Equity Release Awards 2018 | AE3 Media Ltd | 5 October 2018 | Last Drop Village Hotel and Spa, 2-24 Kensington High St, Kensington, London W8 4PT, UK

Equity release currently allows many thousands of older homeowners to increase their income by tapping into the value of their property, without having to move home. And as our population ages, equity release is becoming a core consideration for our society.

Mortgage Solutions launched the inaugural Equity Release Awards in 2005 and continues to support and recognise the increasing importance of this key sector and the excellence of the providers and financial advisers who serve their customers within it. The winners are derived from an industry-based nominations process and they will be revealed during a black tie evening ceremony.

Categories:

Provider categories:
• Best Provider Lifetime Mortgages
• Best Provider for Adviser Support
• Best Provider for Product Innovation

Financial Adviser categories
• Best Sole Trader
• Best Financial Adviser - fewer than 20 employees (total employees) Sponsored by: Equity Release Council
• Best Financial Adviser - 20+ employees (total employees) Sponsored by: Aviva
• Best Individual Adviser (An individual adviser from any firm)

Other categories
• Best Technology Innovator
• Best Conveyancer
• Best Surveyor
• Best Business Development Manager (an individual from any firm - both telephony or face to face)

Provider categories:

• Best provider for Lifetime Mortgages
We would like you to vote for the provider that you think deserves recognition for their excellence.
For the Best Provider Lifetime Mortgages category, please make your assessment in terms of the combination of both the products and service level provided in the last 12 months.

• Best Provider for Adviser Support
The Adviser Support category should consider excellent adviser support in training, business and industry awareness or process.

• Best Provider for Product Innovation
The best provider for product innovation will have challenged the parameters of product design and delivered new thinking on how products are structured, priced and delivered to the consumer via the intermediary, seeking to expand the market through their product development.

If you would like to place a nomination for your own business you can do so in the appropriate category. If you are a business partner of an Equity Release provider, you are also able to submit a nomination. Please be aware that a weighting system will apply to the overall number of votes cast to ensure greater emphasis is placed on votes cast from outside your own business.

• Financial Adviser categories
Best Financial Adviser - fewer than 20 employees (total employees)
We are looking for you to recognise firms rather than individuals. Your nomination should be based on a combination of their business performance, the quality of their advice and the company’s commitment to the best possible outcome for their customers.

• Best Financial Adviser - 20+ employees (total employees)
As above, your nomination should be based on a combination of their business performance, the quality of their advice and the company’s commitment to the best possible outcome for their customers.

• Best Sole Trader
The adviser can be an individual or firm, but set up as a sole trader. For someone to qualify for the sole trader category, they need to be a recognised Equity Release specialist and should be writing a minimum of one case a month. This winner will know where to find the most appropriate products and solutions, whose customer service is second to none and who has made a clear positive difference to their firm over the last 12 months.

• Best Individual Adviser
This category recognises an exceptional individual adviser for their achievements over the last 12 months. The individual can be a representative from any size of firm, including a sole trader.

They will demonstrate empathy with clients and an exhaustive knowledge of the product spectrum and the concerns and needs of their client base.

If you would like to place a nomination for your own business, or generate nominations from your business partners, you can do so in the appropriate category. We do not accept nominations from consumer clients. Please be aware that a weighting system will apply to the overall number of votes cast to ensure emphasis is placed on external nominations received.

Other categories
• Best Technology Innovator
This award category will be applicable to somebody who has championed the use of technology to the betterment of their company and in turn the intermediary market and ultimately the consumer.

• Best Conveyancer
Nominees will have demonstrated an innovative approach to problems, while pushing for a speedy and faultless service to clients.

• Best Surveyor
Nominees will have demonstrated the delivery of a consistently high quality offering, accurate reports and quick and efficient service.

• Best Business Development Manager (an individual from any firm - both telephony or face to face)
The award will be given to the individual responsible for business development in a face to face or telephony capacity. This individual will always go the extra mile for their advisers. Someone who is always available, knows their products inside out and offers support and suggestions to the distribution channels they serve. They will take ownership of the relationships, ensuring that they consistently achieve positive results for the intermediary and their business.

2017 Winners:

PROVIDER CATEGORIES:
BEST PROVIDER LIFETIME MORTGAGES:
• Aviva
• Legal & General Home Finance
• Pure Retirement

BEST PROVIDER FOR ADVISER SUPPORT:
• More 2 life
• Pure Retirement
• Retirement Advantage

BEST PROVIDER FOR PRODUCT INNOVATION:
• Hodge Lifetime
• More 2 life
• Retirement Advantage

FINANCIAL ADVISER CATEGORIES:
• Best Sole Trader Sponsored by: Pure Retirement
• 55+ Equity Release
• Acclaimed Mortgage Consultancy
• Fortuna Financial Planning

BEST FINANCIAL ADVISER - fewer than 20 employees (total employees) Sponsored by: Equity Release Council
• Equity Release Information Centre
• Emerald Finance
• Viva Retirement Solutions

BEST FINANCIAL ADVISER - 20+ employees (total employees) Sponsored by: Aviva
• Age Partnership
• Key Retirement
• Responsible Life

BEST INDIVIDUAL ADVISER Sponsored by: Legal & General
• Andrew Card, Bower Retirement
• Michael Hardy, Key Retirement
• Matthew Phillips, Age Partnership

OTHER CATEGORIES:
BEST TECHNOLOGY INNOVATOR:
• AiR Sourcing
• IRESS
• DPR

BEST CONVEYANCER:
• Ashfords
• Equilaw
• Roger Brooker & Co

BEST SURVEYOR:
• Countrywide Surveying Services
• e.surv
• Gateway Surveyors

BEST BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER:
• Chris Flowers, Pure Retirement
• Trevor Hanson, Age Partnership
• Hattie Tales, Equilaw