The essential guide to conduct, compliance and competence, and the Legal Services Act
18 September 2010
SIFA
SIFA (Solicitors Independent Financial Advice) provides regulatory and business development support to solicitors who wish to embrace financial services as part of their client offering. We believe that in many areas of practice, legal and financial matters go hand-in-hand and that involvement in financial services enables solicitors to reduce their reliance on transactional business and to develop on-going client relationships which will enable them to regain the pivotal role of trusted adviser in the post-Legal Services Act world.
In our view the key to successful solicitor/ IFA relationships, whether these take the form of client referrals or joint ventures, is to dovetail complementary business specialisations, such as trusts and estates, older client matters, relationship breakdown and personal injury and Court of Protection work. To this end we promote involvement in organisations such as the Society of Trust and Estate practitioners, Resolution and the Society of Later Life Advisers.
Among the services provided via our solicitor-facing web site www.sifa-directory.info are:
- Telephone and e-mail advice and in-house consultancy
- Training for solicitors and financial advisers, including an annual conference (to be held in 2011 on 12 and 13 May at DeVere Staverton Park, Daventry)
- Technical handbooks and Financial Services for Solicitors (Law Society Publishing)
- Client newsletters and marketing material
- Regulatory news up-dates
- The SIFA/ DWF joint venture documentation kit.
SIFA directors include a solicitor; an ex-director of the Law Society and SRA; and the ex-head of Law Society financial services compliance. SIFA is recognised by the Financial Services Authority and by the Law Societies as the representative body for solicitor financial advisers, and its directory of fee-based independent financial advisers is endorsed by the Law Society.
For further information, go to www.sifa-directory.info or contact Ian Muirhead (ian@sifa.co.uk – 01372 721172) or Stuart Bushell (stuart@sifa.co.uk – 07815 840078).
