November 2007
This month’s topics
IFAP November 2007 Update e-newsletter
Welcome to the latest edition of Update. As always, this newsletter goes out to all member IFAs to help keep you informed about our latest initiatives, news and views.
As you may have noticed, we have been busy over the last few months responding to the ongoing debate on the FSA’s Retail Distribution Review. As ever we continue to promote the benefits of independent financial advice by making sure that consumers’ best interests remain a key focus in this discussion.
Our independent research shows that consumer satisfaction with IFAs found through IFAP’s ‘Find an IFA’ search is at a record high, with almost nine out of ten consumers stating they are satisfied with the service and advice received. Read more about this in our IFA Promotion News section.
With the end of the year fast approaching, it is time for a bit of housekeeping. You will have received a recent communication from us asking you to return your annual Self Declaration Form, confirming your firm’s continuing ‘independent’ status, the names of Investment IFAs based at your branch and their individual FSA numbers. Please refer to our news section to find out more.
We have also recently launched a prize draw with the chance to win £2,000 worth of PC World vouchers for member IFAs taking out new Online Marketing Package (OMP) subscriptions with us. There is more on how to benefit from this limited offer later.
If there is anyone else in your organisation who you think would also like to receive our Update e-newsletter please direct them to www.unbiased.co.uk/email/.
IFA Promotion News
FSA: Retail Distribution Review and Which? investigation into financial advice
Despite the fact that the FSA’s Retail Distribution Review (RDR) announcement happened over four months ago, it remains a hot topic across the financial services industry. The key issue remains the same – should a financial adviser not offering whole of market advice be allowed to call themselves an ‘independent’ financial adviser?
IFAP has made its views on the debate very clear over the last few months and released a variety of statements and research results calling for the word ‘independent’ to only apply to whole of market advice. And with over half (57%) of consumers believing ‘independent’ in the context of financial advice means the ability to have unrestricted access to the whole of market, our views are clearly aligned with them.
Our stance on the issue was further reinforced when Which? published its findings on financial advice provision in the UK. The Which? investigation highlighted that more than two thirds of tied financial advisers failed to pass the benchmarks for giving good advice. Which? concluded that IFAs, who of course can recommend products from the whole of market gained better results when put through the same tests. IFAP’s own independent research shows that almost nine out of ten (86%) consumers who used Unbiased.co.uk’s ‘Find an IFA’ service in the last year were satisfied with the meeting they had with an IFA. But more on this later.
IFAP’s response to the Which? investigation highlighted our concerns that the RDR proposals (if implemented) would lead to more unnecessary consumer confusion, and potentially a poorer service to the consumer.
IFAP has also been busy with another topic raised in the RDR – the increased need for qualifications amongst IFAs. In our last Update newsletter we talked about the work we have undertaken together with the Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC) to simplify the categorisation of IFA qualifications to help consumers find the right member IFA for their needs. The new system means consumers can now compare IFA qualifications with those they are familiar with, for example A Levels and components of an undergraduate degree. Our research shows that 75% of consumers believe it is important for an IFA to have incremental qualifications and the simplified new search applies to around 50 different IFA incremental qualifications/designations currently available across eight different awarding bodies.
The FSA’s consultation period on the RDR is now underway and we will continue to engage in the debate to ensure IFAs’ and more importantly consumers’ voices are heard.
This month’s topics
Consumer satisfaction with IFAs at record high
We know that over 575,000 consumers are put in touch with a local IFA every year by IFAP, but do we know whether those going on to see an IFA are satisfied with the advice received? The answer is yes! Our own independent research shows that consumer satisfaction levels with independent financial advisers are at record levels, the highest ever since 2000. Here are some of the key findings:
- Almost nine out of ten (86%) consumers using the online service at Unbiased.co.uk said they were fairly (30%) or very satisfied (56%) with the meeting with the IFA and its outcomes.
- When it comes to consumers using the hotline (0800 085 3250) – the results are very similar – with 21% fairly satisfied and 65% very satisfied.
- The vast majority (90%) of consumers found the information they received from Unbiased.co.uk’s ‘Find an IFA’ service helpful. The service provides an interactive search for consumers seeking independent financial advice. Consumers can search for an IFA by: location (postcode); specialisation; qualifications; and gender.
