In this edition of Update, we explain why we need you to confirm your independent status straight away, talk about why we’ve decided to bring our long association with Yellow Pages and Thomsons to an end and bring you up to date with all our latest lead generation and consumer media work, including the launch of our ‘A’ day campaign.
Importantly, you’ll also find enclosed with this Update mailing our latest free updated online guide, designed to help you develop your business’ online B2C and B2B profile/productivity.
Annual status check – please act now!
Last November, in advance of the depolarisation rules being introduced, we audited all member IFA entries - to make sure the information we provide to enquirers about your firm accurately reflected your adviser status across investments, protection, insurance and mortgages.
To ensure sure that we continue to give out accurate information to consumers, it is necessary for us to conduct this audit annually.So we now need to check again with you, "Are you ‘independent’ for each of these product areas?"
Enclosed with this Update is a self declaration form, which we need you to fill in and return to us as soon as you possibly can.Please take a few moments to complete and check that your entry correctly lists the product areas you give independent advice on and the names of independent investment and incrementally qualified advisers based at your branch address.Once you’ve signed the form to confirm its accuracy, simply post or fax it back to us.
To continue to be listed on IFAP’s database, you must have at least one adviser authorised to conduct independent investment business based at your firm’s address listed on the database. It is also important to note that IFAP (unlike the FSA) only accepts, and works on the basis of, one definition of ‘independent’ advice. We insist that all our members offer whole of market advice and a fees option, across all top eight product areas they list. We believe this to be the only way to ensure an enquiring consumer fully understands the type of adviser we will be supplying details of - helping avoid unnecessary confusion.
The return of these forms is mandatory - if we do not receive a completed form from you we will have no choice but to remove your firm’s details from our database. Please check, complete, sign and return the form straight away. Thank you.
Sponsor news
Last month, I was delighted to announce through the trade media that Aberdeen Asset Management has agreed to throw its weight behind the IFA sector, by taking over DWS Investment’s sponsorship of IFAP. As a consequence, a white label version of IFAP’s online ‘Find an IFA’ service for consumers now appears at www.aberdeen-asset.com.
We have also recently built white label online ‘Find an IFA’ searches for sponsors Canada Life and UNUM Provident, and for technology enabler IFA Systems and ethical body UKSIF, and we are preparing a version for a second technology enabler, Legal and Financial. A list of websites running white label versions of IFAP’s online search facilities can be found by clicking on ‘Useful Links’ at www.unbiased.co.uk
We’re seeing a real sense of enthusiasm and support within the industry for a vibrant independent sector. I’m pleased to report that we’ve been in talks with a number of other potential sponsors over the last couple of months, and I expect to have more to tell you about this in future editions of Update.
IFA Promotion news
Membership surge
Following a decline in membership of around 15-20% earlier this year, largely due to Bradford & Bingley and Woolwich’s decision to change their advice status, I’m delighted to let you know that membership has been steadily increasing, and in the last few weeks we’ve seen a surge in new members.
The overall number of IFAP member firms is now nudging the 9,000 branch address mark, meaning that our member base (over 90% of the IFA sector according to Datamonitor), has shrunk by under 10% since depolarisation.
This is perhaps a reflection of the resilience, and indeed professionalism, of the IFA sector, and is clearly fantastic news for the millions of consumers who continue to seek and benefit from unbiased financial advice.
The importance of being online...and how we’re trying to help
What a year it’s been for finding financial advice on the internet (B2C). And on the B2B front, sponsors have also had a busy year developing their e-offerings to IFAs.
Of over half a million requests for IFA details that IFAP has dealt with over the last 12 months, an astonishing 85% of searches were carried out online. Athough this figure is only really astonishing until you think about what you, your friends and family all do these days when you want to research or find local services – if you’re like most people in your target market, you turn first to the internet.
Our aim over recent years has been to ensure IFAP’s ‘Find an IFA’ searches have such a high online profile that you just can’t help but find them wherever and whenever you are looking for an IFA on the web. That’s why we’ve set up white label versions of our search on over 50 high-profile partner sites. That’s also why we’re paying to ensure www.unbiased.co.uk and www.impartial.co.uk crop up when people search the web on advice-relevant terms, as well as optimising our sites’ content to appear first on non-paid-for searches.
In these and other ways I’m pleased to say we’ve been making hay on your behalf, mopping up consumer appetite for finding financial information online. However, if you still don’t have a web presence, I’m afraid you’re going to continue to lose out on some huge opportunities.
To help all of our IFA members make the most of what the internet and IFAP’s online activities can offer, both in terms of marketing your firm to relevant new customers as well as interacting more efficiently with product providers, you’ll find enclosed with this edition of Update your free updated copy of our Online guide.
