ABS, OFR and practice development support in financial services
Telephone: 01372 721172
Email: ian.muirhead@sifa.co.uk or stuart.bushell@sifa.co.uk
DX: 30708 Epsom
Visit the SIFA Legal website
SIFA was formed by a solicitor in 1992 to assist solicitors to extend the scope of their client services to include financial advice. This has been given additional impetus by the Legal Services Act, which is prompting firms to consider the benefits of providing an holistic professional service to differentiate them from other legal services providers and establish the basis for regular client contact as trusted advisers.
Two of SIFA's directors were previously senior officials at the Law Society, and their familiarity with the requirements of the professional body enables SIFA to provide advice and support on alternative business structures (ABS) and other forms of association, such as joint ventures. This service is available to law firms regardless of their interest in financial services, and SIFA advised the 21st firm to achieve ABS status.
SIFA is recognised by the Law Society and the Financial Services Authority, and for the past ten years has provided compliance systems to financial advisers for the principles-based regulatory regime that has now been adopted by the SRA. Consequently, assistance for compliance officers for legal practice (COLPs) and compliance officers for finance and administration (COFAs) has become a natural adjunct to SIFA's structural advice services.
The SIFA Legal website contains a wide range of information of value to solicitors, including the Law Society-endorsed SIFA Directory of Professional Financial Advisers, which can be searched by location and those areas of legal specialisation that give rise to the need for financial advice, namely trusts and estates, older clients, family, PI and Court of Protection, property, corporate, portfolio management, and offshore/expatriate.
Also available via this site are:
- a comprehensive COLP and COFA compliance manual, updated online
- free technical handbooks on trust investment, pensions and divorce, estate planning, personal injury investment, advice to older clients
- free client marketing material and newsletters
- SIFA's most recent articles for the legal press
- details of the SIFA/DWF Joint Venture documentation kit
- the annual SIFA conference and other events
- Lexcel consultancy