The IFA behind new initiative Get Financial Advice believes it fits perfectly with the ‘guidance guarantee’ as the brand is looking to help individuals and businesses source straightforward, online and qualified help with consumers’ financial requirements.
Get Financial Advice, a trading name of Penguin Wealth, is a direct-to-market, transactional business which was launched earlier this year. Meanwhile, Increaseyourpension.co.uk was launched in January and is the first of four websites that Penguin plans to launch under this brand.
It will provide clients with lower levels of investible assets free guidance on pensions options and a free analysis report on how their existing products are performing. They only pay for any products they subsequently acquire.
This is in contrast to another online simple advice model, which is set to be rolled out in January by Chapters Financial, which will charge flat fees of £299 for a full financial review and then additional set fees to implement recommendations.
Both services come at a time when simple advice is being heavy discussed and is set to be supported by the regulator under its project innovate umbrella.
Speaking to FTAdviser, Craig Palfrey, certified financial planner at Cardiff-based Penguin Wealth, said: “We have taken a view over the past few years that the financial world is changing; partly due to economic factors and partly due to the way people act in the market place. The most significant change is that the way financial advice will be sought and delivered is altering.
“That is why we have developed a brand called Get Financial Advice and a suite of websites on pensions, with-profits and business finance which provide an online advisory/guidance service.”
He added that the government’s guidance service, set to be implemented in April 2015, fits perfectly with what the service wants to achieve.
“This is exactly what we are doing with Get Financial Advice; helping individuals and businesses source straightforward but qualified help with their financial requirements.
“We are promoting these sites with ever increasing gusto; the sites themselves provide information, tips, educational material, articles, guides, infographics – fully supported by a mix of enquiry channels so anyone looking for help can easily enquire and then receive the guidance, advice or support exactly as they need it.”
Penguin is also buildings its desk-based team that sits behind, so support can now be given either online or remotely.
“There are an estimated 5m people in the UK today who are either disinclined to seek out or pursue face-to-face advice, or cannot afford it. Our brand and service is targeted directly at this market, throughout 2015 we will continue to build this service.”
donia.o’loughlin@ft.com