These findings demonstrate the value independent financial advisers add to consumers’ financial planning. It further reinforces that the Unbiased.co.uk search is an important tool for promoting our member IFAs.
Sign up to IFAP’s Online Marketing Package now for your chance to win £2,000 worth of PC World Vouchers
In today’s internet-savvy world, there is hardly anything you can’t search for online and financial advice is no exception. It is simply not enough for an IFA to rely on word of mouth or client referrals to attract new clients and the internet therefore poses a great opportunity. This means that IFAs without a website risk losing out on valuable potential business. But it is not just a website that counts in attracting new clients, you also have to make sure that your online presence is visible and that consumers can find your details easily.
IFAP’s Online Marketing Package (OMP) helps you to make sure your listing stands out from the crowd. The OMP is an enhanced service which is applied to members’ entries on Unbiased.co.uk and the 55 white label online versions of the search running on high profile partner websites. An OMP subscription means your entry will be given its own links and a range of extra features, such as a ‘Call me back’ facility. Which all means, even without a website, future prospects will be able to find you more easily and quickly than if you stick with a non-enhanced standard IFAP listing.
And if you sign up to the OMP by 28 November 2007 you will be entered into a free prize draw giving you a chance to win £2,000 worth of PC World Vouchers. Please see the full terms and conditions.
If you’re still not sure, you could perhaps consider the following five reasons why you should sign up to IFAP’s Online Marketing Package:
- In the last 12 months, over 500,000 people used Unbiased.co.uk and the 55 versions of the service running on partner websites to look for a local member IFA.
- By signing up to the OMP, you’re more than twice as likely to have your details viewed by someone looking for a local member IFA on Unbiased.co.uk (source: Orchestra Bristol, 2007).
- Member IFAs tell us that, due to the higher-quality targeting of IFAP’s searches, 77% of all leads they receive from IFAP result in business (source: Consensus 2007, Base 1802 IFAs).
- IFAP generates 5,000 pieces of media editorial each year, positioning member IFAs and the advice process in a positive light (source: Panarc International).
- Without the support of our sponsors and member IFAs subscribing to the Online Marketing Package, it would be impossible for IFAP to continue its work promoting the independent brand (IFAP remains a not for profit organisation).
For an annual outlay of £249 + VAT you can promote your company details on all IFAP-run searches. With the average IFAP case size currently standing at £900 (source: Oliver Wyman 2007), you need less than the value generated by one IFAP originated lead to pay for a whole year’s subscription. Click here for full details or call the member Hotline on 0870 325 9020.
Reminder to complete your annual Self Declaration Form
As we are heading towards the end of the year, the time has come for all of you to submit your annual Self Declaration Form. This confirms your firm’s continuing ‘independent’ status, the names of the Investment IFAs at your branch and their individual FSA numbers. You should have already received an email from us with your Self Declaration Form which, if you haven’t already done so, we need you to fill in and return to us straight away.
This is part of our annual initiative to ensure that only truly independent financial advisers are included on our ‘Find an IFA’ searches. We therefore ask you to tell us if you offer whole of market advice across mortgages, protection and insurance and provide an option for payment by fee. In order to ensure consumers clearly understand the type of IFA they will be receiving details of, we insist that all of our members offer whole of market advice and a fees payment option (across all product areas).
Please be aware that failure to comply with this request will result in your permanent removal from the IFAP database and no longer receiving referrals from us. Additionally you are no longer authorised to use the IFAP pound sign roundel logo on any of your marketing material or take part in IFAP’s Media Services or regional Press Clubs.
Please return the fully completed form without delay by fax to 0870 325 9018 or by post to IFA Promotion, 17-19 Emery Road, Brislington, Bristol BS4 5PF.
IFAP Media Services – the Blue Book 2008
October saw the publication of the 10th edition of IFAP’s Media Services Directory, also known as the Blue Book. Every year the latest version of the Blue Book is sent to over 1,000 media professionals including editors, journalists and content managers, across national, regional, trade, online and broadcast media. The Blue Book is used to promote IFAP member media IFAs as the best placed spokespeople to offer informed comment and case studies.
