Devonshire Lawyer wins National Legal Award
Ian Hunt, Managing Partner at local law firm, East Devon Law, has been recognised for his expertise in Private Client Law at a National Legal awards ceremony in London last week winning the Legal Expert – Private Client Award.
The CILEx National Awards 2018 was held at the Underglobe, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London on Thursday 6th September hosted by actress and
Devon was well represented with 5 Finalists from the County including the Devon CILEx Branch which won Branch of the year. Ian said, “I am delighted to receive this award which is in recognition of the work I do supporting elderly and vulnerable people including those with learning difficulties”.comedian Sally Phillips, and was the inaugural Awards event run by the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives to recognise excellence in all fields of work across the legal profession. The nominees and winners came from a range of environments from Large City law firms to high street practices.
Retirement Advantage Equity Release rebrands to Canada Life Home Finance
From October, Retirement Advantage’s Equity Release business will be called Canada Life Home Finance. The rebrand reflects the breadth of the company’s product range, which allows homeowners and landlords over 55 to access the wealth in the properties they own.
The move creates a platform for growth in key markets, as Canada Life continues the integration and development of its combined product ranges and expertise, following its acquisition of Retirement Advantage in January 2018.
Canada Life is focused on strengthening its presence in the retirement market, and is dedicated to providing innovative and highly expert solutions to meet intermediaries’ current and evolving needs. New products and simpler and faster IT enabled services are in development, which will build on the product, technical and service strengths of the original Canada Life business (wealth management, protection, annuities) and Retirement Advantage’s specialist expertise in retirement income solutions.
Alice Watson, Head of Marketing and Communications at Canada Life Home Finance, said:
‘Home finance products in the UK are booming. The equity release sector is a prime example, as growing numbers of over-55s recognise the valuable role property wealth can play in retirement alongside pensions and other assets. While our name may have changed, our commitment to this exciting sector remains steadfast.
‘Existing customers can rest assured that there will be no change to their products or the service they currently receive.
‘Innovation is the key to equity release’s future. Central to our offer is listening to advisers and to customers to develop a product range which meets their evolving needs. This approach also includes broader home finance options, such as our Over 55 Buy-to-Let and Second Homes mortgages. We strive to remain a market leader in home finance products for over-55s.’
David Burrowes, Chairman of the Equity Release Council, commented:
“2018 has seen equity release become an integral cog in the wheel of the later life planning process and, with that in mind, it is a fitting time for Canada Life to formally join the Equity Release Council’s growing membership.
“Canada Life joining The Council is also a recognition of our shared commitment to quality standards and builds on Retirement Advantage’s contribution to the market, helping more people explore the potential for housing wealth to meet a variety of financial goals at a time of growing social need.”
Doug Brown, Canada Life UK chief executive officer and executive vice-president said:
Since combining Canada Life and Retirement Advantage at the beginning of 2018, we have made excellent progress on our objective to integrate our skills and experience and become a leader in the broader retirement income market.
‘We have ambitious plans which build on our heritage and strengths across wealth management, protection, retirement income and annuities and we will be launching innovative products and services which meet the evolving needs of intermediaries and their customers.”
As part of the rebrand, the Retirement Advantage website will close and product and adviser portals move to www.canadalife.co.uk.
OneFamily enhances fixed rate lifetime mortgages
OneFamily has enhanced its fixed rate lifetime mortgages by increasing the maximum loan amount from £750,000 to £1 million and reducing interest rates.
The increased loan amount will allow advisers to offer even more customers the opportunity to release equity from their property.
Research shows that there are now nearly 800,000 homes across Britain valued at least £1 million – with much of this wealth sitting with the over 55s who have benefited from long term price increases. The majority of these properties are in London and the South East, an area that has seen a significant increase in equity release sales over recent years.
As well as raising the maximum loan amount, the interest rates on OneFamily fixed rate mortgages are being reduced for both Standard and Lite Lifetime Mortgages. Lite will have a MER rate of 4.34%, while Standard will be 4.79%. These rate changes are live from today.
