Our accreditations
When it comes to something as important as your financial security, you need to know that we’re a firm that can be trusted. Our firm-wide accreditations and details of how we keep you safe are listed below. For our individual team member accreditations, visit our team page.
We hold the Pension Transfer Gold Standard
We’re proud to have received the prestigious Pension Transfer Gold Standard.
That means we’ve been recognised as adhering to a strict voluntary code of good practice covering advice on pension transfers. Specifically, it demonstrates that we will:
- Help you understand the implications of a transfer, so you can decide whether taking advice is appropriate for you.
- Ensure that our advice supports your overall wellbeing and meets your objectives, needs and wants.
- Use a high degree of technical skill to advise on whether to transfer, and what to transfer into so you have the best chance of meeting your objectives.
- Only recommend mainstream investments from regulated investment companies.
- Be fully transparent and take all necessary steps to ensure you understand the costs involved.
- Draw your attention to any conflicts of interest and how these are managed in your best interests.
We are members of the Equity Release Council
If you are considering releasing equity from your home, it is extremely important that you seek professional advice from a member of the Equity Release Council.
The Equity Release Council is a voluntary body that aims to ensure that its members are highly professional and act with integrity and transparency in offering high-quality products and services to customers.
As a member of the Council, we have agreed to abide by the Council rules and have signed up to a Statement of Principles that are designed to ensure you are kept safe and fully informed when making decisions about releasing equity from a property.
Product standards
The Council product standards are set out below. As members, we are only allowed to tell you that a product meets these product standards if it meets all of them. If you are offered or are considering a product that does not meet all of the standards, the product literature must explain which standards are not met, and give an illustration of the types of risk that this might pose for you.
The product standards are as follows:
For lifetime mortgages, interest rates must be fixed or, if they are variable, there must be a “cap” (upper limit) which is fixed for the life of the loan.
You must have the right to remain in your property for life or until you need to move into long-term care, provided the property remains your main residence and you abide by the terms and conditions of your contract.
You have the right to move to another property subject to the new property being acceptable to your product provider as continuing security for your equity release loan.
The product must have a “no negative equity guarantee”. This means that when your property is sold, and agents’ and solicitors’ fees have been paid, even if the amount left is not enough to repay the outstanding loan to your provider, neither you nor your estate will be liable to pay any more.
For more information on how our membership of the Equity Release Council keeps you protected, get in touch with our team, who will be happy to explain.
Please note: Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or any other debt secured on it. Equity Release will reduce the value of your estate and can affect your eligibility for means-tested benefits.