As you probably know, over 200 media-savvy IFAP members now take part in our Media Services initiative. The 2006 MORI poll revealed that over 80% of personal finance and trade journalists now use IFAP Media Services, with over 40% doing so at least once per month.
Our Media Services online has received over 9,000 enquiries from journalists in the last 12 months, as well as online white label versions of the service which currently run on 17 key financial services sites.
| www.aifa.net | www.axa.co.uk (IFAP sponsor) |
| www.brightgrey.com (IFAP sponsor) | www.canadalife.co.uk (IFAP sponsor) |
| www.clericalmedical.co.uk (IFAP sponsor) | www.defaqto.com (IFAP sponsor) |
| www.friendsprovident.co.uk (IFAP sponsor) | www.headlinemoney.co.uk |
| www.impartial.co.uk | www.investmentuk.org |
| www.nsandi.com (IFAP sponsor) | www.scottishlife.co.uk (IFAP sponsor) |
| www.skandia.co.uk (IFAP sponsor) | www.sli.co.im (IFAP sponsor) |
| www.standardlife.com (IFAP sponsor) | www.theaic.co.uk |
| www.unum.co.uk (IFAP sponsor) | www.wfa-group.co.uk |
Calls to IFAP’s Media Services Hotline also result in opportunities for media comment, which media IFAs frequently see emailed to their inboxes. In September alone we forwarded opportunities to comment from Sky News, The Times, The Telegraph, Professional Adviser and many more. Your prompt responses to these enquiries fosters a strong working relationship with journalists for yourselves and for IFAP.
If you have signed up to be a Media Services IFA you will notice that your individual profile includes details of whether there are male or female IFAs available, your fee structure, and your case study and/or broadcast experience. These distinctions are designed to improve the quality of the media leads we generate for you; in the future we hope to add more refinements to promote your services to the media.
If you want to join IFAP Media Services click here and submit your details.
IFAP’s online presence keeps growing
As you know, placing IFAP online content (white label ‘Find an IFA’ searches, editorial, tools, microsites, guides, etc) in the personal finance channels of partner websites and portals is a key priority for us. We’ve continued to build on the great relationships we’ve developed with a number of websites, including BBC.co.uk, Timesonline.co.uk, Londonstockexchange.com, GuardianUnlimted.com, MSN, Thisismoney, Yahoo, Tiscali and AOL, providing these online partners with new and up-to-date editorial content.
We’re continuing to discuss partnership opportunities with many more key money and industry websites and will keep you posted on progress.
This month’s topics
Keeping independent financial advice in the news
IFAP TaxAction 2007 update
The last couple of months have been a busy period for Unbiased.co.uk’s TaxAction campaign. TaxAction continues to concentrate on the UK’s major tax concerns, providing a range of practical tips on how to ensure the general public can make tax work best for them.
Since the last Update newsletter in August we have issued releases on topical stories such as the self-assessment deadline on 30th September, highlighting that UK taxpayers will waste £302 million in self-assessment errors in 2007. Another TaxAction release looked at the fact that only 71% of new parents have opened a Child Trust Fund account for their children since their introduction in April 2005. Our research showed that about £125 million will be wasted by parents not taking advantage of the full tax breaks of their children’s Child Trust Funds in 2007.
We also released a story looking at the 2.4 million pensioners who are not claiming their pension credits and the £2 billion of pension credits that will be wasted this year.
Other stories throughout 2007 will focus on key personal finance issues in relation to taxation such as tax credits and charitable giving.
Please visit www.unbiased.co.uk/taketaxaction to find out more about our ongoing PR campaign and how you can get involved.
Get Saving!
Our Get Saving! campaign continued with a release focusing on Britain’s debt awareness. Our research showed that 2.5 million Brits have no idea how much debt they are in. On top of that, another 15.4 million cannot quantify their debt within £100.
We sent out the latest figures of our quarterly Savings Brake trends, which looks at the ratio of how much we are borrowing, not including mortgage debt, contrasted with how much we are saving. The latest set of figures (Q2 2007) showed that consumers’ savings are at a record high and that the British public owed just eight pence for every pound they saved.
