Access FS Launches Equality Council

Access FS has launched a new Equality Council at its latest annual conference.

At the conference in Wyboston Lakes in Bedfordshire, the mortgage and protection brokerage unveiled the Equality Council to 200 advisers.

The Equality Council aims to foster an inclusive environment by amplifying underrepresented voices and addressing systemic barriers.

Its objectives include championing fair representation for marginalised groups, promoting allyship, and ensuring equitable opportunities for all staff and advisers.

The Equality Council will review company policies, advocate for inclusive practices, and hold Access FS accountable for its diversity and inclusion (D&I) commitments.

By engaging with employees and advisers, the Equality Council seeks to identify challenges, propose solutions, and drive cultural change, ensuring the brokerage reflects the diverse communities it serves. Through regular feedback and transparent reporting, the Equality Council will help embed D&I into the company’s core operations, setting a benchmark for the industry.

The Equality Council will consist of six members from Access FS: three staff and three advisers, with advisers rotating quarterly to ensure fresh perspectives.  Nine in every ten (92 per cent) of Access FS’s advisers are from minority background and are drawn from 23 different national communities while almost a third (32 per cent) of the adviser team are female.

Nick Jones, the mortgage sales and marketing director at Access FS, said: “The Equality Council is a pivotal step in our commitment to diversity and inclusion. Its role is to scrutinise what we do, how we do it, and how we can improve to better embrace difference. By fostering open dialogue and actionable change, the Equality Council will ensure we not only represent marginalised groups but actively champion their voices. We’re taking applications for Equality Council partners at the conference, and we welcome anyone passionate about inclusion to join us in shaping a fairer, more equitable future for Access FS and the wider industry.”

As part of its D&I commitment, Access FS has said it will start tracking the ethnicity of new joiners and existing team members through an updated HR process, enhancing transparency and accountability.

The annual conference was held on the back of Access FS’s biggest business year to date and included the largest number of attendees the brokerage has hosted.