28 July 2008

Consumers Continue to Value Independent Financial Advice as Bear Market Looms

·        Unbiased.co.uk’s latest Advice Drivers report shows that over 250,000 consumers requested details of independent financial advisers  in the first half of 2008

·        As the UK economy wavers, consumers seek advice on personal retirement planning and mortgages, with equity release also an increasingly popular topic

New figures from Unbiased.co.uk, the find an Independent Financial Adviser search, reveal that as the UK stockmarket falls to bear market levels, over a quarter of a million consumers put their faith in independent financial advice in the first half of 2008. Over 30% of searches for details of local IFAs going through the ‘Find an IFA’ service are requesting advice on retirement planning, as consumers worry about the impact of the economic downturn on their pensions, whilst more consumers (now at a high of 4% of all searches) are now asking for advice on whether to release equity from their homes.

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. Concerns over the housing market continue to prompt consumers to seek advice on mortgages, with approximately 50,000 people requesting details of a local IFA to advise them on mortgages in the first half of 2008.

The Advice Drivers report highlights equity release as the largest growth area for advice, with nearly 4,000 requests for advice on the subject in the last three months – an increase of 18% on the final quarter of 2007.

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

“Our latest report demonstrates that when consumers are most worried about their finances, they put their faith in IFAs to guide them. Consumer needs are constantly changing and whole-of-market IFAs are the best-positioned of all advice types to serve these needs. It is also reassuring that with increased interest in equity release products, consumers are seeking the gold standard of advice in order to decide on whether such products are appropriate to them.”

The top ten Advice Drivers in the second 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/Jennifer Comerford
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/bluebook

 

1.      Unbiased.co.uk

Unbiased.co.uk (IFA Promotion) is a not for profit organisation which promotes the benefits of Independent Financial Advice to UK consumers.  Over the past 12 months, over 575,000 consumers have used Unbiased.co.uk’s confidential ‘Find an IFA search’ to find local member IFAs - 94% of these enquiries are now dealt with online.

Unbiased.co.uk, which is in its 19^th year, helps create over 6,000 pieces of positive coverage in the consumer media each year, highlighting the importance of seeking independent financial advice across online, broadcast and print media. This positive media generation influences consumers’ behaviour and increases their awareness of the benefits of seeing an IFA.

Unbiased.co.uk is now positioned as the online gateway between consumers researching their financial advice options and member IFAs. Over 60 white label versions of Unbiased.co.uk’s ‘Find an IFA’ service are now running on partner  websites including those of media and portal money channels, product provider sponsors and other industry bodies.

When searching for a ‘Find an IFA’ on UK Google, around 80% of the returned links over the first five pages of search results now display either Unbiased.co.uk directly or a white label version of Unbiased.co.uk’s ‘Find an IFA’ service running on a partner website. To support this activity Unbiased.co.uk now regularly provides white label versions of its consumer guides, tools, microsites and podcasts to partner personal finance websites.

2.      Unbiased.co.uk’s product provider sponsors

Abbey for Intermediaries	Lincoln Financial Group
Aberdeen Asset Management	Lutine Assurance Services
AEGON Scottish Equitable Plc	MetLife
Alliance Trust	National Savings & Investments
AXA Life	New Star Investment Funds
Bright Grey	Norwich Union Life
BPP	Prudential
Canada Life Ltd	Scottish Life
Cardif Pinnacle	Scottish Life International
The Children’s Mutual	Scottish Widows Plc
Clerical Medical Investment	Skandia UK Group
Defaqto	Standard Life Assurance Company
Friends Provident	Tomorrow
The Hartford	Unum
Invesco Perpetual	Zurich Intermediary Group
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Registered Office: IFA Promotion Ltd, 90 St. Vincent Street, Glasgow G2 5UB. Registered in Scotland: No. 114606

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