Mortgage Professional Australia issue 15.12

THE AMA AWARDS Highlights of the 14th Annual Awards at the Sydney Star MPAMAGAZINE.COM.AU ISSUE 15.12

RISKY BUSINESS Analysing broker vs branch-originated lending JANINE COPELIN What Citibank can do for brokers and borrowers

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DECEMBER 2O15

CONNECT WITH US

CONTENTS 42

Got a story or suggestion, or just want to find out some more information? twitter.com/MPA_Australia facebook.com/Mortgage ProfessionalAU

UPFRONT 04 News and tips

Market intelligence for the cutting-edge mortgage professional

08 Hot topic

MPA asks brokers who are their most important referral partners

62 The data FEATURES

20 COVER STORY

TOP 100 BROKERS 2015

AUSTRALIAN MORTGAGE AWARDS 2015

Pictures and words of wisdom from this year’s winners

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JANINE COPELIN

14 Citibank’s new head of sales and distribution on the bank’s target market

MORTGAGE INSIDERS 36 Alliance Mortgage Solutions

Multi-award-winning brokers on their journey so far

60 Day in the life

Gateway CCO Lexi Airey takes us trampolining!

64 Favourite things

Start the day right with the MFAA’s Siobhan Hayden

Celebrating the industry’s past, present and future in 2015’s biggest report

HEAD TO HEAD

The broken link between politics, confidence and house prices

BUSINESS STRATEGY

CORPORATE RETREATS

Forget sunbathing – it’s time to improve your creativity, performance and leadership

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MPAMAGAZINE.COM.AU NOW ONLINE: Sneak previews and magazine extracts in Business Strategy Top brokers and brokerages in Leading Mortgage Professionals

UPFRONT

Aggregator roundtables and MFAA convention coverage on MPA TV

Looking at the relative risk of broker-originated lending

Results from our Brokers on Aggregators, Consumers on Brokers and Brokers on Banks surveys

NEWS ANALYSIS

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FEATURE / BROKER EDUCATION

EDITOR’S LETTER

No broker is an island

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wards season is upon us, and this magazine is the awards issue: we’ve got our biggest report of the year, MPA Top 100 Brokers, and highlights of the Australian Mortgage Awards. Awards are great – for those who get them – but the business value for the rest of us is that they help us work out what these brokers are doing well, and how we could integrate those strategies into our businesses.

One thing that’s becoming clear to me is that the lone-broker model is on the way out. The numbers now being achieved by brokers in our Top 100 are so high – with one broker writing 1,071 loans in a single year – that support is essential. Yes, there are still highly talented lone brokers in the Top 100, but they are increasingly becoming the minority.

As an industry, we need to get better at acknowledging the vital contribution of supporting staff. Perhaps because of broking’s entrepreneurial heritage, or perhaps because of this magazine’s focus on individual performance, many

“One thing that’s becoming clear to me is that the lone-broker model is on the way out” brokers are still appalled by the realisation that top brokers often have a team of several supporting staff around them. However, if we look at other professions we can see that this is a natural progression.

Partners in a law firm, for instance, generally have a number of salaried employees who deal with secondary tasks. Note these tasks aren’t necessarily menial; the objective is to keep the partner doing what they do best, which in the broker’s case would be the interview and structuring the loan. To an extent, compliance, marketing and follow-up checks can be done by someone else, providing you have the management procedures in place to maintain high standards.

Clearly, there’s a balance to be struck: brokers are valued by consumers in large part because of their personal, face-to-face approach, and secluding oneself in the corner office would be repeating the banks’ mistakes. However, there’s a huge gulf between faceless corporations and the dynamic small business that is a well-run brokerage: it’s time we started thinking about broking as a team sport.

Sam Richardson, editor, MPA

www.mpamagazine.com.au DECEMBER 2O15 EDITORIAL Editor Sam Richardson Journalist Maya Breen

SALES & MARKETING National Sales Manager Rajan Khatak Account Manager Simon Kerslake

Production Editors Roslyn Meredith Moira Daniels

Marketing and Communications Manager Lisa Narroway

Contributor Nikki Fogden-Moore

Traffic Coordinator Lou Gonzales

ART & PRODUCTION Design Manager Daniel Williams Designer Loiza Caguiat

CORPORATE Chief Executive Officer Mike Shipley Chief Operating Officer George Walmsley Managing Director Justin Kennedy Associate Publisher Rajan Khatak Chief Information Officer Colin Chan Human Resources Manager Julia Bookallil

EDITORIAL INQUIRIES

tel: +61 2 8437 4787 sam.richardson@keymedia.com.au

SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES

tel: +61 2 8011 4992 • fax: +61 2 8437 4753 subscriptions@keymedia.com.au

ADVERTISING INQUIRIES

rajan.khatak@keymedia.com.au simon.kerslake@keymedia.com.au

Key Media Regional head office Level 10, 1–9 Chandos St, St Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia tel: +61 2 8437 4700 • fax: +61 2 9439 4599 www.keymedia.com Offices in Sydney, Auckland, Denver, Toronto, Manila

Mortgage Professional Australia is part of an international family of B2B publications and websites for the mortgage industry CANADIAN MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL vernon.jones@kmimedia.ca T +1 416 644 8740

Copyright is reserved throughout. No part of this publication can be reproduced in whole or part without the express permission of the editor. Contributions are invited, but copies of work should be kept, as the magazine can accept no responsibility for loss

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ROUND-UP

NEWS AND TIPS PERSONAL DEBT

1.7M AUSTRALIANS WILL NEVER BE DEBT-FREE Over half of Australian adults (nine million) are in debt, but 10% of adults don’t see themselves becoming debt-free in their lifetime, according to the latest survey by comparison website Finder.com.au.

With Aussie homes having a combined credit card and personal loan debt of over $109bn, Finder.com.au money expert Michelle Hutchison says there is a serious debt issue across the country that its people have become too complacent about.

55%

Only 44%

of Australians without kids say they are debt-free

of parents consider themselves debt-free

“Australians need to be more conscious about the amount of debt they are getting themselves and their families into”

63%

of 35–54-year-olds (Gen X) say they will never be debt-free

“We’re now growing up with so much debt and accumulating debt from a young age with the use of tech gadget plans like mobile phones, laptops, iPads and other devices.

“Australians need to be more conscious about the amount of debt they are getting themselves and their families into and work out how they will pay it back before they reach retirement.”

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WHO’S AHEAD

of baby boomers say they are debt-free

52% of Queenslanders and South Australians say they are debt-free

WHO’S STRUGGLING

12.5%

22% of NSW residents who are in debt say they will never be free of debt, followed by 20% of Western Australians Source: Finder.com.au

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COMMERCIAL FINANCE

SMALL BUSINESSES LOOK BEYOND THEIR MAIN BANK Australian SMEs have lost some confidence in their growth prospects but are more likely to look at alternative funding options to their main bank, a new survey shows.

The Scottish Pacific SME Growth Index surveyed over 1,200 SME owners and directors around Australia and found a 35% jump in SMEs who plan to explore beyond their main bank to support business growth.

The index also found that only 4.8% of SMEs are proactive in using credit facilities that fit best with their business. Fifty per cent of SMEs don’t get around to reviewing their primary bank relationship; only 20% review it regularly; and the majority of borrowing reviews are done in-house instead of relying on special advisers such as brokers or accountants.

35% increase in number of SMEs who say they will look to non-banks and other banks in next 6 months SMEs say taxes, credit conditions and access to credit are biggest barriers to growth taxes 68% 66%

credit conditions access to credit

56%

Scottish Pacific CEO Peter Langham said, “We’ve noted the increase in growth SMEs willing to borrow from another bank or specialist non-bank lender. This increase is even greater amongst SMEs who see themselves as declining or with unchanged growth.”

PROPERTY MARKET

HOME LOAN DEMAND HITS SIX-YEAR HIGH The property market remains surprisingly strong as home loan demand in August reached its highest peak (55,677 loans) in six years, with a 2.9% increase on July, according to the ABS Housing Finance data.

Mortgage Choice CEO John Flavell said, “The last time more than 55,600 home loans were written in one month was back in 2009, when the boosted First Home Owner Grant was in full swing.

“To see a similar level of home loan demand in today’s market, when there are not only no boosted first home buyer incentives in place but lenders are effectively trying to reduce their level of investment lending activity, is surprising and just goes to prove the strength of the housing market.”

The value of all dwelling commitments

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In August:

55,677 home loans approved, a six-year record high

$34bn written in dwelling commitments also rose sharply in August, when the total value of dwelling commitments written was in excess of $34bn, a 3.5% increase on July.

“Since the beginning of the year, the average home loan size for all owneroccupied housing commitments has surged 7%, hitting $371,200,” said Flavell.

“Moving forward, it is fair to assume the average home loan size will continue to grow so long as property prices continue to climb.”