The guide contains latest news on sponsor’s e-offering to IFAs and an updated directory of technology support companies you can contact, and details of the specific services they offer to IFA firms. Most importantly, it also explains the ways in which your company can increase its share of the huge number of high-quality leads IFAP is generating online.
But having a website is simply not enough; you’ve got to ensure potential new customers (who may never heard of you) can find it. This is where IFAP’s Online Marketing Package (OMP) fits in to your firm’s marketing plan. The OMP offers members an enhanced service which is applied to members’ entries on www.unbiased.co.uk, www.impartial.co.uk and IFAP’s 50 plus online white label searches. It’s just over a year since IFAP launched this new service and nearly 2,000 online-savvy member IFAs are already subscribing and benefiting from a boost in new business as a direct result of signing up.
In fact, as an OMP subscriber, you are now twice as likely to have your IFAP entry viewed by a consumer, averaging 20 new leads each per year. These leads could cost as little as £14.63 and half of these are likely to result in a product sale, based on an independently audited study of last year’s IFAP enquirer behaviour. So, with each sale generating an average commission of £570, you could earn up to £5,700 in new income from an annual subscription of just £249 + VAT (or £24 +VAT monthly).
And one final thought. Because IFAP doesn’t collect an annual membership payment, subscription to the OMP is the only way you can put something back in to the pot to show your support for the work IFAP’s undertaking on your behalf. And unlike other lead generation services, because we’re not for profit, IFAP is plowing any contributions you make straight back in to what it does best - promoting the independent brand.
Why we’re ending our local published directory corporate schemes
As mentioned in previous Updates, we’ve been conducting a review of our corporate schemes with Yellow Pages and Thomsons published directories, which, for many years, member IFAs have been eligible to join.
We’ve now concluded our review and decided that we will be ending our relationship with both organisations at the end of 2005.
There are three main reasons for this. The first one is that both published directories have a shelf life of around 18 months and we’re finding entries in our shell ads are quickly going out of date. This problem has become particularly acute with depolarisation, with some advisers changing their status post ‘D’ day – and we are very mindful that we don’t want to direct someone via one of our shell ads to an IFA, only for that person to find that when they get there that the adviser no longer offers independent advice. This poses reputational risks for both IFAP and more broadly the IFA sector.
Secondly, online really is king. People’s behaviour has changed. Particularly when it comes to researching information, which includes finding a local IFA. Purely because of the convenience they offer, people now use Google, MSN, Yahoo, Wanadoo, Tiscali, etc, etc. And as we’ve already demonstrated, IFAP is ensuring that it’s ‘Find an IFA’ searches feature at the top of all the UK search engines - but don’t take our word for it, go and check for yourself. The bottom line is that if you’ve got your web promotion set up correctly, it’s a far more focused cost effective way of getting the right type of customer to contact you – unlike the scatter gun approach which the published directories provide.
So lastly, why haven’t we transferred these relationships over to yell.com and thomsonlocal.com? Well, because we believe we are demonstrably doing a better job at getting online enquirers to the right member IFA (which improves lead quality) than either of these organisations. And to be honest, we would much rather you supported us first, quite simply because any contributions you make to IFAP we can and will use to further promote the IFA brand.
If some of you choose to continue relationships with Yellow Pages and Thomsons separately, that’s fine – but you will need to negotiate with them on an individual basis from January 2006. However, if you’re doing this and you have yet to get your online promotion sorted I would urge you to think again.
Media Services directories
IFAP Media Services is the service which over 80% of financial journalists (MORI) now use to source informed commentary from IFAs. As you know, every year we issue an up-to-date published hard copy directory of media-friendly IFAs to over 1,000 UK journalists who write on financial topics as part or all of their media role. This year, we had two specific objectives in distributing the details of these 233 member IFA volunteers.
Firstly, we were keen to establish the ‘Mortgage IFA brand in journalists’ minds, and to get across the distinction between an Independent Mortgage Adviser and a Mortgage IFA. Our message is that, while an Independent Mortgage Adviser will be independent for mortgage sales, they may be tied for non-mortgage sales, but that a Mortgage IFA will offer independent advice across all products – a term we have dubbed ‘gold standard’ advice. So, to accompany the main directory, we issued a separate book listing details of 153 Mortgage IFAs. These are Media Services members who list mortgages as one of their specialist business areas and who are keen to build their media profile commenting on mortgage issues in particular.
Secondly, it was important to be out there, four months on from depolarisation, reminding media of the ongoing strength of the sector, and urging them to continue quoting IFAs, as a clutch of their key contacts may have changed status since the last ‘blue book’ directories were issued.
