All master brokers and distributors providing second charge services to intermediaries should be CeMAP qualified, Fluent Money’s chief operating officer Tim Wheeldon says.

All Fluent’s client facing advisers have passed CeMAP 3 two years ahead of the requirement set by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Tim Wheeldon (pictured), Fluent’s chief operating officer, said: “In our opinion, every master broker and distributor, who is serious about the professionalism of our industry should already have their adviser staff fully CeMAP qualified.

“The second charge market is still winning its spurs in the wider intermediary sector.

“We feel that being properly qualified today is the minimum requirement that any master broker or distributor should be able to demonstrate to introducing brokers if second charge lending is going to reach its potential as a viable alternative to remortgaging.

“We believe that the regulator has been very generous on the timescale to achieve full CeMAP.”

Fluent for Advisers, part of the Fluent Money Group, offers a whole of market second charge service to advisers who either want to refer customers for Fluent to give the advice or using alternatives suggested by Fluent who give their own advice.

Fluent Money has 53 members of staff with the full CeMAP qualification while it has asked its case managers, who do not need to be qualified, to also take the full CeMAP exam.

As it stands 70% have the qualification.