Vincents Financial launches in Lancashire

Lancashire has a new name in independent financial advice following the launch of Vincents Financial.

A joint venture between law firm Vincents Solicitors and IFA Palm Financial Care, Vincents Financial brings together tax specialists, accountants and financial advisers for the benefit of the firm’s existing legal clients.

Vincents Financial is the second collaboration between the two firms, and follows the success of the specialist later life advice service Carepal. Launched in 2012 for families seeking advice on future planning and care requirements, Carepal gives clients comprehensive legal and financial guidance, specifically tailored to their needs.

Vincents Financial allows the firm to extend this holistic approach to all its clients, including private individuals planning for retirement, couples going through a divorce and families dealing with wills and probate. The IFA will also provide wealth management advice, pension planning for employers and banking services reviews for businesses of all sizes.

David Hawke, commercial director for Vincents Solicitors, said: “The creation of Vincents Financial is the natural extension of the services we have developed through the Carepal programme, and allows us to offer all clients access to financial advice from a trusted operator. Since launching Carepal last year we have been able to cross-refer in either direction, Vincents Financial will provide that level of collaboration for all private and commercial clients.

“Taking a more joined up approach allows us to offer a more holistic service to our clients, giving us a broader understanding of their circumstances and therefore the chance to better advise them, whether they come to us from a legal or financial standpoint. We want clients to be with us for the long term and so it’s important to build trusted relationships and look at the entirety of their circumstances, not simply the legal aspects. This JV will help those clients to feel more comfortable discussing their financial planning needs by working with a name they already know and trust.”

Iain Crawford, an IFA with more than 30 years’ experience and a former managing director of Panacea, has joined Vincents Financial as an equity director. Along with directors Douglas Dugdale and Liz Faye, the eight-strong team will be based at the Vincents offices in Colne, with advisers providing surgeries at each of Vincent’s six other branches on a weekly basis.

Douglas Dugdale, head of Vincents Financial, added: “We believe in the ‘family office’ approach, a concept which simply boils down to working as a team to give a client our best advice. When it comes to life changing events - such as divorce, dealing with a will or future planning – or commercial dealings, the financial implications are as important as the legal issues and can prompt a financial review. As such, there is a natural fit between the services offered by a law firm and that of an IFA. Now a customer can access a specialist tax advisor, IFA, accountant and lawyer in the same place, often at the same time as we bring in the right professional for the specific need together in the same office. “We have extremely good, long term relationships with our customers and we see that ethos echoed by Vincents in the personal approach its solicitors take to their clients, which makes this JV ideal. It will not only benefits our clients, but also offers a huge opportunity for the business to grow. Vincents is a recognised brand within the North West with a broad customer base and a county-wide network which gives us a much higher profile and an opportunity to speak to a range of new private and commercial clients. Carepal was the first step, and we have seen those cross referrals come to fruition, and Vincents Financial will take that cooperation to the next level.”