SimplyBiz has acquired Sifa, the trade body and support provider for advisers in the legal profession.

Sifa’s 170 member firms, which include over 1,000 advisers, will now come under the SimplyBiz brand.

It will also give SimplyBiz members access to Sifa’s professional support which helps advisers build relationships within the legal profession.

SimplyBiz provides compliance and support services for over 2,000 financial services firms. The move is due to the pressures on Sifa from the Legal Services Act.

To benefit from the opportunities the act offers the firm would have required greater resources, which it hopes SimplyBiz can provide.

SimplyBiz has already invested £200,000 into Sifa and says it will provide more in the future according to the firm’s needs.

Sifa will continue to be run by managing director Ian Muirhead.

He said: “The combination of the Legal Services Act and the FSA’s RDR provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for financial advisers to become a vital part of the professional community.

“This will require greater support than is available to us at present and we are delighted that this is being provided by SimplyBiz.”

SimplyBiz chairman Ken Davy said: “There are almost 11,000 law firms in England and Wales and a further 1,100 in Scotland so the opportunities for expansion of Sifa’s highly specialised services for financial adviser firms are very significant indeed.

“Together we now have a great opportunity to expand Sifa’s reach and service to many more quality financial advisers for the benefit of all concerned.”

Sifa was set up in 1992 to encourage solicitors’ involvement in financial services work and is recognised by the FSA as the trade body for solicitor financial advisers.