Nici Audhlam-Gardiner, Managing Director of Lifetime Mortgages at OneFamily comments,“Following feedback from intermediaries, it became clear that there was a need in the market for higher loan amounts. Equity release is no longer a reaction for consumers to make up a savings shortfall but rather a proactive decision to make the most of their largest asset. Some homeowners are looking to give loved ones a living inheritance with an intergenerational wealth transfer, while others want to improve their own lives with major home improvements or by investing in other property.
“These changes reflect our desire to provide lifetime mortgages that help fit a range of consumer needs and allow advisers to give their clients the solution that is right for them.”
OneFamily offers Interest Roll-up with a Voluntary Payment option, which allows consumers to pay off up to 10% of the initial loan balance each year, with no early repayment charges or Interest Payment which allows up to 100% of the interest to be paid off.
To find out more about OneFamily’s Lifetime Mortgages, adviser can visit: www.onefamilyadviser.com/lifetime-mortgages
Key Retirement Group
The last quarter has been a busy one for Key Retirement Group as it announced its intention to refresh its brands starting with its advice arm – Key. Launching into the public eye with a new look logo and memorable advert, the adviser was keen to emphasis the vital role that advisors play in the equity release market with the strap line “good advice is key”. Early feedback from the industry suggests that this significant additional investment has stimulated growth across the wider equity release market rather than just at Key.
As the group works to capitalise on the market potential, there has also been as series of senior appointments with Paul Glynn (Director of Sales) and Ben Waugh (Director of Operations and Operations Management) joining more 2 life and Rachel East (Head of Advice Sales: Whole of Marketing) joining Key. While the Group believes it has much to look forward to, it is also proud to celebrate its 20th Anniversary in Q4 2018 – a celebration which kicked off in style when more 2 life (Best Online Service) and Key (Equity Release Adviser of the Year) picked up awards at the Moneyfacts Investment, Life & Pensions Awards.
Pure Retirement
The year continues to be one of growth and development at Pure Retirement, and we’re set to have a workforce nudging the triple-figure mark by its end. Much as we’re all enjoying the cosiness, we’re all equally excited to be moving into our new space in the new Paradigm development that’s leading the next development wave at Leeds’ Thorpe Park in the coming weeks.
Our expanded Business Development and Relationship Manager elements have gelled really well and we’ve all been impressed at the added support and assistance they’ve been able to give to brokers to the benefit of both our adviser network and their customers.
We’ve recently refreshed our website, updating it to provide the same information sources for brokers while clothing it in a brand new, bright and intuitive design and interface. Additionally, on the back of our physical marketing toolkit that we offer to help brokers get the best out of the growing market we’ve expanded our offering to provide guidance and support for digital marketing queries. We’re proud to support the wider industry, and as such are thrilled to be able to offer an expanded service in this area.
We’ve been pleased with the record levels of uptake for the Adviser Guide To Equity Release, which we created in partnership with the Equity Release Council and over the last twelve months has seen over 2,500 downloads for the whole guide and its component parts.
We’ve similarly enjoyed seeing unprecedented levels of interaction with our Summer Webinar Series, which focused on the legalities of equity release and the opportunities available to advisers through digital marketing. Filming is set to begin on our autumn series, with topics being covered including the role equity release can play in ongoing care provisions and possibilities afforded by currently available tools and technology.
Our Autumn Roadshows have recently started and will be continuing throughout October, culminating in an edition in Gatwick on the 16th. Our initial event in Solihull benefited from input from the Council’s own Donna Bathgate as well as representatives from My Care Consultant, Release My Equity and Later Life Academy. The feedback so far has been great and we can’t wait for the next events. As well as our own events, we’ll also have a presence at a raft of upcoming functions including the Mortgage Strategy Leaders Forum and the Professional Adviser Conference and we hope to see some of you there.
For those who might have missed it, the latest edition of the Pure-sponsored Lifetime Market Insight magazine from The Premier Equity Release Club, full of the latest industry updates, is available here.
And lastly, but by no means least: a huge thanks to everyone who voted for us in the MoneyFacts ILP Awards, where we were highly commended for Best Equity Release Provider and the winner of Best Equity Release Service. A big thank you for all your ongoing support – it truly means a lot.
