UK business and networking website IFA Life has launched a new online forum to cater for less-experienced independent financial advisors.

The site’s mentoring forum is intended to appeal to young IFAs wanting to move ahead in the industry and provides a tutoring service whereby they can talk to more experienced advisors online. The service was launched in response to a demand from young advisors, paraplanners and graduates, IFA Life said in a statement.

“Networking and sharing of best practice is now an everyday activity on the website, but what has been particularly heartening is that senior members of the profession are enthusiastically putting themselves forward as mentors with absolutely no self interest,” said IFA Life founder Philip Calvert.

The site currently holds networking events where IFAs can meet face to face, but it is also considering what it calls "Meet the Mentors", an event designed to formally match IFA "masters and apprentices".

In other recent developments, last month IFA Life launched a new life planning group to help UK IFAs better understand the benefits of life planning in a UK context and to share best practice ideas. IFA Life said the group was formed in response to UK advisors’ increasing interest in the life planning model from the Kinder Institute.