planning remains top 'advice driver' for consumers in August

· Unbiased.co.uk’s latest Advice Drivers report reveals 49% of consumers searching for independent financial advice sought guidance on personal retirement planning in August on unbiased.co.uk’s ‘find an IFA’ service

· Over a quarter (27%) of consumer searches were for investment and savings advice

· First-time buying advice drops slightly by 1% but remains the top search on unbiased.co.uk’s ‘find a mortgage adviser’ service at 36%

Latest figures from unbiased.co.uk, the professional advice website, reveal 49%* of consumers sought retirement planning advice when using unbiased.co.uk’s ‘find an IFA’ service in August.  Of these 49%, 11% of consumers were specifically seeking stakeholder pension advice, which has jumped from 4% in July.  Retirement planning has remained on an upward trend since May this year and continues to remain the number one ‘advice driver’ for consumers searching for an independent financial adviser (IFA).

The number of consumers searching for an IFA specialising in investment and savings also continued on its upward trend since May this year, rising to 27% in August.  Demand for independent financial advice on these specialist and more complex areas continues to be high as consumers consider their investments and long-term financial planning for the future.

Although there has been a 1% drop in the number of first-time buyers seeking whole of market mortgage advice, it remains the top advice driver for August totalling 36% of all enquiries for a local, whole of market mortgage adviser.  Those looking for remortgage advice also dropped slightly by 1%, but this remained the second most popular ‘advice driver’ at 33% of the total searches.

Karen Barrett, Chief Executive of unbiased.co.uk, comments: “With ongoing economic turbulence, many consumers nearing retirement age or thinking about retiring may be confused about their options.  Retirement planning is a vastly complex area and only an independent financial adviser can look at all the factors relevant to an individual and their circumstances, and recommend the best solution for them from the whole of the market.

“It is important that both first time buyers and also those remortgaging seek professional advice to ensure they are taking the right approach and making the best decisions for their individual circumstances.  Only a whole of market mortgage adviser can give you advice on products from across the market, which suits your individual needs and financial circumstances.

“Visit unbiased.co.uk to find a qualified independent financial adviser or whole of market mortgage adviser using our ‘find and IFA’ and ‘find a mortgage adviser’ searches.”

‘Find an IFA’ and ‘find a mortgage adviser’ top ten Advice Drivers in August 2010 were as follows:

ENDS

* 49% of consumers selected either personal retirement planning (38%) or personal stakeholder pension (11%).  Added together these total 49%.

Karen Barrett, Chief Executive, unbiased.co.uk: 020 7833 3131

Anna Schirmer/Anna Moulds/Ellie Brooke, Lansons Communications: 020 7294 3682

For expert commentary or case studies from over 150 media-friendly IFAs, journalists should visit www.unbiased.co.uk/bluebook.

About unbiased.co.uk, the professional advice website

The unbiased.co.uk portal is a free and confidential UK-wide search matching consumers with local professional advisers: ‘find an IFA’, ‘find a mortgage adviser’, and ‘find a solicitor’, and is currently inviting registrations for its ‘find an accountant’ service.  These searches enable consumers to find professional advisers by postcode, area of specialism, qualification and payment method. In 2009, unbiased.co.uk fulfilled half a million searches for local, professional advice. 

IFA Promotion, the organisation behind unbiased.co.uk, is now in its 21st year, and was set up to promote the benefits of independent financial advice to consumers.  IFAP is sponsored by the following companies:

Registered Office: unbiased.co.uk is the consumer brand of IFA Promotion Ltd, 90 St. Vincent Street, Glasgow G2 5UB. Registered in Scotland: No. 114606