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ROUND-UP

NEWS AND TIPS COMMERCIAL MARKET UPDATE

CONFIDENCE TO RISE Consumer and business confidence has taken a fall, according to specialist commercial lender Thinktank’s October Market Focus, but it is expected to pick up in the countdown to Christmas as sentiment improves in light of the change in prime minister.

The Westpac–Melbourne Institute’s Consumer Sentiment Index, which reflects consumers’ outlook on the financial state of their households, dropped 5.6 points to 93.9 – below the 100-point level of neutral optimism – due to overseas economic news, but the lender notes this was measured before Malcolm Turnbull became prime minister.

THINKTANK’S OCTOBER COMMERCIAL PROPERTY OUTLOOK City

Rating

Outlook

Sydney

Good

Improving

Melbourne

Good

Improving

Adelaide

Weak

Deteriorating

Brisbane

Weak

Deteriorating

Perth

Weak

Deteriorating

UNEXPECTED OPPORTUNITIES OF VOI CHANGES

VOI CHANGES: ANOTHER ADDITION TO THE BROKER ARSENAL Changes to the verification of identity (VOI) requirements applicable to paper mortgages are expected to come into effect in mid-November, and a leading solicitor recommends brokers check that their professional indemnity insurance and fidelity insurance policies cover the VOI changes.

“If I was a broker I would be getting a letter from my insurer to confirm I am covered for VOI,” Jon Denovan, a partner at Gadens law firm, told Australian Broker.

Verifying a customer’s identification to make sure they are who they say they are reduces the risk of identity fraud and is important even when no mortgage is taken by the customer, states a Gadens AML, VOI, and Witnessing Documents report.

Identity takeover fraud has increased 103% from 2012 to 2013, according to a 2014 Veda release.

A ZipID-Veda Group white paper on VOI for lenders and brokers showed that identity theft accounted for 54% of all data breaches impacting on banks in 2014, and the black market price for stolen-identity data has

plummeted in recent years as criminals have “plundered individual and business computer systems and stripped identity data that is later brokered”.

Former Commonwealth attorney-general Nicola Roxon was quoted as saying, “Identity fraud is one of Australia’s fastest growing crimes and one in four Australians had been a victim or had known someone who had been a victim of identity theft.”

The paper noted that the face-to-face ID checks required as part of the mortgage lending process were an opportunity to create new value as they trumped traditional approaches and eased customer burden, as well as improving efficiency and conversion rates – which is where brokers come in.

“Mortgage brokers have a structural advantage to making face-to-face identity verification ‘fit’ with the lives of busy Australians,” the paper stated.

As borrowers are increasingly time-poor, the mobilised service of a broker allows the client to prove their identity in their own home and makes the VOI process more convenient and hassle-free.

1300 130 538

primefinance.com.au loans@primefinance.com.au

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UPFRONT

HOT TOPIC

Who are your most important referral partners?

Daniel O’Brien

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director PFS Financial Services

Deslie Taylor

owner Mortgage Choice Beenleigh

Mark Burton

“At PFS Financial Services, our most important referral partners are our clients.

We generally don’t focus on generating referral business. Rather than advertising, we focus on word of mouth and repeat business from our database, which we achieve solely on the back of good service and advice.

If clients deal with a dedicated, hard-working broker, are given information in plain English and receive honest, expert advice, they will generally be happy.

If they are happy, they will tell other people. Business then snowballs from there.

We definitely deal with some great referral partners, but 75% of our business is from our own database. Referrers are nice to have, but they aren’t the be all and end all – especially if they want commission!

I’d personally rather be in control of my own destiny and have clients lining up to see me because ‘I’m the best guy to deal with’, according to their friend or relative.”

“My customers are my most important referral partners because they understand my business and value my service. As such, they are more than happy to refer me on to their family, friends and work colleagues.

Better yet, the leads I receive from my customers tend to have the best conversion rates. Knowing this, I do not hesitate to ask my customers for referrals. The best part about asking for client referrals is that it is a low-investment, high-reward activity.

I make sure I provide every single customer with a service experience that is second to none. Following that, I tell my customers that if they are happy with my service, the best way they can thank me is by referring me on to others.”

“At Aussie Liverpool we have a mixture of referrers. They range from real estate agents who invite us to attend their open homes, to accountants, solicitors and financial planners. While they don’t provide us with large volumes ongoing, many of our partners refer anything from one customer per month to one per week.

Where possible we like to reciprocate by giving referrals in return; one listing to a real estate agent is worth many loan referrals, as the income per transaction is much higher.

However, it’s certainly not based purely on helping each other generate income; they are valued referrers because we have taken time to get to know them and understand their businesses. We know that the service we provide to their customers is a reflection on them as they risk their reputation by referring their valued clients. Likewise, we have to be sure that they will treat our customers well, so it’s an important two-way partnership.”

franchisee Aussie Liverpool

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NEWS ANALYSIS

DEFAULT RATES

RISK ROLLS INTO THE LIMELIGHT Recent comments by APRA’s chairman on the default rates associated with mortgage brokers have put the industry on the defensive. Maya Breen takes a look at the risk involved in broker-sourced loans and why lenders continue to advocate for the channel APRA CHAIRMAN… higher default rates and risk… third-party originated loans…

Sound familiar?

You may recall the stir caused among brokers when APRA chairman Wayne Byres warned lenders about third-party originated loans at the Australian Business Economists briefing in August.

Byres said, “Third-party originated loans tend to have a materially higher default rate compared to loans originated through proprietary channels.”

The regulator gave MPA an insight into its data on default rates, which it had requested from a number of the largest lenders. Its spokesperson said: “This data showed that the default rate on mortgages originated through third-party channels was typically higher than mortgages originated via proprietary channels. There were differences from lender to lender but, on average, the average default rate for third-party originated loans was around 30% higher.”

But despite highlighting higher default rates on third-party loans, the chairman went on to say at the briefing: “This does not mean third-party channels have lower underwriting standards, but simply that the new business that flows through these channels appears to

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be of higher risk, and must be managed with appropriate care.”

However, the mention of higher default rates and higher risk associated with thirdparty loans gave brokers cause for concern that their loan-writing abilities and the

“The type of structures that finance brokers are asked to support customers on are more detailed, more involved and require more consideration” Siobhan Hayden, MFAA quality of broker-sourced loans were being negatively portrayed, leading the industry associations to question APRA’s comments.

MFAA CEO Siobhan Hayden was able to meet with APRA and clarify for the industry that Byres’ comments on the riskier nature of third-party loans were not an attack on brokers’ loan-writing abilities.

“It was more around that the type of customers that would present themselves to a teller versus the type of customers that would engage with a finance broker – [they] are different, and inherently I would agree with that,” Hayden told MPA. “The types of

structures that finance brokers are asked to support customers on are more detailed, more involved and require more consideration, so I didn’t disagree with that analysis.”

She said APRA did suggest very clearly to her that the overall rate of arrears and defaults was negligible – the lowest it had been in this economic climate. Another positive outcome was that the association was also able to provide more details to the regulator on how APRA’s decisions affect the broker channel directly.

Clearing up areas of confusion such as these is one of the reasons associations are invaluable

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WHY AUSSIE BROKERS RANK HIGHLY ON COMPLIANCE ON GLOBAL STAGE The risk involved in brokerintroduced loans within Australia compares well with those originated by brokers globally, says Professor Paul Kennedy of Macquarie University. With extensive experience in risk management at top banks in Europe and Australia, among them CBA and NAB, Kennedy says historically Australian brokers have compared quite well.

“Although Australia has suffered incidents of, for instance, poor broker-originated loans, they tend to be restricted to specific firms and regions,” he says.

“I think Australia’s had isolated poor incidents which are intrinsic to the business model, and there will always be the odd bad apple, but so far we have escaped the worst systemic abuse that has been perhaps a bit more obvious particularly in the UK. We actually have a reasonable financial system and I think we’ve been tested quite well through the global financial crisis in comparison – our financial system is pretty sound.” to brokers and their industry as a whole.

“You need the industry body to be able to be there having that dialogue [with APRA or ASIC], and this is one of the most important things that associations do,” said FBAA chief executive Peter White. “This is where industry associations are at their fore.

“Normally it’s not a regulator that we deal with; they don’t regulate our industry. At the end of the day APRA is looking at the credit and regulatory regime of the lenders and they’re looking at their processes and credit policies – a broker can’t write a loan that isn’t within credit policy.”

MPA took a look at what other statistics had to reveal about third-party originated loans, and what lenders, a risk expert and an aggregator had to say on the quality of brokerintroduced loans.

The MFAA’s 2015 Ernst & Young report Observations on the Value of Mortgage Broking found there was no difference between the

credit quality of the retail and broker channels.

