For me, one of the best indications is nothing to do with the figures but something a little more nuanced. Namely, how many eyeballs and how much scrutiny are on everything you do. Or, to put it another way, how many standards and safeguards are in place to ensure that your customers only ever get the best of the best.

For equity release, the progression made towards a safe and respected marketplace is, I think – and certainly for those who specialise – extensive. That’s not to say there isn’t a distance left to travel, but the dark days are firmly behind us. Today’s industry is packed with safeguards, advice standards and protections for all our customers.

But we can always go further. So it’s good to see that yet another level of safety, security and peace of mind has been added for our clients in the form of the recent equity release advice standard announcement from the Society of Later Life Advisers.

Solla’s new standard, the Later Life Lending Advice Standard, will cover a broad spectrum of technical and in-depth features of modern equity release, but will also involve a deep dive into broader later-life issues, such as vital considerations for care planning, information on benefits availability and, critically important in today’s world, training in vulnerable-client care. The standard will be offered via a computer-based system, as is the modern Covid-secure way, and will surely help advisers – especially those who may struggle to get the training and support gained from being with a specialist company – to stay clued up on the very best practices available.

Growing market

Beyond all these things to celebrate, the new standard will further our fight to make equity release the mainstream stalwart it deserves to be. After all, more safeguards and advice standards like these are not red tape, hoops to jump through or bureaucracy; they are the sign of a strong and growing market. The more that standards are developed, the stronger the general adviser pool becomes and awareness of equity release continues to grow. Alongside this, product innovation and increasing flexibility will no doubt also flourish.

Spreading interest, understanding and trust in equity release and later-life lending is key to our growth and success, and efforts like this from Solla will help to raise awareness.

However, it seems that still too many advisers are simply dipping their toe into equity release, and we must make sure they are fully aware of what is required to advise in this specialist area, along with the range of skills needed to ensure the best customer outcome. They must adhere to the multiple safeguards and understand the required processes. With an adviser population focused on the needs of the older client, I foresee a continuing improvement in customer care and general growth in the market.

To support this, we need customers and the mainstream press to understand the safeguards and standards that have been implemented over the years by the likes of the Equity Release Council, the FCA and specialist companies that take the training and development of their advisers very seriously. Training programmes such as the LLLAS can only help the market and understanding of the products and customer needs to move forward, and continue to improve the reputation of our industry and support of advisers more generally.

As the global pandemic goes on, successful markets and businesses need to keep evolving. The past few years have been strong for our industry. The expected dip in business caused by the pandemic must not derail us from our path to mainstream acceptance.

Solla’s announcement feels like another step in the right direction. The recognition that this is a complicated area to advise in and many skills are required to deal with the more vulnerable client is important, so advisers looking to move into this arena must take it seriously.

Andrea Rozario is chief corporate officer at Bower