The new service has been developed following consultation with both financial advisers and the lenders on the platform. Advisers will be able to tailor the KFIs by specifying additional client details, vary the amount of commission passed on to clients, add details of payments to third parties and enter appropriate premiums for any mandatory insurances. KFIs are presented to the adviser in Adobe PDF format for easy viewing and retention.
The launch follows a survey of 472 IFAs by The Exchange, which showed that 65% of respondents expect to sell lifetime mortgages in the regulated environment and 75% expect the lifetime mortgage market to continue to grow in 2005.
The Exchange launched the industry’s first electronic trading platform for Equity Release products in March this year to help financial advisers unlock the £44 billion* Equity Release market. Since then it has become the most commonly used service on Exweb, apart from the core quotation and transaction services, which highlights its value as the ideal distribution channel through which product providers can cost-effectively market their products to The Exchange’s 20,000 users.
The Equity Release Trading Platform saves advisers time in the sales process by enabling them to research, quote and source Equity Release products from a single place and confidently offer advice in this complex area of financial planning.
It enables financial advisers to identify which products meet their client’s needs based on personal data, property details and financial criteria. The results are displayed in a simple tabular format from where advisers can link to detailed product information, produce KFIs and produce client summary reports.
David Child, managing director at The Exchange, comments: “The Equity Release market continues to offer significant opportunities to financial advisers and with more providers aiming to join the service shortly, the Equity Release Trading Platform provides advisers with easy access to information to assist their sales process.”
