Regional accountancy firm Old Mill has extended its later life offering with the launch of a professionally accredited advice service for vulnerable clients.
Andy Page, pictured, an expert in the later life team at the firm, which has offices in Melksham, Wells, Yeovil and Exeter, has become one of just a handful of financial planners in the UK to achieve the Advanced Certificate in Advising Vulnerable Clients.
Awarded by STEP, the global body for professionals who help families plan for their futures, the certificate is one of the most in depth programmes for professionals advising people with issues of mental and physical capacity, covering the legislative, welfare, financial and practical issues surrounding the care and advice provided to vulnerable clients and their families.
Due to the legal complexities within the course, the certificate is usually completed by solicitors specialising in the field.
Andy’s success is achieving it will enhance Old Mill’s already comprehensive later life service and differentiate its offering from other financial planning firms in the region.
With around a million people with dementia in the UK – up from 800,000 in 2015 – advising vulnerable clients is becoming much more common, and the legalities around it much more complicated.
Andy said: “The STEP programme is the most comprehensive and in-depth course that professionals can complete in this area, and while it is not a level of knowledge demanded of financial planners advising vulnerable clients, it was one I wanted to complete to gain a much more thorough understanding of the mental capacity legal landscape.
“I was keen to obtain much wider and deeper understanding of the legal side of things, and the impact they have on vulnerable people and their families, so I could offer the very best advice to my clients.”
Andy will be sharing his heightened knowledge and understanding by staging a webinar on the practicalities of being the attorney of a vulnerable person – an area that has not been widely covered to date.
“Most of the content out there is around Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPA), and about the importance of having one in place,” he added.
“Yet there is very little about who you should appoint as your LPA and practically no help for those actually performing the role.
“Thanks to what I have learned on the STEP course, I can now help advice those in this situation.”
Old Mill head of wealth management Paula Hodge added: “At Old Mill, our clients’ best interests are at the heart of everything we do, which is why we are continually looking at ways in which we can enhance our services to offer real value and differentiate ourselves from our competitors.
“Andy’s success in achieving the STEP Advanced Certificate in Advising Vulnerable Clients is testament to this, and we are really proud of him and the enhanced service he is now able to offer.”
Old Mill has 320 highly trained and qualified staff offering accounting, financial planning and tax advisory services to 5,000-plus clients across the South West.