While some media contacts still prefer to refer to the blue book, it’s encouraging to see that over the last 12 months nearly 14,000 searches for IFA comment and case studies have been made by journalists online, at www.unbiased.co.uk, www.impartial.co.uk or one of the 17 white label versions of the service we’re running in the media-facing sections of partner (including several of our sponsors) websites.
The online route provides journalists with real time information on media services IFAs, so if you haven’t yet signed up to this free service, and are willing to devote some time to helping media in order to boost your company’s profile, please visit the Media Services section of either www.unbiased.co.uk or www.impartial.co.uk and submit your details.
PR campaign round-up
Value of IFAP-generated media coverage
Last month, I reported through the trade media the results of this year’s evaluation of IFAP-generated media coverage. The report, prepared by independent media evaluation agency Panarc, reveals that the value of positive media coverage generated by IFAP from June 2004 to May 2005 was in excess of £7 million, the highest yet in our 16 year history and an increase of almost 60% on the previous year.
The report also reveals that each adult in the UK was given 29 ‘opportunities to see’ IFAP initiatives and core messages. The top messages delivered by IFAP-originated coverage in this period were:
- Major mention of IFAs, the need for financial planning and the importance of getting independent financial advice
- How easy it is to find an IFA and the IFAP consumer ‘Find an IFA’ hotline (0800 085 3250) and web address www.unbiased.co.uk
- The TaxAction Campaign 2005 outlining the amount of tax we waste individually and as a nation and how an IFA can help – featuring the microsite www.taketaxaction.co.uk
This independent report therefore confirms that we are continuing to reach increasing numbers of consumers with messages which will drive new business to our members.
Not included in this report however is the considerable amount of online coverage secured by IFAP over the past 12 months. Since no reliable system exists yet to attribute a value to online coverage, we are working with interested parties on a way to evaluate this area of fast-escalating significance, and we will report our progress in coming editions of Update.
Take Pension Action campaign launch
In early September, we launched our Take Pension Action campaign, encouraging retirement savers to review their pension arrangements with the help of an IFA before the April 6th A-Day changes take effect.
As a reflection of the changing media environment for personal finance coverage, we have concentrated the weight of campaign attention so far on securing online features about A-Day and what an IFA can offer pension savers. To this end we have created a dedicated microsite at www.takepensionaction.co.uk, containing consumer-friendly information and interactive tools, to offer as content to target websites. Already, IFAP has secured prominent pension simplification features with MSN, 4Money (Channel 4’s personal finance site) and Yahoo! Money, and we are pursuing a range of other online media.
In addition, our initial launch aimed to spread the campaign message far and wide, using a survey-based news story, which showed that only one in five UK adults had heard of the imminent pension reforms and most planned not to review their arrangements in advance of A-Day. Our tabloid angle also focused on what the term A-Day means to the man in the street, with most believing it has more to do with Armistice or A-level results than pensions. The story has been picked up widely, with coverage including The Times, Daily Mail (Scottish) and Manchester Evening News amongst others.
We will be rolling out the next campaign news story in late November, looking at people’s attitudes towards property and pensions. Find out more about the campaign, by visiting www.takepensionaction.co.uk.
Be Advised: Sunday Telegraph joint guide
Following the success of our recent guide to finding financial advice, run in association with the Financial Mail on Sunday, we have agreed a similar initiative with the Sunday Telegraph.
Promotion of the new guide will begin in January and will run throughout 2006, through a mix of relevant editorial and advertisement in the publication. The guide will explain to the publication’s high net worth reader base what types of advice are out there, and how they can find an adviser to meet their specific needs.
This is the latest phase in our ongoing Be Advised campaign, which has so far worked successfully on the principle that, once people understand the advantages and disadvantages of the advice options open to them, the benefits of independent financial advice clearly stand out.
Mortgage IFA campaign update
Last month we issued the first of our survey-based stories to support the Mortgage IFA brand, and drive people to www.impartial.co.uk, our dedicated Mortgage IFA search.
The survey showed that most borrowers ignore what they believe is best for them when it comes to mortgage-related financial advice. Seven out of ten (70%) non-home owning British adults believe it is important to receive independent financial advice when arranging a mortgage, and nearly two thirds (64%) say it is important to receive independent financial advice when arranging protection or investment products alongside a mortgage.
Yet, in practice, just 18% of today’s homeowners approached an IFA for mortgage advice, and a mere 8% of potential homeowners say they would head first for an IFA.
Other key findings of our study:
- 41% of potential homeowners said they would approach their bank or building society for mortgage advice and 43% of current homeowners actually did
- Only 18% of non-homeowners claimed to have a clear understanding of the mortgage market
- 30% of homeowners who have remortgaged did so with the help of an IFA
You can find out more at www.impartial.co.uk.
TaxAction 2005 campaign update
Since the last edition of Update we have issued two more focused stories from our Wasted Tax report.
