Sesame network and PMS mortgage club members can now refer their customers to a new panel of equity release brokers.
Advisers’ clients will be able to access fully qualified and experienced specialists within four approved equity release master brokers: Age Partnership, Key Partnerships, Responsible Life and Largeequityrelease.com.
These firms will review the clients’ circumstances, carry out research and provide a detailed personal recommendation, while also taking full regulatory and professional indemnity responsibility.
According to Sesame, the new service is designed to help advisers who are either not authorised to give equity release advice, or are authorised but do not want to take on the additional risk and responsibility of writing this type of specialist business.
Jane Benjamin, head of lender relationships at Sesame Bankhall Group, called equity release a “highly complex and emotive area”, so by introducing business, advisers were avoiding any risk and liability associated with writing it themselves, while enhancing their service to clients.
She said: “We have conducted a thorough review of the market in order to ensure we partner with specialist brokers who share our commitment to servicing the intermediary market and can offer our members and their customers an efficient process and quality solution.
“Our new equity release service is an extension of our recently launched specialist lending panel, which together provides an all-encompassing solution for advisers and their customers.”
Andrea Rozario, chief corporate officer at Bower Retirement Services, commented that networks forging links with equity release adviser companies is clear recognition of the increasing customer need for the service provided by specialist advisers.
“Any adviser that deals with the older generation has a responsibility to ensure they recognise when a client may need this specialism, and if this is not something they do themselves, having a relationship with advisers they can trust to look after their clients is essential.”
peter.walker@ft.com
