IFA network Sense sees turnover increase to £9m

Knutsford-based IFA network Sense Network announced today (26 June) that it has made a profit of £310,000 for the year ending 31 May, an increase of 29 per cent over the previous year, on the back of an uptick in turnover of 23 per cent to £9m.

Steve Young, director of Sense said, the results were a “clear endorsement of the distinctive strategy of the Sense business”, adding that “there is demand for a modern network” and that some more traditionally structured networks would be “vulnerable” post-RDR.

However, while Mr Young warned that the Retail Distribution Review could negatively affect some networks, he said that he sees a “huge opportunity” in the post-RDR world for professional financial advisers.

He said: “The first few months of 2013 may be a bumpy ride for the older, traditional networks. We would encourage members of networks to carefully assess the financial stability of their network and, if necessary, move to a network who is thriving.

“Sense was designed with RDR in mind and we only work with financial planning practices. As a consequence, over 95 per cent of our advisers expect to be trading post-RDR.

“We have also seen a big increase in enquiries from like-minded firms and our pipeline of applications is at a record level.”

Earlier this year, Sense confirmed that it had rejected a move to include restricted panels within its offering following a year long consultation with its members.

My Young said: “We recognise that there are changes that firms need to make in order to be able to satisfy the new standards for independence but we are confident that we can provide new support services for our firms, which will allow them to maintain their independence.

“We believe that a combination of training, enhanced research and the ability for Sense to provide a file review service for advice involving more exotic products will fully satisfy the need to conduct an unrestricted and unbiased review of the market.”