Financial advisor uses debt management to enhance equity release services

Braemar Financial Planning teams up with EuroDebt

Leading debt management provider, EuroDebt Financial Services, which has pioneered the concept of supporting brokers and financial advisors in the provision of debt management services to clients, has added another key organisation to its Introducer Scheme.  Orpington based, Braemar Financial Planning, has signed up to the EuroDebt Introducer Scheme following attendance at a recent debt management Roadshow, with a particular focus on its equity release services. 

Braemar Financial Planning Limited has committed to partner with EuroDebt to add Debt Management as complementary service to its equity release services.  Demonstrably acting in the client’s best interests in a tightly regulated sector was a primary factor in Braemar’s decision to work with EuroDebt.

“We originally attended one of the early EuroDebt events at Dartford and then took EuroDebt up on their offer to visit their

Bedford offices, meet the management team and review the operations”, confirmed John Davidson, Director, Braemar Financial Planning Limited.  . “We operate in a highly regulated environment where all our client calls are recorded and we wanted to ensure that any partner met our high standards.

“We were impressed by EuroDebt’s operations and face-to-face client engagement model. We have now signed a partner agreement that enables us to collaborate in a very pro-active manner.”

There are growing fears that older people and pensioners are suffering increasing levels of debt, as illustrated by recent EuroDebt analysis which revealed that its clients who are 60 and over have some of the highest levels of unsecured debt of any of their client groups.  Representing some 11% of the total EuroDebt client base, the over 60s have an average unsecured debt of £25,722 with an average of 8 creditors.  21.5% of them also have a mortgage.

“The analysis of our client base indicates a worrying trend, as more and more over 60s appear to be getting into serious debt, struggling to cope with the cost of living,” explains Kevin Still, Director, EuroDebt. “It is not unusual for these clients to be equity rich, but income poor, with little realistic chance of their disposable income increasing after they retire.  

“Braemar’s specialist services may offer an alternative of either a negotiated full & final settlement of their debts by EuroDebt or releasing incremental tax free lump sums to supplement their pension income that may make a Debt Management Plan viable. We have been impressed by Braemar’s professionalism and have already referred cases to their qualified experts.”

Braemar has also developed a range of marketing collateral, designed and produced by EuroDebt, that is being used with proven direct mail templates to target clients where equity release may not be viable or in the client’s best interests.

Julie Le May, Equity Release expert, comments, “We have had a number of meeting with the team at EuroDebt to refine our proposition and are now in the process of rolling this out on a large scale over the next 12 months.”