The first looked at ways people could avoid paying out over £300 million in collective annual fines for miscalculations or late returns, using the September 30th ‘soft-deadline’ as a hook. We positioned IFAs as a means to get taxpayers’ finances in order and to ensure they work as tax-efficiently as possible.
The second story, released in early November, considered the tax-efficient ways in which people could give more to charity, again positioning this as just one aspect of the financial planning process, which an IFA can offer expert advice on.
Again you can find out more by visiting www.taketaxaction.co.uk.
Get Saving!: swan-song for one campaign, as the next begins
Shortly after issuing the last newsletter, we released some good news to media on the savings front. Saving figures had reached their highest levels and borrowing figures had tumbled to their lowest since our quarterly Savings Brake report began in 2001. For every pound saved in Q2, consumers borrowed just 27 pence, compared to 69 pence in Q2 last year.
However, our final message of this year’s Get Saving! campaign was tempered. The correlation between rising savings rates, share prices and new saving, and between higher interest rates and a curbing of rampant borrowing, confirms that consumers continue to be driven by short-term factors rather than any grasp of the need for long-term financial planning.
Within days of receiving this newsletter, we will be launching our next report into the state of UK saving, borrowing and spending, which (as described above) looks likely to paint another picture of people unable to budget their finances.
As well as tracking some key figures on perceived ability to save versus spending realities, this year we will be investigating people’s feelings of financial control, and their expectations of the UK pension situation in years to come.
This looks set to be our most interesting Get Saving! report yet, as the government prepares to put forward its solutions to the ongoing retirement saving ‘crisis’. Our report, we believe uniquely, explores the attitudes and behaviour behind the current lack of long-term saving and joined-up thinking.
As with all our campaigns going forward, we will be putting a heavy focus on securing online coverage, to raise positive IFA profile and drive leads direct to our online searches.
More information will be available soon on www.unbiased.co.uk/getsaving.
Press Clubs report
News from around the Country.
Leicester: This is the oldest of the English based Clubs and will shortly celebrate its 10th anniversary working with The Mercury. During this decade members have produced a lively and topical full page of IFA news and comment on a monthly basis. As well as a seasonal Christmas special, with reminders of New Year action to be taken, a new campaign will commence in January and there are opportunities for new members to join this Club.
The North East: Calling all members in the circulation areas of The Northern Echo, Darlington and The Journal in Newcastle upon Tyne. IFAP is keen to re-establish a regular output of IFA news and comment within these two excellent regional newspapers. Discussions have already taken place with both papers, and a meeting is planned in Newcastle on 8th December to discuss forming an IFA Press Club.
Liverpool: The Club’s monthly feature in the Daily Post will increase to a full page from January, due to increased membership. Happily for members in the area, the feature is published on separate days in both the English and Welsh editions.
Edinburgh: The Club publishes its latest four page IFA special in mid-November in The Scotsman, a combination of articles by Club members and additional material provided directly by IFAP. This feature is ideally placed adjacent to the regular Saturday morning Personal Finance platform run by The Scotsman. The Club plans a new campaign in the New Year.
West Midlands: IFAP has agreed to support the new Monthly Finance supplement published by The Express & Star, starting on 24th September. A series of topical editorials will appear together with a call for readers to find an IFA via IFAP. Members who are interested in participating in this new initiative should contact the paper.
Members are reminded that Press Clubs provide IFAs with the opportunity to keep their name in front of the people that are important to them. The shared cost of campaigns provides excellent value for money and gives participating members a platform within their selected paper at a fraction of the cost of individual advertising campaigns.
Forthcoming Press Club meeting dates
November 29th: Leicester
December 5th: Shropshire, Telford
December 7th: Suffolk, Ipswich
December 8th: Newcastle upon Tyne (look out for email broadcast)
January 17th: Bournemouth
Any member who is interested in joining any of the clubs mentioned above, or who wants to learn more about other clubs running across the UK, should contact IFAP’s Regional Press Officer, James Sharp, on 01902 850 053 or at james@ifap.org.uk
The bottom line
Over the last 12 months we have dealt with over 535,000 consumer and business requests for details of local IFAs. The message I want to put across in this Update cannot be stated loudly enough: 85% of people are finding IFAs via IFAP online, and to attract new business beyond word-of-mouth referral you need to ensure your firm is benefiting from this reality. If yours isn’t, others (nearly 2,000 member subscribers to IFAP’s online marketing package and counting!) already are.
Stats aside, I’m pleased to summarise that 2005 has been the best year yet for IFAP in building IFAs’ positive profile and new business leads. We feel sure that campaigns and initiatives we have planned for the year ahead will more than maintain this upward momentum.
David Elms
Chief Executive
IFA Promotion Ltd