“There has not been any material differences witnessed in the characteristics (ie credit quality, cost of acquisition (post commissions), net interest margin and loyalty) of the broker portfolio to that of proprietary channels,” the report stated.

“With regards to credit quality, lenders noted that the arrears rate in both portfolios is largely similar. It should be noted however, that given the historically low levels of arrears lenders are experiencing this has only been analysed by lenders at a headline level.”

One thing that is certain is the broker market share is only going up. The MFAA’s 2015 report states that broker-originated loans now contribute to 50% of mortgages in the system (both new and refinanced), double the volume since 2003 when around 25% of all new home loans were sourced through brokers, according to the Reserve Bank’s 2004 Financial Stability Review.

Risk management expert Professor Paul Kennedy of Macquarie University said the fact that broker-originated loans involved extra participants gave them a tendency to be riskier.

“Every layer you put in the financial process gives you more challenge in getting the incentives right and making sure everything is aligned to a fair and equitable outcome,” Kennedy said.

‘I think [broker-originated loans] bring their own challenges, and the challenges include they are one step removed from the lender, so you need to ensure that you have strong connection and oversight with them – also, the population of people that they are dealing with may be different from those who come directly to the lender themselves.

“You need different channels to ensure you can service the market. Different channels come with their own particular challenges. Those are not insurmountable

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FEATURE / BROKER EDUCATION NEWS ANALYSIS

DEFAULT RATES challenges; you just need to be aware of them when you are growing that channel.”

client into a loan that they can’t afford or that isn’t the right product for them.”

Brokers’ top priority

Broker-originated lending stands tall

That most brokers in the industry want to achieve high compliance and do the best by their clients is probably fair to say.

“I think brokers have a very real concern that they are compliant with the law. I would say it’s probably on the top of mind with just about every broker that I speak to,” said Vow CEO Tim Brown, who explained that their compliance webinars were the best attended of all of Vow’s webinars.

One of Australia’s largest aggregation groups, Vow has a strong presence in compliance training for its brokers and runs a broker survey every six months. “Compliance is our most highly regarded area,” says Brown.

“Our compliance area gets a 93% satisfaction rating, which shows they really value the education that we give them through our compliance.”

The aggregator also runs workshops that give brokers the opportunity to bring in their own files and discuss them. “People are able to have an open discussion without feeling threatened that they are going to get caught out. We find, educationally wise, they learn more from that experience than by us going and doing audits.”

While compulsory for those under Vow’s licence, brokers are finding the workshops so useful that those with their own licences are requesting that the aggregator runs similar workshops for a fee.

“They’ve been requesting that they want to attend our workshops, and they want us to do audits on them. It would give us some comfort, too, to know they are being compliant, albeit they’re not under our licence.”

Brown’s background in banking has placed him in a good position to compare the retail and broker channels.

“Most brokers have been in the industry a long time; they tend to have come out of major banks and so they tend to be well trained anyway and they know what not to do. They’ve got integrity and they know that their licence can be put at risk if they put a

MPA spoke to three lenders, who explained why the future was looking bright for the broker channel – and said third-party originated loans were ticking all the boxes.

Australia’s largest customer-owned bank, Heritage Bank, sources 50% of its mortgage loans through brokers and 50% from its retail network. The bank has also had an exceedingly strong year in loan origination through its broker partners, head of third party channels David Ure said. “This channel gives us access to markets across Australia,” he said. “Our

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HOW APRA HAS MONITORED RISK IN RECENT YEARS

2011 and 2014

Checked the boards of the larger ADIs were actively monitoring their housing lending portfolios and credit standards

2013

Conducted detailed information collection from the larger ADIs on housing loan risk metrics

2014

Stress-tested the 13 largest ADIs against two scenarios involving a significant housing market downturn

2014

Issued a Prudential Practice Guide on sound risk management practices for residential mortgage lending

End 2014

Informed ADIs on the need to maintain sound lending standards, and set benchmarks to evaluate the need for further supervisory actions Source: APRA chairman Wayne Byres’ “Banking on Housing” speech, Australian Business Economists Lunchtime Briefing, Sydney, 26 August 2015

relationship with the channel is considered very important.”

Ure said the bank’s main risk associated with loans introduced through a third party was in receiving/assessing and approving loan applications. “However, this risk is well mitigated through legislation and compliance requirements within the industry, as well as Heritage’s relationship with our broker partners,” he said.

But for ING Direct head of broker distribution Mark Woolnough, brokers don’t introduce any material risk into the process.

“We’ve been working with brokers for a long time, nearing 20 years now, and we’ve always said to brokers and internally, they are essentially an extension of our own sales team.

Being a branchless bank we don’t have a faceto-face or mobile sales network. We see our broker partners as the extension of our sales force, and therefore they’re effectively seen as our shopfront.”

He said brokers accounted for more than 20% of ING Direct’s lending business and there was no significant difference regarding approvals, defaults or refinances between direct and broker customers. “For us, there’s no statistical difference because our focus is not on just getting people into their homes but to make sure they stay in their homes longterm, which is reflected in where we pitch our products and our credit policy and our appetite to help customers.”

ME’s general manager brokers Lino Pelaccia said his bank’s experience of working with brokers had been “extremely positive”, with half of ME’s home loan sales originating from brokers in the past year.

“Brokers run professional, risk-averse businesses that are compliant and accredited with industry bodies,” said Pelaccia. “Brokers are also a great source for instant feedback on the state of the market and how our products and services are being received.”

ME plans to expand its broker network and expects it to generate 55% of home loan settlements over the next three years, totalling $3.3bn in FY16 and increasing to $5.3bn in FY18. “Brokers are a valued sales channel for ME, and the broker channel is critical to our growth plans going forward.”

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HEAD TO HEAD

JANINE COPELIN

“I think we’ve got a unique opportunity to educate migrants coming into Australia on how to get them into the property market, and do it in a seamless way”

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JANINE COPELIN: GOING GLOBAL Citibank’s new head of sales and distribution tells MPA why she’s partnering with brokers to target a very specific client: the globally minded affluent consumer

MPA: There are a lot of non-major lenders out there; it’s a very competitive market. What is Citibank’s main point of difference in your opinion?

JANINE COPELIN: I think the main point of difference for Citibank is the fact they have a very well-known brand globally. That global footprint gives us opportunities that local brands don’t necessarily have. We also partner with others very well. So we don’t try to be everything to everyone; what we do is recognise who in the industry do things very well and leverage that … We then go about personalising and tailoring offers to our customers.

looking to bank a product, but that we actually really make sure that we bank a customer.

By that I mean that it would be a shame if we worked very diligently with our brokers but all we did was get a mortgage and not expose the customers to all the other really cool products that we have; specifically, the rewards and dining programs that we have with our credit cards is honestly second to none. If I think about some of the products that we offer in our investment space, it really does give customers the opportunity to diversify their portfolio, whilst I don’t think that’s a common strategy you’d have in your mass-market retail banks.

MPA: What has been your strategy for Citibank in the third-party channel since arriving at the bank?

JC: One thing that I do identify, having come into sales and distribution, is that we partner very well with brokers, and have done so for several years; and brokers really trust Citibank, and they really trust the service that we give to our customers.

Citibank and our third-party business have a very high-touch model; I think one of the things I’ve identified though, coming in, and where we can certainly look to improve, is to ensure that we don’t go out there just

MPA: Are there systems in place for brokers to refer clients to these services?

JC: We work very closely with aggregators and work very closely with brokers. I have a team of BDMs and their job is not just to work with the aggregators but to go out there with the brokers and educate them on what Citibank has to offer; they educate them on what the segment offering is, and also ensure that when we onboard a customer it’s an absolutely seamless, remarkable customer experience. And those BDMs are across every state in Australia.

CITI MOBILE CHALLENGE COMES TO AUSTRALIA In November, Citibank will launch its Mobile Challenge program in Sydney, through which fintech start-ups can win investment and support by partnering with Citibank. It’s a crucial part of the bank’s partnership-based approach, Copelin explains: “Rather than Citibank coming in and building something ourselves, we recognise that other people know technology and digitisation better than we may, so why don’t we invite them to come work with us. It’s that whole concept of Citi jumping on the shoulders of giants, or letting other people leverage our global brand.”

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HEAD TO HEAD

JANINE COPELIN

JANINE COPELIN’S CAREER TIMELINE

2001

Begins career in insurance at Australian Insurance Holdings

2006

Joins Commonwealth Bank, initially as a branch manager

2009

Appointed CBA executive manager of personal relationship management, later moving to manage operations and support, and then risk and control

May 2015

Appointed Citibank’s new head of sales and distribution Copelin on her experience: “I’ve had a really good view and understanding first-hand of what front-line staff do and how they see our customers, versus what happens in head office and defining strategy … I think I just bring a really balanced view into the business”

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MPA: What is the globally minded

MPA: How can brokers present

affluent customer? Why is Citibank interested in them, and why should brokers be?

