Later life lenders offering 60 different free support items to advisers

Online education platform, Advice Guru, has revealed the results of its latest research with later life lenders, exploring the range of support they provide to advisers.

Based on feedback from twelve main lenders operating in the later life market, Advice Guru has compiled a grid detailing the support on offer across nine areas, covering things such as marketing support, business development and training.

The research reveals a total of 60 different tools, calculators and support packages available to help advisers with their business growth and continuing professional development, from help with obtaining the equity release qualification to interactive marketing toolkits. 

Advice Guru founder, Stuart Powell, described the findings as ‘impressive’ but also struck a cautionary note when looking at the broader picture.

Powell said: “The sheer range of support on offer from lenders is certainly impressive. There were things I was unaware existed despite having worked in this industry for more than 10 years. If you know where to look, there are some real gems that can help you accelerate your business growth - and that’s why we decided to create this grid, to give advisers a ‘one-stop-shop’ they can come to in order to access all of these tools without having to trawl through a dozen different websites.

“I take my hat off to the lenders for their efforts, but our research also shows there is room for more. While some areas such as mortgage calculators and lending criteria insights are well catered for, with every lender offering a tool or other type of support, in other areas there is a distinct lack of material. Important topics such as vulnerable clients, care and even help for advisers looking to get their ER qualification are not as well supported.”

Advice Guru’s grid reveals that only five lenders provide vulnerability support, four provide training material related to care and just one of the 12 lenders - Aviva - provides support for advisers looking to get their equity release qualification.

Powell added: “I understand that this support does not come without cost which, in the current challenging market, is a difficult budgeting choice for lenders. But at the same time, everyone in this market recognises and agrees that future market growth depends on better education and more qualified advisers being attracted into the later life lending market. This cannot happen in a vacuum so it’s incumbent on us all, including lenders, to provide as much education and support as possible to empower more advisers to grow their later life advice practices.”