"The confidence of introducers in the future of the equity release market is evident which is good news for clients"
The changes follow its analysis which found that the number of companies with referral agreements grew by 285% between 2016 and 2018.
Additionally, introducers' clients are wealthier – releasing £85,099 compared to the average of £75,032.
When asked why they prefer to refer rather than provide advice on equity release themselves, 45% of introducers said it was a specialist market with either head office (26%) or they themselves (21%) feeling more comfortable doing this. Customer demand is also a strong driver with 19% saying their interest was prompted by a client enquiry.
The research also found that introducers are confident in the future growth of the sector with 68% forecasting growth of 10% or more over the next three to five years and 18% banking on growth of over 30%. The average introducer expects 11% of their total income to come from equity release within three to five years.
Howver just 32% of introducers routinely mention equity release to clients and two out of five (42%) only start the discussion if they feel they have identified a client who might benefit.
Jason Ruse, head of Key Partnerships, said: “With the later life lending market growing, organisations are increasingly looking to how they can support clients with these choices or – indeed – being asked by clients for support. Over the last two years, we have seen a 285% increase in the number of introducers as mortgage brokers, IFAs and wealth managers look to meet this need.
“To better serve this market, Key Partnerships has undertaken a brand refresh and completely overhauled its online portal to not only provide additional functionally but a new marketing hub designed to support introducers wishing to build their businesses. The confidence of introducers in the future of the equity release market is evident which is good news for clients as well as introducer businesses so we wanted to position ourselves to support them.
“Encouraging trusted advisers to speak to their clients about the potential uses of property wealth helps people to think more holistically about their assets and helps specialists to support clients. Indeed, 41% of introducers felt that adding this service to their range helped them support clients they would otherwise not have been able to help.
”However, more still needs to be done to ensure that introducers are more comfortable mentioning housing wealth and equity release when they speak to their clients. We hope that the new enhanced support provided by Key Partnerships will help to make this easier for introducers.”