JC: I think that one of the opportunities Citibank has, where it’s second to none, is global brand awareness. So if you think about the migrant numbers that are coming into Australia, I think we’ve got a unique opportunity to educate migrants coming into Australia on how to get them into the property market, and do it in a seamless way.

One of the things we like to do with our brokers is help them understand what that service proposition is, and why the offering

Citibank’s offering to customers? What should they highlight?

JC: Citibank has a very high-touch service when it comes to mortgages, which is quite different to other banks; other banks have gone very much down the digitisation strategy. Whilst we’re exploring digital and we still want to have that as a channel offering, we pride ourselves on making sure that the customer is at the centre of the experience.

For a broker, it’s very much about them understanding what that experience looks like. Our brokers are very well educated and know that customers with $100,000 and

“I’m personally very passionate about bringing in young brokers, and also want to make sure that we offer educational opportunities for the young brokers coming in” that we have at Citibank is very well tailored to that market. We’ve got migrants coming in from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, the UK, South Africa and New Zealand. That’s a broad mix of migrants coming in that are very familiar with the Citi brand; it’s dominant in their countries.

One of the strategies Citibank has is the ‘Go to Common’ strategy. What that really means for a customer, irrespective of where you are, is if you want to do four months overseas and work and then come back here, it should just be the same experience, no matter what country you’re in, mindful of the fact that there are certain regulatory differences between countries.

But ultimately, for me as a consumer, I want you to know me; I don’t want to have to re-explain myself if I’ve moved to the UK or moved to Australia; I have an expectation that Citibank knows me, and that integration into Australia is seamless for me.

over in savings have an opportunity to be onboarded into Citigold … In addition, we’ve just launched Citi Priority, which really looks at offering a service proposition and priority service for customers with $50,000 in savings and above. And so my job is to understand what the sweet spot is for our target audience.

MPA: What other types of finance might those globally minded affluent consumers be interested in?

JC: One thing that I’ve thoroughly loved coming over to Citibank for is the suite of different offerings that are available to investors around diversification. And I’m not talking just in the sophisticated investor space; I am talking about everyday mums and dads who may have invested in property but also want to have something that’s a little different to what they have today.

Secondly, we also offer products that are

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HEAD TO HEAD

JANINE COPELIN

CITIGOLD AND CITI PRIORITY Citigold is the bank’s premium relationship management division, for customers saving $100,000 or more with Citibank. In addition to a dedicated relationship manager, customers get access to a wider range of investment products, research reports and ‘preferential rates on home loans’.

Citi Priority is a transitional relationship management offer for customers saving $50,000 or more, and has similar benefits to the Citigold program.

in a higher yield than just cash term deposits.

So I think our customers and our brokers really love the fact that we bring something more to the table for our customers … it gives them the opportunity to not put all their eggs in one basket.

“I don’t think Citibank has ever intended to be mass-market, but what I do want to be is the very best at offering a remarkable customer experience for those customers that fall within our segment” We’re in an all-time low interest rate environment at the moment, so it doesn’t necessarily make good investment sense for someone to put all their funds in a term deposit, locked away. It does make more sense that they would explore what other yield opportunities are out there in the market.

MPA: You’ve spoken of the need for more young brokers. How can Citibank help bring new talent into broking?

JC: It comes back to partnering; we do like to partner with aggregators and the MFAA, businesses and organisations that really support bringing fresh talent into the market. I’m personally very passionate about bringing in young brokers and also want to make sure that we offer educational opportunities through my BDMs out in the field, and also working with brokers who are already there.

Typically, it’s been an industry where you go into a lending organisation for a number of years, and then you branch out into broking; I would love to see young brokers seeing this as an attractive industry to come into straight away, and I think they bring something quite unique because they clearly think outside the square. They’re not conservative – they’re innovative. They embrace technology; they embrace digital;

18

they’re adopters of change. There’s so much that works in favour of them coming into the industry and bringing something fresh into the market.

They’re just very passionate and genuine about putting the customer at the centre of

everything they do. I think sometimes when people have been around for a long time and they’re just so used to constraints that they try to fit the customers into processes that just don’t work these days, whereas the young guns come in and challenge the status quo.

MPA: How would you like Citibank to be viewed by the third-party channel 12 months from now?

JC: I want Citibank to be seen as an integral part of the broker business within Australia. I don’t think Citibank has ever intended to be mass-market, but what I do want to be is the very best at offering a remarkable customer experience for those customers that fall within our segment.

I think it’s absolutely achievable. I think it will require us to be very vocal out there in the industry, and work closely and partner, probably more than we ever have, with brokers and aggregators to really understand what it is that these customers want and need. … There are a lot of players in the market that are out there to grow market share in mortgages; that’s not our play … I think we have a really unique opportunity in the market where we have a strong and trusted brand globally, and we really do make sure that everything we do represents what’s best for the customer.

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SPECIAL REPORT

TOP 100 BROKERS

A new standard is being set in mortgage broking as Australia’s finest continue to break records and redefine the third-party channel

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Sponsored by

YOU CAN’T define an individual broker’s excellence purely by their volume total – but that’s not what the MPA Top 100 Brokers list is about.

Instead, our biggest report of the year looks at Australia’s highestperforming brokers as a group, providing essential business insights, indicating market shifts, and taking the temperature of the third-party channel.

Judging by our figures, the broking profession’s performance in 2014–15 has been red-hot. While the much-discussed 51.3% broker market-share figure encompasses all brokers, the Top 100 is about the cutting edge of the industry, and 2015 saw two brokers writing more than $300m in residential loans each this year. That’s surely a much more exciting statistic, as well as a Top 100 record, and there’s plenty more records to be found in these pages, for both total number of loans written and average loan value.

This year, there’ve been a number of changes to the report. We’re celebrating more individual brokers than ever, including brokers who are doing fantastic work in areas with relatively low property prices and more up-and-coming brokers. The application procedure has also changed; it’s now all-electronic, allowing brokers and aggregators to do the necessary work at their desks in a matter of minutes. That’s resulted in an increase in the number of applications of more than 50% compared to 2014.

There are so many lessons to draw from this report, but there are several recurring characteristics among our top 10 brokers. Firstly, professional referral partners, such as real estate agents and accountants, are an important source of business for many, alongside their clients.

Secondly, many top brokers specialise, most commonly in property investors but also in other niche areas. Finally, it’s evidently becoming harder than ever to do it alone. While lone brokers still excel in the Top 100, top performers are acquiring ever-larger support teams: how else could they write such volumes? Though not all brokers prefer this approach, this appears to be a trend that is unlikely to be reversed.

We hope these insights will allow you to take your business to the next level, but they wouldn’t exist without all those brokers who applied for the Top 100 – whether or not they appear in this list. We’d like to thank all those brokers and aggregators who applied, and congratulate those who number among Australia’s finest.

$106,281,848

$318,746,358

The total value of residential loans of an average Top 100 broker

The total value of residential loans for our No. 1 broker

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR Westpac is proud to return as the sponsor for the 2015 MPA Top 100 Brokers list. As Westpac enters into our third century of serving Australia, our partnership journey continues – to help our broker partners grow their business and assist their clients in reaching their home ownership dreams and financial goals sooner.

Award recipients will be honoured for their commitment to excellence, specifically highlighting those who have set a benchmark of high performance that can be celebrated, respected, and emulated by brokers alike.

This is an exciting time to be a mortgage broker, as most professional brokers continue to embrace changes in modern technology and digitisation, as well as overcoming the challenges of recent regulatory changes.

On behalf of Westpac, I would like to congratulate the brokers who have made this year’s MPA Top 100 Broker list, and for stretching yourselves to achieve nothing less than excellence in the mortgage and finance industry.

Tony MacRae, General manager, third party distribution, Westpac and St.George Banking Group

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SPECIAL REPORT

TOP 100 BROKERS

100-75 FREE TO ROAM It’s very difficult to make this list working as a mobile broker, but at No. 94 Aussie Home Loans’ Norm Moon has done it, and is the highest-ranking mobile broker in the list. Moon has been at Aussie for eight years, servicing the Sydney area, and his motto is “I have two ears and one mouth, so I’m here to listen to your situation and your aspirations”.

BRICKS AND MORTAR At No. 86, Bianca Long of Mortgage Choice Glenwood is a broker at the epicentre of the massive construction boom on Sydney’s western fringe. With demand growing, she’s now opened her second office in the area and is a frequent commentator in MPA, most recently on the subject of female consumers.

