AWD Chase de Vere extends advice deal with BMA

AWD Chase de Vere has stressed the importance of affinity relationships after extending its deal with the British Medical Association (BMA).

The firm will now provide financial advice to the BMA's 142,000 members for the next three years, after its existing five-year deal came to an end.

It already has relationships with large companies such as the BBC and GlaxoSmithKline and other member organisations such as the Institute of Chemical Engineers.

AWD spokesman Patrick Connolly says: "It is an important part of our business and I would say affinity relationships are becoming an increasingly important part of our business.

"It's something where there is increasing demand and where we are already set up to provide the right services for that."

AWD has a team of 40 dedicated BMA advisers, familiar with the NHS pensions scheme and medical career pathways, who have worked with 'thousands' of members over the past five years.

Connolly adds: "With the introduction of the likes of NEST coming in, we think it is increasingly important that employers and member organisations provide some form of financial guidance or information to their employees."

He added the demand is still mainly coming from large organisations, although he hopes to see more business from SMEs in the future.