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Zurich Advice Network (ZAN) has bucked the industry trend by further increasing its business support for advisers. Following the remarkable success of the broker consultant team appointed last year, Zurich has added six more names to its group of elite professionals assembled to help ZAN advisers make the move into more profitable markets. In addition, ZAN has created the new role of account manager, appointing a further 30 industry-leading consultants to drive forward an enhanced level of adviser support. A total budget of £4m has been earmarked for its programme of consultant expansion over the next year.
The new recruits have been drawn from all areas of the financial services industry and from leading organisations, including PriceWaterhouse Coopers, Royal & Sun Alliance and Scottish Provident.
They will be building on the foundations established during the last twelve months, working with the network of 3,500 advisers to grow their business effectively. Specifically, the team will be focusing on increasing productivity, profitability and maximising adviser retention.
Andy Ferns, Sales Director of Zurich Advice Network said: “This demonstrates our ongoing commitment to providing the very highest levels of adviser support which we expect to be mutually beneficial in terms of productivity and profitability. The quality of those joining our business speaks for itself – many of the individuals already enjoy a high profile within the industry.”
Lawrence Hawthorn, ex President of the LIA, who joins from Scottish Life, is a typical recruit. With more than 20 years experience in the industry, he is well placed to comment on the initiative: “This is taking ZAN adviser support to the next level. Zurich appreciates that to get the best results from its network, a continuous investment programme is needed. Whilst other organisations are cutting back on resource, Zurich is committed to building an unrivalled support team.”
Andy Ferns concludes: “Significant market and regulatory turmoil and declining margins are creating a challenging environment for advisers. We aim to differentiate ZAN by providing the very best support to our advisers – support that is tailored to their specific business needs.”
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Note to Editors:
Broker Consultants
Dominic O'Connor
Age: 40
Professional qualifications: ACII, MSFA
Previous experience: Inland Revenue Pensions Schemes Office; Cornhill; Friends Provident; KPMG; PriceWaterhouseCoopers
Industry experience: 19 years +
Account Managers
Peter Welch
Age: 40
Previous experience: National Account Manager for Royal & Sun Alliance (15 years)
Industry experience: 16 years +
Lawrence Hawthorn
Age: 42
Previous experience:
PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Scottish Life, former President of the LIA
Industry experience: 20 years +
Zurich Financial Services is an insurance-based financial services provider with an international network that focuses its activities on its key markets of North America, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. Founded in 1872, Zurich is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. It has offices in approximately 60 countries and employs well over 70,000 people.
Zurich Financial Services, (UKISA) is part of the Zurich Financial Services Group and comprises the Group’s operations in the UK, Ireland and International Businesses.
For further information
Contact Fay Ford, Zurich Press Office on 01793 503969. | 