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MPA TOP 100 BROKERS: 100-75 Rank

Name

Company

State

Total value of residential loans FY 2014/15

Total number of residential loans FY 2014/15

100

Anthony Knight

Mortgage Choice in Erina

NSW

$70,717,596

233

99

Trevor Ryan

Aussie

QLD

$70,775,963

228

98

Stephanie Brennan

Tiffen & Co

ACT

$70,814,642

242

97

Erica Elvy

Aussie Rouse Hill

NSW

$70,853,307

133

96

Leeanne Scott

Mortgage Choice in North Sydney

NSW

$71,499,358

189

95

Peter Johnson

Mortgage Choice in Cronulla

NSW

$71,681,458

251

94

Norm Moon

Aussie

NSW

$71,779,452

174

93

David Thomas

Trilogy Funding

ACT

$71,787,523

309

92

Sahdeo Singh

RDN Mortgages Pty Ltd

NSW

$71,980,352

226

91

Angelika Darbinian

Aussie Crows Nest

NSW

$72,129,506

79

90

Hank (Hoa) Hong

Home Loan Experts

NSW

$72,617,000

140

89

Eugene Sholomov

MINFIN Australia

VIC

$73,319,875

106

88

David Wegener

Real Wealth Money

SA

$73,360,527

192

87

Jason Zhu

Janz Financial

VIC

$73,371,250

88

86

Bianca Long

Mortgage Choice in Glenwood

NSW

$74,239,282

227

85

Richard Hoenig

Arleon Capital Pty Ltd

NSW

$74,266,000

114

84

Daniel Hustwaite

Aqua Financial Services

VIC

$74,525,753

220

83

Matt Mannaert

Acceptance Finance

VIC

$75,193,148

174

82

Mark Nguyen

IFG Home Loans

WA

$75,257,025

191

81

Bhavesh Shah

Loan Gallery

VIC

$75,690,533

205

80

Ryan Ewart

Mortgage Choice in Dee Why

NSW

$75,696,056

176

79

Mario Borg

Mario Borg Strategic Finance

VIC

$75,717,156

173

78

Helen Chandler

Elite Finance Group Australia

NSW

$76,000,000

160

77

Neville Ayrouth

Mortgage Choice in Randwick

NSW

$76,370,156

141

76

Adam Bourke

Mortgage Choice in Paddington

QLD

$76,670,743

231

75

Stephen Franklin

Aussie Bull Creek

WA

$77,763,560

176

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Sponsored by

YET ANOTHER RECORD-BREAKING YEAR We didn’t think it could be done … both the combined settlement totals of the Top 100 and the settlement total of the No. 1 broker have beaten 2014’s numbers.

Top 100 – combined value of settlements

Top 100 – combined value of settlements Top broker’s total Top broker’s total

$1,200,000,000

$350,000

$1,000,000,000

$300,000

$800,000,000

$250,000

$600,000,000

$200,000

$400,000,000

$150,000

$200,000,000

$100,000

$10,000,000

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

$50,000

ANALYSIS: 2014-15 IN BROKING Before jumping to conclusions about the achieve­ ments of 2015’s crop of Top 100 Brokers compared to last year’s, it’s important to look at what happened between July 2014 and July 2015, the cut-off dates for this survey.

This starts with house prices which, according to RP Data CoreLogic, increased 11.1% in Australia’s capital cities over that time period. The combined total value of our Top 100 Brokers’ loans only rose 7% during that time, so our Top 100 actually didn’t keep up with rising house prices (although remember not all are based in Australia’s capital cities). However, the problem isn’t that our brokers are writing smaller loans: the average loan size of our brokers did increase similarly to house prices, by 10%.

When considering the dominance of NSW brokers in this year’s Top 100, it’s worth noting that Sydney prices increased 18.4% in FY2014/15, leaving behind Melbourne (11.5%), Brisbane (3.9%) and especially Perth (-0.3%). It’s no coincidence

Productivity 26,208 loans were written by the Top 100 this year, with one broker writing 1,071 loans

Average loan size that our top broker this year was Sydney-based; more impressively, their settlement total was 29% higher than last year’s winner, comfortably beating the rise in house prices.

One could argue that the gap between house prices and settlement totals is a result of restrictions in investment lending by APRA, to which many banks responded by changing policies and increasing their rates. Many of our Top 100 Brokers specialise in property investors, and so perhaps, as a group, the Top 100 has been adversely affected.

However, many of our Top 10 Brokers saw APRA’s restrictions as “a massive opportunity”, as one broker put it, because it restricted the ability of branches to satisfy clients. Another broker commented that “our phones are ringing off the hook because people and astute investors need specialists more than ever, rather than going to a bank or broker who doesn’t specialise, given the recent APRA changes”.

$456,732 was this year’s average loan size – a 10% increase – with one broker averaging over $1.4m

The $300m mark In a historical moment for broking, two brokers wrote more than $300m worth of residential loans in FY2014/15

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SPECIAL REPORT

TOP 100 BROKERS

74-47 KING OF THE NORTH Last year we didn’t have a single Top 100 Broker from the Northern Territory, so it’s great to have Loan Market’s Bren Rodda at No. 74. Rodda is based in Darwin, and despite the NT’s constantly changing economic fortunes has amassed a settlement total of $78,442,979.

SHOOTING STAR Rising an astonishing 49 places from his position last year, Simon Orbell of Smartmove Neutral Bay is this year’s ‘most improved’ broker. He attributes his rise to an increased strategic focus and the arrival of a talented staff member, Jason Katthagen, who sadly passed away in April.

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MPA TOP 100 BROKERS: 74-47 Rank

Name

Company

State

Total value of residential loans FY 2014/15

Total number of residential loans FY 2014/15

74 73 72 71 70 70 69 68 67 66 65 64 63 62 61 60 59 58 57 56 55 54 53 52 51 50 49 48 47

Bren Rodda Antony Muir Alex Shumsky Luke Torossian Xavier Quenon Xavier Quenon Joshua Durrant Stephen Lemm David Chia Daniel Lanna Brett Amos Neil Christie Ian Simpson Paul Prindiville Quentin Grofski Matthew Kerr Serge Scekic Navjeet Singh Matta Sewa SINGH Brad Nolan Adrian Lee Peter Goldberg James Henwood-White Shareek Mohammed Matthew Dwyer Troy Cameron Andrew Heath Todd McVee Simon Orbell

Loan Market Mortgage Choice in Gold Coast Consolidated FS Aussie Engadine Go Mortgage Go Mortgage Choice Capital Mortgage Choice in Neutral Bay Yellow Brick Road Randwick Centric Lending Services P/L Seven Point Finance Aussie Oxenford Smartline Blackburne Money Aussie Morley Hudson Institute Aussie Balgowlah Gain Home Loans Reliance Home Loans Pty Ltd Eastern Financial Solutions Resource Group Pinnacle Capital Pty Ltd eSelect Pty Ltd Aussie Liverpool Yellow Brick Road Penrith Stratique Finance Mortgage Choice in Hawkesbury Smartline Smartmove

NT QLD VIC NSW QLD QLD VIC NSW NSW NSW VIC QLD NSW WA WA QLD NSW NSW NSW QLD NSW NSW VIC NSW NSW WA NSW WA NSW

$78,442,979 $78,663,160 $78,858,852 $79,282,671 $79,519,658 $79,519,658 $79,797,631 $79,838,376 $80,534,543 $81,364,104 $81,398,279 $81,634,376 $82,867,171 $83,863,217 $83,885,649 $84,394,275 $84,503,414 $85,022,663 $86,295,273 $86,389,308 $88,000,000 $88,407,333 $89,593,438 $91,733,122 $92,000,000 $92,857,000 $93,024,946 $93,641,826 $93,934,283

167 292 185 157 190 190 176 179 154 86 175 219 156 221 203 202 156 503 269 183 102 177 202 195 281 202 333 308 163

Sponsored by

WHERE THE POWER LIES They might have crumbled in this year’s State of Origin, but NSW surely has the upper hand when it comes to the Top 100 Brokers, being home to 46 of them, compared to Victoria’s 20. In fact, NSW’s proportion of Top 100 Brokers has increased since 2014, at the expense of Victoria, WA and SA. However, relative to population, it’s the tiny ACT that comes out on top with five Top 100 Brokers. While Canberra’s politicians might not have great job security, they’re clearly earning enough to keep these brokers in business.

Northern Territory

Top broker

13 brokers $343,018

Bren Rodda, Loan Market Darwin

Colin Mason, Mortgage Choice Buderim

46 brokers $537,621

South Australia

3 brokers $304,640 Wendy Higgins, Mortgage Choice Glenelg

Western Australia

12 brokers $380,934 James Chatfield, Chatfield Consulting

1 broker $469,718

New South Wales

Number of brokers Average loan size

Queensland

Jeremy Fisher, 1st Street Home Loans

Victoria

20 brokers $457,858 Mark Davis, Australian Lending & Investment Centre

ACT

5 brokers $274,288 Gerard Tiffen, Tiffen & Co

Tasmania Where’s Tassie? Tasmania might be blessed with delicious cheese and beautiful scenery but sadly no Top 100 Brokers this year, so there’s no data available for us to display. If you’re a great broker from Tasmania, please apply for next year’s Top 100!

