The application process concluded on 26 June 2013, with confirmation that AFH Legal will be licenced with effect from 23 July 2013.
Alan Hudson, chairman and chief executive of AFH, said: “Wills, Trusts and Estate planning forms the corner stone of professional financial planning for clients.
“The addition of an in-house legal services division, regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority will prove to be of tremendous added value for our Advisers and clients alike”.
AFH has initially recruited two solicitors to run the Legal Division, one of whom has been working within the technical team at AFH for 18 months supporting advisers in trust and estate planning work.
AFH Legal will be providing legal services to clients of AFH only and it will not be marketed externally, as AFH has no wish to compete externally with solicitors.
The Group currently works with a number of professional connections on a joint venture basis, the largest of which is a solicitors’ practice. This will be unaffected by today’s announcement as the primary motivation for the original relationship was to establish a wealth management arm to their business. AFH remains committed to continuing to develop these relationships.
This announcement is symptomatic of a forwarding thinking approach and the Company believes it will be a source of additional revenue.
