Financial advisers could get discounts on the running costs of their businesses a new Apfa scheme was launched.
The discounts have been negotiated with a number of firms including Rymans for Business, Citation, Callcredit, Moneypenny and Printing.com.
Apfa says it will mean its small member firms will save up to £300 on annual business expenditure.
Chris Hannant, director general of Apfa, said: “Apfa’s strength lies in its membership.
“It is through this strength that we lobby and fight on issues, such as the levy, to minimise the cost of doing business.
“We have again leveraged this strength - this time on a commercial basis - to win some big discounts with businesses suppliers that will allow adviser companies to lower their costs.”
Apfa, the representative body for financial advisers, says savings of up to 75 per cent will be available on some business costs.
The body already offers discounts on Premium Credit factoring costs and on access to the KPMG VAT helpline.
Martin Greenwood, chief executive of Tenet Group and an Apfa council member, said: “APFA’s scale and influence in the adviser sector has always been a significant asset, enabling us to act as a collective voice to reduce members’ cost of trading.
“With the launch of these exclusive member discounts, APFA has again shown the strength of working together to benefit members of the profession.”
Neil Liversidge, managing director of West Riding Personal Finance and an Apfa council member said: “Small financial advice firms have long been supported by Apfa through our campaigning for regulatory fees to be proportionate and low.
“Now our members can also save money on essential business expenditure through a range of significant discounts developed exclusively for them with well-known partners.”
Apfa has complained about the cost of regulation, with Mr Hannant claiming external compliance and inhouse management of regulatory affairs has added nearly half a billion pounds to advisers expenditure.
The body’s research shows the cost of regulation equates to roughly £170 per customer each year.
The research also shows that the regulatory burden is bigger for smaller firms. For those with annual income between £100,000 and £250,000 the cost of regulation equals 19 per cent of their income, and for those with annual income below £100,000 it is 20 per cent.
Adviser view
Sandra Antoniou, of Hertford-based Fortuna Financial Planning, said: “It probably is a good idea if business costs are a problem for you but our expenses and costs are not an issue.”
