The Julian Harris network has joined the equity release council, giving membership to all its equity release advisers.

This comes after the council noted that member firms jumped from 219 to 431 in the two years to January 2020.

Commenting on the move, Julian Harris director Helen Harris says: “As a network, we remain committed to our completely independent, whole of market offering and our members pride themselves on being able to provide their clients with the best advice possible”.

She adds that the network recently ran a campaign focused on recognising and responding to customer vulnerability.

“Given the increasing focus on vulnerable customers, as well as the growth of the equity release market, joining the ERC and running our internal campaign have been priorities for our network,” she says.

Meanwhile, council chairman David Burrowes comments: “As the popularity of equity release grows, so too does the demand for qualified advice. The addition of the Julian Harris Adviser Network is therefore a great addition to the equity release adviser landscape and the Council membership, further broadening older homeowners’ access to qualified equity release advice which is underpinned by the Council’s robust standards and consumer protections.”