Solla launches later life advice book for IFAs and lawyers

As someone active in this field, I'm afraid that the common perception is that SOLLA has a lot of work to do if it is to be seen as a must-have endorsement. There is little, if any, public recognition and only a minimal amount within our profession, of SOLLA and its work.

Its aims are admirable however. Older clients sometimes do need advisers with a different approach and a different mindset.

We all have heard stories (apocryphal or otherwise) of rogue financial advisers ripping off 'old ladies' and membership of SOLLA (with ever-present joining & subsciption fees that come with it) brings nothing to the table that might prevent this happening.

In terms of consumer protection I believe that a good starting place would be to make sure that any adviser wanting to work in this field had at least been submitted annually to a CRB check for working with potentially vulnerable adults (this is mandatory where I am).

Having worked in financial services for 40 years and the last 19 in Long Term Care i agree that the financial advice sector still has a long way to go in adequately supporting the needs of our elderly population and their families. Organisations like SOLLA to which i am a board member have already made immense strides in helping to raise standards and inform both professional advisers and lawyers. If Chris Bearfoot is genuine in his concerns then he should become actively involved within SOLLA . His shared knowledge may then help add to SOLLA and its objectives. His clients might also benefit!

As a fellow Board member of SOLLA, I agree completely with Peter.....there is a long way to go, of course, but SOLLA has acheived a great deal in its short existence and if Chris were to put himself through the accreditation process, I am sure that he would be reassured that the wrong type of adviser would simply not be 'signed off' by the auditors.

I note Mr Bearfoot’s comments from which I fear he may have misunderstood the aims and objectives of SOLLA. The Society does not seek to take over the responsibilities or the regulator. Sadly, there is always the danger that rogue advisers will find a way to exploit clients, regardless of the systems we put in place and while SOLLA will undoubtedly work to raise professional standards, it would be unreasonable for it to take on the role of industry policeman.

What SOLLA can do is help individuals find and contact advisers who specialise in the field of later life advice and who have been willing to submit their skills to independent audit and scrutiny. Indeed, I am particularly proud of my Later Life Adviser Accreditation because unlike many industry exams, it has tested my skills rather than my memory and has done so using a case study format within a face to face environment.

SOLLA is a new organisation which is barely a year old. It is a credit to those involved that the Society is punching so far above its weight so early in its development. With support from such respected quarters as Which?, NS&I and the new Care Minister, Paul Burstow, it is clear that the organisation has attracted significant credibility and recognition from very diverse sections of the sector.

I would therefore urge anyone working in the later life advice field to put their full support behind the organisation and help it to SOLLA achieve its objectives as I believe that is in the best interests of practioners, consumers and other professionals.

As another Advisory Board Member of SOLLA, I too would endorse my fellow board member's words. Like any membership group, it is about the members and as more join, more value will be added to SOLLA. Just recently, we have added a Member's page to the website and the launch of the later life advice book demonstrates a huge committment of time from a number of people within the organisation. SOLLA details can also be found in NSI leaflet that has been distributed to several hundred W.H. Smith branches. Following the successful path of Solicitors for the Elderly, I would say, "watch this space" By the way Chris, there are no joining fees!

After years of advising elderly clients I put myself through SOLLA Accreditation for several reasons amongst which were:

I wanted an independent assessment of my knowledge and soft skills and I was not afraid to get one - I may think I'm pretty good but its reassuring to know that the SOLLA Accreditation process apparently agrees.

Elderly clients and clients in later life are more vulnerable than most. It is vital they have a trustworthy "kitemark" scheme by which they can identify trustworthy competent advisers. I am a massive supporter of SOLLA because of the breadth of knowledge and skills it examines but also particularly because, for the first time, the accreditation process is conflict free - most other organisations which claim to specialise in this field are motivated by the profit which results from putting advisers on the ground.

Other professional advisers, predominantly lawyers and particularly Members of Solicitors for the Elderly, are becoming increasingly aware of the SOLLA brand, particularly given the increasing number of pretty influential people supporting it. It is early days but my wide range of lawyer introducers is massively supportive and personally I am sure that SOLLA will become the predominant point of call for both them and clients.

SOLLA is a very timely and very exciting initiative I think if you don't get accredited by it you will miss out on a massive opportunity - not just to develop your business but also to play a role in improving the reputation of an emerging profession and the evolution of an important new brand!

If the accreditation process was easy the process would have no value but those who have the appropriate technical knowledge and soft skills should have nothing to fear. There is more than enough work out there and personally I think the more SOLLA Members there are the better.

I have specialised in providing Long Term Care, (LTC), advice exclusively for the last 11 years. During this time I have provides solutions to over 850 families. The complaint you hear all the time is that there is no central source of information about this complex subject.

Another problem is the lack of advisers qualified to provide this advice and where to find them. SOLLA is addressing both problems but needs greater exposure to its cause.The obtaining of CF8 is but the start. You cannot profess to be an expert in the subject without passing the exacting testing procedures that allows you to become a member of SOLLA. My view is that unless you can demonstrate active long term care advice giving to a minimum number of clients each year, CF8 is ineffective and alone does not give you the right to give advice on LTC.

This is the fundamental benchmark of becoming a member of SOLLA via its Later Life Adviser Accreditation, (LLAA). It's like the level 4 qualification needed to continue giving financial advice after 31st December 2012 under the Retail Distribution Review, (RDR). I would like to see the LLAA and membership of SOLLA being the criterion for advisers continuing being able to advise clients on LTC matters and 2012 would be an apt deadline.

Like all advice for any product and service there is a process to develop and you can only learn that by doing the job and being examined, "in the field". As Bill Calderbank so rightly puts it....

"it has tested my skills rather than my memory and has done so using a case study format within a face to face environment".

The "advisers" guilty of "ripping off old ladies", as Chris Bearfoot puts it, do not come from the ranks of the members of SOLLA. They are but a very minute percentage of advisers who do not have CF8. Their equivalent exists in far greater numbers outside the financial services industry. Regrettably, such "Rogue Traders" will always abound in society.

I trust the new Later Life Handbook will yet be another step in creating a greater awareness in the market place.