The lender has confirmed it is looking to direct some of its business to consumers through affinity groups within the next three to four months. It added the decision was a result of there being too few intermediaries in the market to advise on equity release.
Andrew Megson, sales director at Just Retirement, said despite working with advisers to access the skills needed for this kind of specialist advice through its sponsorship of lifetime mortgage exams, there were still not enough IFAs to meet customer needs.
He said: “We are looking to work with groups currently not covered by IFAs. We will only deal with affinity groups to provide equity release advice and will not be competing with IFAs.”
Kevin Morgan, managing director of Consilium Financial Planning, welcomed the move. He said: “The current choice of advisers is limited. Just Retirement’s expansion can only be a good thing for both the consumer and the market. There is concern expressed about the benefits of securing equity release products. The availability of first class advice coupled with first class products is vital.”
However, Martin Wade, director at Mortgage Options, expressed concern over the decision, and said the complicated nature of equity release product customers meant they were best served from an independent point of view.
Wade said: “Affinity groups provide an excellent way for product providers to market their services to a large audience and the very nature of affinity groups gives product providers the ability to access a large group of people with a similar profile allowing them to market their services more effectively. However, I’m not convinced advice would be best served through these groups because of the complicated nature of the lifetime market.”
