RBS Intermediary Partners (RBS IP) has found that personal protection is the single most popular area for diversification by mortgage advisers.

42% of brokers at its recent Forum event in Sunderland said that they had started writing business in this area, with 17% saying that they had moved into commercial finance and 15% saying that they have started conducting pensions business.

These were followed by equity release at 10%, business protection at 9% and investments at 7%.

The poll also found that a quarter (25%) of intermediaries had written a shared equity scheme mortgage in the last six months.

The need to find new clients at 29% topped the list of the main concerns that advisers had about their businesses. Replacing lost income (26%) was the next main concern followed by managing the move to becoming fee-based (18%) and dealing with regulation (13%).

71% said that they weren’t clear on how the Retail Distribution Review was going to affect their business.

Lawrence Della Valle, head of specialist products at RBS Intermediary Partners, said: “It is reassuring to see that intermediaries have recognised the need to look beyond mortgages for the sustainability of their businesses. It’s not a real surprise to see personal protection head the list as the first port of call for diversification as there are so many links to the sale of a mortgage. There are many diversification opportunities open to brokers and we are committed to helping them find the ones that will be most suitable in helping them grow sustainable businesses both inside and outside the mortgage sector.””