LV has strengthened its equity release team by hiring Les Pick as a new business development manager focusing on the sector.
Mr Pick will have overall responsibility for developing and managing relationships with adviser firms that operate within the equity release market, along with will overseeing the running of LV’s adviser facing training and development programme.
He has worked in the financial services industry for almost two decades and held senior positions at Aviva and Just Retirement, having started out as a financial adviser at Royal London.
He joins the distribution team and will report to the head of retirement distribution Steve Lewis.
Mr Lewis commented that the latest industry figures show demand for equity release at a record high, with the firm believing it will play a pivotal role in helping retirees to fund their retirement.
Industry figures from the Equity Release Council showed equity release hit £384.3m in the second quarter, the largest amount for any quarter since records began, surpassing the previous high of £375.4m reached in the third quarter last year.
Mr Lewis said: “We are committed to growing the market by helping retirement advisers to discuss equity release with their clients and having someone of Les’s calibre and experience on board will enable us to do just that.”
Mr Pick, business development manager at LV, said: “LV is a major player in the equity release market and it is great to have the opportunity to join a provider with ambitious growth plans.
“I look forward to working with the team and with advisers to help increase consumers’ awareness of the benefits of equity release.”
LV’s equity release revenues fell 42 per cent to £33m over the last six months, according to its results, published at the end of last month.
The firm’s retirement solutions managing director John Perks explained this was essentially due to falling enhanced annuity sales, as its equity release business is internally funded from annuity revenues.
He told FTAdviser: “This should only be a temporary setback and has led us to seek additional sources of funding both internally and externally, as we’re definitely looking to grow our equity release business to meet demand.”
peter.walker@ft.com
