Positive Solutions, the UK independent financial advisor firm, plans to get rid of 24 support roles as part of a cost-cutting programme. The IFA firm recorded a loss of £7 million (around $11.4 million) in its latest published annual results from 2009.

Parent company Aegon, the Netherlands-based life insurance, pension and investment company, said that the plans do not include any of the 1,400 advisors who are connected to the firm.   

Aegon denies media reports saying that it has put pressure on the subsidiary to improve margins. “We haven’t driven this in any way, this is a decision by Positive Solution’s chief executive, Jim Reeve,” said a spokesperson for Aegon. “But obviously they want to return profits to the shareholder.”

Positive Solutions, which has invested heavily in technology lately, has 122 support personnel in its head office in Newcastle.

Aegon has its own ongoing restructuring programme which aims to cut a quarter of its costs by the end of the year.

The Dutch giant also has Aegon Asset Management under its auspices, which managed £48 billion of client assets at the end of the first quarter this year.