ADVICE FROM THE TOP 10 “Create efficiency in your business, and learn the banks’ policies ... be able to hang your hat on another area of service or advice you can give clients, rather than just on rate” Justin Doobov, Intelligent Finance

“To do these numbers you have to live and breathe it. You have to be very committed. Do many, many appointments a day, be at the coalface all day, and be very committed” Mark Davis, Australian Lending & Investment Centre

“Don’t talk about rates all the time; sit down and plan ahead… It’s more about building a relationship or friendship; it’s not a single transaction” Jack Wei, Financial Genius

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SPECIAL REPORT

TOP 100 BROKERS

46-11 LET’S DANCE Hailing from Top 10 Independent Brokerage Trilogy Funding in Canberra, Deanna Ezzy, at No. 46, was named Australian Mortgage Broker of the Year in 2013 by our sister title, Your Investment Property magazine.

She also teaches Latin dancing in her spare time.

THE $100M MARK Writing more than $100m worth of residential loans, as Mortgage Choice’s Matt Cunliffe managed this year, is an incredible achievement for any broker, and an amazing 38 of our Top 100 Brokers managed it in 2015.

FRANCHISE BROKER EXTRAORDINAIRE In 2014, Loan Market’s Josh Bartlett won the Australian Mortgage Award for Franchise Broker of the Year, and he repeated the achievement in 2015’s AMAs. His position this year – No. 16 – suggests many more awards will be forthcoming.

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MPA TOP 100 BROKERS: 46-11 Total value of residential loans FY 2014/15

Total number of residential loans FY 2014/15

ACT

$95,090,841

388

NSW

$96,689,074

320

VIC

$96,735,000

198

Mortgage Choice in Lane Cove

NSW

$97,134,842

190

Hany El’Sadre

Amani Finance

WA

$98,282,892

256

41

George Tzilantonis

Aussie Home Loans

VIC

$98,605,000

269

40

David Friend

Tiffen & Co

ACT

$98,676,750

316

39

Tom Hawley

Shore Financial

NSW

$99,825,000

108

38

Matt Cunliffe

Mortgage Choice in Brisbane

QLD

$101,030,526

280

37

Scott Partridge

Mortgage Choice in Parramatta

NSW

$101,424,428

248

36

Kevin Gomer

Nicheliving Wealth and Finance

WA

$102,768,330

279

35

Darren Comerford

Mortgage Choice in Arundel

QLD

$103,520,531

375

34

Alex Nochar

Shore Financial

NSW

$105,781,000

114

33

Jenni Adams

Smartline

WA

$107,354,751

292

32

Colin Lamb

Mortgage & Finance Solutions

WA

$108,664,646

287

31

George Samios

MADD Loans

QLD

$109,250,000

360

30

Deslie Taylor

Mortgage Choice in Beenleigh

QLD

$110,204,112

360

29

Scott Marshall

The Loan Arranger

SA

$115,663,909

441

28

Glenn English

Aussie Carnegie

VIC

$115,940,672

287

27

Charli Zhu

Mortgage Choice in Brisbane

QLD

$116,296,957

348

26

Wendy Higgins

Mortgage Choice in Glenelg

SA

$116,717,999

433

25

Barnabas Chan

Unite Financial Group

NSW

$120,153,533

210

24

Gerard Tiffen

Tiffen & Co

ACT

$120,863,418

418

23

Ross Le Quesne

Aussie Parramatta

NSW

$121,180,384

371

22

David Khalil

Direct Property Network

NSW

$121,356,160

284

21

Andrew Algie

Addisons Advisory Group

NSW

$121,653,000

287

20

Daniel O'Brien

PFS Financial Services

NSW

$122,914,802

343

19

Kevin Agent

Australian Lending & Investment Centre

VIC

$125,768,638

434

18

Anthony Alabakov

My Mortgage Freedom

VIC

$128,120,000

204

17

Jason Basseal

Loan Market

VIC

$129,871,963

309

16

Josh Bartlett

Loan Market

VIC

$130,315,916

297

15

Theo Chambers

Shore Financial

NSW

$130,570,000

151

14

Rael Bricker

House & Home loans

WA

$132,319,000

587

13

Colin Mason

Mortgage Choice in Buderim

QLD

$144,276,525

505

12

Peter Ellis

Century 21

NSW

$146,963,487

178

11

James Chatfield

Chatfield Consulting

WA

$149,687,132

329

Rank

Name

Company

46

Deanna Ezzy

Trilogy Investment Property Funding

45

George Kanellis

CFC Finance

44

Vivian Wei Wang

V Money

43

Stephanie Cook

42

State

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Sponsored by

WOMEN IN THE SPOTLIGHT With 12 female brokers in our Top 100, 2015 has been a better year for broking’s gender balance than 2014, although clearly a lot of work still needs to be done.

Rank Name

Company

Total value of Total number of State residential loans residential loans FY 2014/15 FY 2014/15

26

Wendy Higgins

Mortgage Choice Glenelg

SA

$116,717,999

433

30

Deslie Taylor

Mortgage Choice Beenleigh

QLD

$110,204,112

360

33

Jenni Adams

Smartline

WA

$107,354,751

292

43

Stephanie Cook

Mortgage Choice Lane Cove

NSW

$97,134,842

190

44

Vivian Wei Wang

V Money

VIC

$96,735,000

198

46

Deanna Ezzy

Trilogy Investment Property Funding

ACT

$95,090,841

388

78

Helen Chandler

Elite Finance Group Australia

NSW

$76,000,000

160

86

Bianca Long

Mortgage Choice Glenwood

NSW

$74,239,282

227

91

Angelika Darbinian

Aussie Crows Nest

NSW

$72,129,506

79

96

Leeanne Scott

Mortgage Choice North Sydney

NSW

$71,499,358

189

97

Erica Elvy

Aussie Rouse Hill

NSW

$70,853,307

133

98

Stephanie Brennan

Tiffen & Co

ACT

$70,814,642

242

LEADING LADIES A Top 100 legend, Wendy Higgins has topped the Top 100 charts several times and is SA’s top broker; and, if that wasn’t enough, her brokerage Mortgage Choice Glenelg came in at No. 1 in our 2015 Top 10 Franchise Brokerages report.

Although she only established her Mortgage Choice franchise in 2007, Deslie Taylor is emerging as one of Queensland and Australia’s top brokers, beating the $100m mark. She’s based in Ormeau, Queensland.

10

LOUIS KOVANIS Genius Loan Solutions, Kogarah, NSW Total value of residential loans FY 2014/15: $155,000,000 Total number of residential loans FY 2014/15: 110

What do doctors have to do with finance? Well, quite a lot, if you’re Louis Kovanis. The Sydney-based broker, who specialises in finance for medical professionals, is surprised and delighted to be back in the Top 10, having been No. 8 in 2014. He’s moved to a sparkling new office in Kogarah, where “the theme is very much modelled around the medicos: top-notch – when you walk in you think you’re visiting a plastic surgeon”.

Kovanis admits the move has taken his focus off broking, but he “had to be close to the action”; Kogarah has a large number of hospital facilities, and thus medical professionals who he will be able to visit. Kovanis insists his clients are the ideal clients: they’re well paid, get favourable policies from banks (including up to 90% LVR), and aren’t affected by recent APRA changes. It’s because of them that Kovanis’ average loan is by far the biggest in this list – an impressive $1,409,091 – despite still being a lone broker with just one supporting staff member.

Medical professionals are, however, extremely busy, which is why Kovanis is moving to their doorstep, and they rely on referrals to find brokers. Kovanis has built up a network of satisfied clients, but has other plans: “I’m actually expanding interstate now, into Victoria …

I’m sponsoring medical conferences; I did a big sponsorship of a cardiology conference recently … the convener was my client.”

Kovanis doesn’t advertise, however, because he wants to focus on high-level professionals: “You don’t want to start reinventing the wheel; look at the changes that are occurring but don’t necessarily change your model.”

Now established in the new office, Kovanis is ambitious about rising even higher in the Top 100: “My turnover will be a lot higher; I’m going to be in the top five next year.”

Although working in a niche area, Kovanis believes he faces the same challenges as all brokers: “You’ve got to keep on top of the game; it’s not only other brokers, it’s private bankers. Everyone’s your competition at the end of the day, so you’ve got to keep in touch with your clients, keep them up to date, and make sure you deliver exceptional service, the best products, be fully transparent and have integrity.”

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SPECIAL REPORT

TOP 100 BROKERS

9

ADDISON TAY Ausin Group (Finance), Melbourne, Vic Total value of residential loans FY 2014/15: $157,075,545 Total number of residential loans FY 2014/15: 340

The term ‘international financier’ is generally something you associate with bankers – but that’s exactly what Addison Tay is. He’s part of the Ausin Group, which caters to mainland Chinese who want to invest in Australian property, and is one of a growing number who are combining quality broking with the jet-set lifestyle.

