National Savings and Investments
 


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Press release

NEW ONLINE 'FIND AN IFA' SERVICE LAUNCHED BY NS&I

13 January 2003

A brand new online service to help consumers find their local independent financial adviser (IFA) has been launched by National Savings and Investments (NS&I), the government-backed savings and investments provider.

'Helping you find independent advice' is a free service available in the 'Help' pages on the NS&I website at www.nsandi.com and helps customers find the IFA they want by location, qualification and specialisation, and also allows them to select a male or female adviser.

The service, provided in partnership with IFA Promotion Limited, accesses 10,350 IFA branch addresses throughout the UK.

Paul Knight, NS&I Head of Sales and Customer Services, said: "The addition of this new service to the NS∓I website will make it even easier for our customers to find specialist independent financial advice in their local area from the comfort of their own homes.

"The new service has been provided as part of our ongoing business transformation, the continuing development of our website and as a way of forging closer links with IFAs."

The launch comes as NS&I publishes research revealing that, nationally, 27 per cent of people - more than a quarter - are failing to save any money.

The worst region is East Anglia where 38 per cent of people are not currently saving any money at all. By contrast, just 21 per cent of people in the East Midlands and Yorkshire/Humberside regions are not putting some money into a savings account.

Sally Mantell, NS&I IFA Account Manager, added: "With the huge number of financial products available on the market, tracking down the right one for you can be very time consuming. One way to make sure consumers receive an objective assessment of their needs is to contact an IFA.

"The addition of this service on our website will help customers choose an IFA by location, qualification or specialisation and they can even choose a male or female adviser. It also shows our commitment to IFAs by improving the channels between them and our millions of customers."

During 2002, IFA Promotion Limited received more than 300,000 consumer and business requests for details of local IFAs.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. 'Helping you find independent advice' can be found in the 'Help' pages of the National Savings and Investments website at www.nsandi.com

2. The National Savings and Investments survey was conducted by Taylor Nelson Sofres via Phonebus from 26 November - 1 December 2002 as part of NS&I's ongoing research into saving and investment habits. The sample size was 2,007 adults.

Question posed: Are you saving at present?

Area Percentage not saving
East Anglia 38
Scotland 34
South East 32
North West 31
South West 27
West Midlands 26
Greater London 24
Wales 24
North East 22
Yorkshire/Humberside 21
East Midlands 21
Average 27

3. NS&I does not currently pay commission to IFAs who recommend NS&I products to clients.

4. NS&I Press Office contacts

Mark Brooks020 7348 9301mark.brooks@nsandi.com
Jonathan Akerman020 7348 9433jonathan.akerman@nsandi.com
Samantha Bennett020 7348 9654sam.bennett@nsandi.com
Wendy Franklin020 7348 9449wendy.franklin@nsandi.com
Fax020 7348 9755
Out of hours07778 966387

5. IFA Promotions contact
Karen Barrett - Marketing Manager 020 7833 3131 karen@ifap.org.uk

Media team
NS&I has a number of spokespeople available for interviews and our experienced radio team is available via our ISDN line: 020 7602 4522.

The numbers below are for media use only. Customers wishing to contact NS&I can find details here.

Gill Stephens 020 7348 9449
gill.stephens@nsandi.com
Iman Asante 020 7348 9301
iman.asante@nsandi.com
Angela Mason 020 7348 9433
angela.mason@nsandi.com

ISDN for interviews

020 7602 4522

Out of hours

All numbers above diverted to staffed mobile phones
 

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