By Nicholas Paler | Citywire | 08:00:00 | 13 April 2010
The majority of solicitors and accountants believe they can increase their referrals to IFAs, research from JPMorgan Asset Management (JPMAM) has found.
More than 80% of the 198 accountancy and solicitor firms surveyed said there was ‘potential to increase their level of referrals’ to advisers.
A large proportion of firms regularly recommend clients to IFAs. A total of 43% of accountants and 36% of solicitors refer clients once a month, while a further 26% and 20% respectively do so once a quarter.
In total only 10% of accountants and 3% of solicitors currently referred clients to IFAs once a year or less.
The report also said advisers are at an advantage in setting up professional connections.
JPMAM estimated there are 22,000 registered IFAs, compared with 128,000 practising solicitors and 119,000 chartered accountants. ‘The two other advice professions outnumber IFAs at least four to one – a fact that should put IFAs at an advantage in the professional connections market,’ the report says.
Sifa managing director Ian Muirhead (pictured) agreed there was an opportunity for advisers to work more closely with solicitors in particular, thanks to the upcoming Legal Services Act which comes into force next year.
‘Solicitors’ business models are too reliant on transactions, and they will need to offer more services to clients going forward, so potentially there is tremendous demand there for IFAs,’ he said.
JPMAM said solicitors and accountants prioritised chartered and certified status above all else when looking for advisers to recommend, with 96% of accountants and 94% of solicitors citing it as the most important factor when evaluating an IFA.
JPMAM also found accountants and solicitors were not keen on setting up official businesses with IFAs, with only 5% of respondents looking to establish an internal IFA business or launch a joint venture with an IFA-firm.
They are also less concerned with how advisers are remunerated, with only 40% of respondents actively seeking out a fee-based IFA when recommending them.
Accountants and solicitors want to boost IFA referrals
By Nicholas Paler | Citywire | 08:00:00 | 13 April 2010
The majority of solicitors and accountants believe they can increase their referrals to IFAs, research from JPMorgan Asset Management (JPMAM) has found.
More than 80% of the 198 accountancy and solicitor firms surveyed said there was ‘potential to increase their level of referrals’ to advisers.
A large proportion of firms regularly recommend clients to IFAs. A total of 43% of accountants and 36% of solicitors refer clients once a month, while a further 26% and 20% respectively do so once a quarter.
In total only 10% of accountants and 3% of solicitors currently referred clients to IFAs once a year or less.
The report also said advisers are at an advantage in setting up professional connections.
JPMAM estimated there are 22,000 registered IFAs, compared with 128,000 practising solicitors and 119,000 chartered accountants. ‘The two other advice professions outnumber IFAs at least four to one – a fact that should put IFAs at an advantage in the professional connections market,’ the report says.
Sifa managing director Ian Muirhead (pictured) agreed there was an opportunity for advisers to work more closely with solicitors in particular, thanks to the upcoming Legal Services Act which comes into force next year.
‘Solicitors’ business models are too reliant on transactions, and they will need to offer more services to clients going forward, so potentially there is tremendous demand there for IFAs,’ he said.
JPMAM said solicitors and accountants prioritised chartered and certified status above all else when looking for advisers to recommend, with 96% of accountants and 94% of solicitors citing it as the most important factor when evaluating an IFA.
JPMAM also found accountants and solicitors were not keen on setting up official businesses with IFAs, with only 5% of respondents looking to establish an internal IFA business or launch a joint venture with an IFA-firm.
They are also less concerned with how advisers are remunerated, with only 40% of respondents actively seeking out a fee-based IFA when recommending them.