In fact, Tay flies to China every other month to present to potential investors. In some ways, his job is straightforward: “Generally, the customer wants to know what they can get … they want to know what is the best option for them.” However, catering to rate-conscious customers can be difficult when there are relatively few banks that lend to non-residents.

Foreign investors have become a scapegoat for many of Australia’s housing problems over recent years, with the government introducing fees and tightening rules for foreign investors. As Tay’s clients generally have already dealt with Australian estate agents, these changes aren’t a problem for him: “I can see the volume is still there; it’s not really turned off the market – the market is still very big overseas internationally.” Of course, Tay has a large number of potential clients to draw from: “These are the top earners in the country; the population is 1.3 billion, so even if we do 1% of the millionaires it’s a lot.”

Tay’s foreign investor clients are generally high net worth investors, looking to build property portfolios not only in Australia but across the world. They are demanding, however, and want a quick turnaround time; it therefore helps that Tay is in the elite broker groups of many banks. It’s not the only advantage he has: “Being multilingual is an advantage … the clients have to rely on what you tell them so you need to present in a professional way to be successful.” Tay also gives credit to Ausin’s support team – broking is a “team effort”, he insists.

For brokers whose vision also stretches beyond Australia’s shores, Tay warns that “you can’t just talk to them on the phone: you really need to travel to the customer, meet the customer. It’s not that easy; you need to understand the culture as well … they need to see you, trust you, and then you’ll get referrals from then on.”

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ANDREW MIRAMS Intuitive Finance, Sandringham, Vic Total value of residential loans FY 2014/15: $157,084,517 Total number of residential loans FY 2014/15: 303

After two years out of the Top 100, Andrew Mirams is back with a bang. Based in Melbourne, he specialises in finance for property investors: “Probably, from the day I started my broking business 12-and-a-half years ago, it’s been our strength.”

Property investors are of course the worst-kept secret in Australia – everyone from the local broker to APRA’s hierarchy knows the extraordinary appetite Australians have for property. However, actually specialising in this sector means providing more than the best rate, Mirams explains: “We don’t compete on price, so we start with the strategy and what the client wants to achieve from their investment … that’s what we specialise in; not doing the deal today but guiding people to their future investment goals.” Mirams’ clients are serious investors who are building portfolios and not simply looking for a single-transaction relationship.

APRA’s attempts to curb investment lending aren’t harming Mirams’ business; quite the opposite: “Our phones are ringing off the hook because people and astute investors need specialists more than ever, rather than going to a bank or broker who doesn’t specialise, given the recent APRA changes.” Bank changes to rates and serviceability policies have had a “minute” effect. He explains that “there’s the odd customer who can’t get finance but, like everything, it’s a cycle; we see it in property, we see it in shares, we see it in everything”. Whatever the prevailing conditions, Mirams argues, it’s the broker’s job to guide clients through that environment.

While referrals from clients and buyer’s agents make up a proportion of Intuitive Finance’s leads, they also actively promote themselves across Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. They’re also involved in sponsorship and Mirams is regularly on 4BC radio and on the Real Estate Talk podcast. All are places where he can “talk about [property] issues and give advice and information; that’s what our website and podcast is focused on – being an expert in our field”.

For up-and-coming brokers, whether or not they’re dealing with property investment, Mirams’ advice is simple: “Know what you’re good at, have a great CRM, and target your market – you cannot market enough.”

www.mpamagazine.com.au

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JACK WEI Financial Genius, Ryde, NSW Total value of residential loans FY 2014/15: $166,857,000 Total number of residential loans FY 2014/15: 306

A snappy company name isn’t the only advantage Jack Wei has as a broker; he’s a property investor specialist and an investor himself, he explains: “I’ve been investing for more than 14 years now.” Alongside Wei’s own experience, his brokerage is well established, having been in business since 2004, and perhaps no property market in Australia has changed more than Sydney in the intervening 11 years.

Rising house prices have certainly contributed to increasing volume, Wei points out, but he’s also seen an increase in the number of investors and refinancers using several different lenders. With 60–70% of business coming from investors, the brokerage is set up to offer more than standard broking services. “We have financial planners as well … I advise my clients to buy when their cash flow is right, look at the total portfolio.”

However, the past year hasn’t all been plain sailing for Wei, thanks to the regulators. “APRA and the Reserve Bank are mainly targeting the clients that I focus on,” he says, “especially people with three or more properties; they can’t borrow as much now.” The challenge is not so much changing LVRs but changes to serviceability. He adds: “My clients are all under 80%, but the issue is the income servicing calculator; they’re very strict with the buffer rate.” He expects regulatory action to die down, especially if the Sydney market corrects itself over the coming year.

There are six people working at Financial Genius, with Wei and three other brokers. While he has support staff to assist him, Wei continues to manage the business alongside broking. Surprisingly for an investment-centric brokerage, Financial Genius doesn’t have referral links with other professionals, preferring to rely on customer referrals and a client newsletter; Wei admits he’s “not really into sharing commission!”

“You need the passion to really enjoy this industry and love helping people.” Wei urges up-and-coming brokers: “[Don’t] do it for the volume or the money; you need to enjoy helping people grow their portfolio and wealth as well … people can see that and feel that. Don’t talk about rates all the time; sit down and plan ahead … It’s more about building a relationship or friendship; it’s not a single transaction.”

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JOHN LAU N1 Finance & Lease, Sydney, NSW Total value of residential loans FY 2014/15: $174,038,419 Total number of residential loans FY 2014/15: 345

Even for top brokers, good support can make a huge difference, and John Lau is privileged to be head of sales at N1 Finance & Lease, an up-and-coming Sydney brokerage featured in our Top 10 Independent Brokerages report this year. For him, success is down to the team: “Experience counts, but I believe it’s not a one-man show: I need a good team to support my clients as well.”

That’s not just Lau’s generosity speaking: maintaining long-term relationships with customers – and thus benefiting from referrals – requires a huge number of hours. He argues: “It’s not a one-time thing; you have to follow up with them. Doing a home loan is not as simple as putting it in and getting it approved … I can’t do that for 10 clients a day – it’s impossible.” He believes a quality compliance, marketing and loan writing team is as important as the broker in keeping those good relationships going.

Lau’s clients are a mix of owner-occupiers and investors, and when it comes to getting them in the door, he again points out he’s not alone. “It really comes down to my referral network as well; you work with a couple of other industries, including accountants, real estate agents, solicitors; we work very closely with them.” Although N1 Finance has offices in Queensland and Victoria, 80% of Lau’s clients are Sydneybased, with much of the other 20% being foreign investors.

Over the past year, Lau’s clients have become increasingly concerned.

“My volume has been slowing down a bit, mainly because of investment rules but also because of uncertainty. To be honest, with all the news about the whole global market, the share market, a lot of people are getting scared, and thinking ‘cash is king now’. The effect ... is that some clients are holding off from buying or investing; people are getting scared of spending money now.”

In response, Lau will be advertising and consulting with his referral network – real estate agents can tell you a lot about changing buyer appetites, he notes. One senses he relishes the challenge: “I’ve been a broker for three years; every day I come into the office and love what I’m doing.”

“A lot of people are getting scared, and thinking ‘cash is king now’ ”

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SPECIAL REPORT

TOP 100 BROKERS

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WILLIAM CHEN Pacific Mortgage Centre, Sydney NSW Total value of residential loans FY 2014/15: $194,090,607 Total number of residential loans FY 2014/15: 436

Consistently appearing in the Top 100’s top 10 is a huge ask, but it’s one that William Chen manages, coming fourth last year and eighth the year before. It’s not been so easy this year, he explains: “I took on one more supporting staff member, but at the same time I lost two loan writers last year … it was a tough year for me.”

Chen’s success is in part a reflection of his experience in the industry: “We’ve been in our industry for 13 years, so people know us.” He notes that “90–95% of our leads are customer referrals or existing customers coming back to us. Only 5% are referrals from real estate agents”.

However, his decision to stop marketing altogether this year was also a strategic move: “The majority of people who see adverts and come here are just enquiring; they’re not genuine so they waste a lot of time.”

While many brokers welcome wealthy foreign investors, Chen is concerned about their effect on affordability. As he puts it, “We have a foreign investor invasion onto our soil”. He attributes this to a low Aussie dollar and believes LVRs should be adjusted for non-residents: “We shouldn’t allow foreigners to take on a huge amount of debt: the majority buy a property and then leave it empty, waiting on capital gains. As a local, we aren’t able to do that, because property prices are too high.”

Chen also believes the newly introduced fees on foreign investors – currently $5,000 for properties worth up to $1m – “don’t hurt foreign investors; it’s nothing”. Raising the stamp duty for foreigners to 30%, equalling the level in Hong Kong, would achieve this, he argues.