Our interactive microsite Unbiased.co.uk/getsaving provides a series of savings and thrift tips (how much you could save a year by sacrificing your morning coffee etc), a budget calculator which shows realistically what you should have available each month for saving, and advice on the many ways in which people can start to save.
There’s plenty more Get Saving! news to watch out for - look out for the Q3 update of our Savings Brake research and our next release on New Year’s resolutions.
Podcasts
As mentioned in our last Update newsletter, we have recently added a new podcast section to unbiased.co.uk. We now have three podcasts live on the site, looking at personal finance topics such as finding independent financial advice, pensions and mortgages. Over the next couple of months we will be adding more podcasts on savings, investments and tax planning and have plans for further podcasts in the New Year.
IFAP Press Clubs report
IFAP’s regional Press Clubs work with local media, forging strong relationships with regional newspapers to help promote independent advice and local IFAs.
IFAP members who have not read about or experienced the benefits of belonging to a Press Club, should read our guide - “The essential guide to raising your IFA business profile with local media” – download a copy now.
This month’s topics
News from around the country
Portsmouth, The News: members at this well established Press Club continue to publish a full page every month in this paper. Recent initiatives have seen the Club combining with the paper’s own established financial matters features. A meeting designed to brief potential new members is to be held shortly, if you have not received an invitation to attend this meeting and would like to do so please contact the regional press officer.
Norwich, The Eastern Daily Press: discussions have recently taken place with the editorial team at this paper to consider the possibility of forming a new Club in the circulation area. This year the paper has launched a four page Personal Finance section which currently appears on a Saturday. It is hoped that this will be expanded and any IFA in the area interested in the possibility of joining a Press Club is asked to pass their name to the regional press officer.
Cambridge, The Cambridge Evening News: a new Club was formed here earlier this year and has to date published a feature every month. The group would like to expand its activities and is interested in hearing from IFAs in the area who would like to have the opportunity of writing a regular column in the paper. If you would like to find out more please contact the regional press officer.
Liverpool & North Wales, The Liverpool Post: this is one of IFAP’s longest established Press Clubs and has enjoyed an excellent relationship with the paper over many years. The Club continue to provide a monthly feature which is published in both the Liverpool edition and North Wales edition on separate days. Recent developments in editorial policy may give additional opportunity for members to provide comment in the editorial pages.
Glasgow,The Herald: this long established Club will shortly come to the end of its current campaign and is actively seeking new members for the 2008 campaign. The Club publishes a full broad sheet page in the paper every other month. Members have the added advantage of assistance from a freelance writer to ensure articles have maximum reader impact. For further information please contact the regional press officer.
Newcastle upon Tyne, The Newcastle Journal: as this Club approaches the end of its second year plans have been made for a December feature which will attempt to provide readers with a light hearted look at how an IFA might be able to assist during “the twelve days of Christmas”. Plans for a new campaign in 2008 will be confirmed at their next meeting.
For information on any of the above activities please contact IFAP Regional Officer James Sharp at james@ifap.org.uk or telephone 01902 850053.
Forthcoming Press Club meetings.
- November 21st Newcastle upon Tyne
- November 22nd Aberdeen Forum Press Club AGM
- November 22nd Tayside & Fife, Dundee
- November 27th Edinburgh
- December 4th Bournemouth
- December 6th Leicester
- December 11th Liverpool
- December 14th Suffolk, Ipswich
- January 29th Glasgow
The bottom line
We have already seen a lot of activity in the independent financial advice market this year and the remaining months of 2007 will no doubt keep us busy. Here at IFAP, we will continue to engage in the debate around the Retail Distribution Review and any further suggested changes to the current independent advice model.
We will keep working hard to promote the benefits of independent financial advice to consumers. Bolstered by the fact that the vast majority of consumers appear to be satisfied with the advice received from their IFA, our work and your work seems to be very much appreciated.
In the meantime, if you have any feedback on this Update or any other issues then please let us know.
David Elms
Chief Executive @ IFA Promotion
(david@ifap.org.uk)