Chen believes his experience – 13 years in broking and seven years in banking – gives him “a major advantage over the new entrants, firstly because I know bank policy well, even when I’m half asleep … and secondly, I understand the structuring of the loan. New entrants have to concentrate on both these areas. I also live by the motto ‘Understand your product before you understand your customers’.”

“Understand your product before you understand your customers”

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4

MARK DAVIS Australian Lending & Investment Centre, Melbourne VIC Total value of residential loans FY 2014/15: $266,852,495 Total number of residential loans FY 2014/15: 1,071

With a staggering 1,071 loans written over the 2014–15 financial year, Mark Davis is Australia’s most prolific loan writer. But that’s not all: as well as being the top broker outside NSW, he’s also a multiple winner of MPA’s Top 100 Brokers and 2014’s AMA Finance Broker of the Year. Clearly, Davis is a high performer – but how can a single broker possibly write over 1,000 loans in a single year?

“Our increase has come through changes in internal processes; every day, we’re trying to improve who we are and what we do,” Davis explains. Indeed, the Australian Lending & Investment Centre’s (ALIC) processing changes helped them top this year’s Top 10 Independent Brokerages report, in part by handing more responsibility to customers to submit paperwork.

ALIC specialises in investment clients, and APRA’s changes are for Davis a “massive opportunity as the banks and the branches out there are really struggling to write deals”. He can still write those deals. He hasn’t even gone back to the existing client base; churning the book and re-writing loans “is something we’ve never done.”

In fact, they don’t need to, Davis explains: “A lot of our clients are repeat clients; in a good investment market they go and buy. I’ve built my client base up to 2,500 clients – my individual clients – in five-and-a-half years, and it’s about putting processes in place to service those clients.” With no marketing in place, clients only come through referrals, and are generally being serious about building property portfolios.

To manage that client base, Davis has an assistant, a second-incommand and a back-end business to handle the paperwork – and he still does 7–9 appointments a day, interviewing every client himself.

Given that workload, could Davis be approaching the limit? “I’m not sure: it’s new ground. It’s getting harder, so I’ve got to change my role. If I’m going to see every client, your other work needs to be more of management of the staff under you.

“To do these numbers, you have to live and breathe it,” Davis concludes. “You have to be very committed. Do many, many appointments a day, be at the coalface all day, and be very committed.”

www.mpamagazine.com.au

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RAYMOND XUE ACA Mortgage Solution, Sydney, NSW Total value of residential loans FY 2014/15: $287,678,635 Total number of residential loans FY 2014/15: 502

Last year’s No. 1 broker – and also 2014’s Australian Mortgage Awards Broker of the Year – has again increased his overall volumes, by $40m.

Although that hasn’t been enough for him to hold on to the top spot, Raymond Xue puts this impressive rise down to focusing “on the referral channel, and customer service; spending more time on both”.

ACA Mortgage Solution, which is Xue’s brokerage, lost three supporting staff last year, but they have improved their marketing: news of their AMA win got over 42,000 views on social media network WeChat. For Xue, it was a year of transition: “I’m recruiting more people; at the moment we only have four, so my volumes have been affected.”

For Xue, APRA’s changes haven’t had much of an effect – “not much: the majority of my clients are on up to 80% lending. From the interest rate perspective, 0.2% or 0.3% more won’t have much of an effect on my clients”. It has, however, made the loan structuring part of a broker’s job more important than ever, he believes, particularly with complicated deals: “My clients who are professional investors don’t just buy one property – some have two or three, and one client has 15 properties.”

Many of these clients are foreign investors, but Xue isn’t worried by new fees that the government has introduced: “$5,000 I think will have a minimum impact on an investor … in China, if the share market crashes or goes down, they need a safe haven for their money, and the property market here is a pretty safe haven.” He also notes that many clients are buying for relatives or children who are living in Australia. Ultimately, Xue reckons, even if the market slows down, his existing clients will consider buying, and more will come through, so his considerable workload won’t be going down – Xue wrote 502 loans over the last financial year.

Xue has three pieces of advice for brokers looking to follow him: “You have to have a passion for this industry. And you also need knowledge of all the lenders, and to keep yourself updated about their changes. Customer service is also key for keeping the customer loyal to you.”

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JUSTIN DOOBOV Intelligent Finance, Bondi Junction NSW Total value of residential loans FY 2014/15: $315,265,197 Total number of residential loans FY 2014/15: 763

The gap at the top of the Top 100 table is extremely slim, as Justin Doobov’s example demonstrates. He’s clinched the runner-up spot for a second year, and with an impressive 763 loans has broken the $300m barrier – a mark MPA certainly didn’t expect to be beaten for a number of years.

Nevertheless, Doobov insists that not much has changed at Intelligent Finance: it’s still a well-oiled machine. He concentrates on “stripping out admin” with a process designed to minimise application delays. “Everyone plays a different role in the company at different stages of the process. I’ve always had plenty of staff who don’t need to be micromanaged … if someone drops the ball, their workload will be backlogged, and people further up the line will be asking, ‘where’s the deal?’”

Everyone at Intelligent Finance concentrates on what they do best, including Doobov: “I oversee every part of the process; I’ve got my finger on the pulse the whole way through. Some clients are happy to speak to me at each stage; others are happy for my staff to keep them updated. Having people involved in my process allows me to be more effective in the areas where they need advice and the handholding.”

Doobov’s clients are “a whole mixed bag: owner-occupiers, investors, high net worth, low net worth. When the markets change it allows us to be more adaptable.” And the brokerage does no marketing – “all of our business is generated from existing clients referring us to new clients … we’ve built it organically on people being happy and us generating more business from that”. Although the client base has grown, Intelligent Finance remains a single office, and although they’re considering expanding, “while the market’s buoyant, we’re focusing on writing loans today”.

If you, too, reckon you can beat the $300m mark, Doobov urges you to “create efficiency in your business, and learn the banks’ policies so you know which lenders are the right ones. A lot of brokers sell on rate – the cheapest lenders today might not be the cheapest lenders tomorrow – be able to hang your hat on another area of service or advice you can give clients, rather than just on rate”.

www.mpamagazine.com.au

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SPECIAL REPORT

TOP 100 BROKERS

JEREMY FISHER 1st Street Home Loans, Rose Bay, NSW

Total value of residential loans FY 2014/15

$318,746,358

Total number of residential loans FY 2014/15:

362

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We’d all like to believe there’s a secret formula to broking – that, with the right information, you too could write more than $318m worth of loans in a single year; that’s $71.5m more than last year’s winner. But for MPA’s No. 1 Australian broker for 2015, Jeremy Fisher, there’s no secret at all: “If you’re doing something well, remain focused, remain consistent, and the results – at whatever level anyone wants to achieve – will get there.”

In his steady rise to the top, Fisher has practised what he preaches. He started broking in 2001 and has been a regular fixture in the upper echelons of the Top 100 Brokers, gradually increasing his settlement totals.

This year has seen him finally get to the top – albeit by just a $3m margin – and he insists it’s a culmination of years of progress: “I think the reality is that I haven’t changed. I’ve remained consistent over the years – same approach, same process, same customer focus.

“I think year-on-year obviously your book of clients, which is where all my clients come from, is growing.

And I guess that’s why we’ve seen year-on-year growth in volume, because the book of clients is growing year-on-year.”

1st Street Home Loans, the brokerage Fisher founded and directs, has been ideally positioned to capitalise on Sydney’s booming property market, and while it’s grown it remains relatively traditional in its approach. Customer referrals still make up 90% of business, Fisher explains: “It’s a very big part of our business; it always has been.” As 1st Street has grown beyond Fisher – and now has several award-winning brokers – relying on referrals has thrown up some challenges. Client-to-client referrals are generally “quite personalised, so it’s hard to refer those clients on”, according to Fisher, although leads from referral partners are easier to pass on to other brokers.

Over the last 12–24 months, Fisher has tried to pass more leads on and demonstrate that 1st Street isn’t a one-man show: “I don’t want it to be Jeremy; I do want it to be seen as a business, and there’s nine or 10 other brokers who I want to be equally supported and can see the benefits of working here with their volumes growing as well. It’s exactly what I hoped for.”

When it comes to processing, 1st Street is perhaps unusual for a leading brokerage (and one of MPA’s Top 10 Independent Brokerages 2015). It has a very minimal support structure in place; brokers still do much of the compliance and client contact work. With 362 loans to his name, this is a challenge for Fisher, although technology has helped – “a lot of [the contact] is [through] email; we’ve got a CRM that will feed us information on a daily basis, whether it’s birthdays or fixed rates expiring”.

Looking forward to 2016, Fisher believes that “anything’s possible”, but there will still be clients for brokers.

Although he relies on his client base for leads, Fisher believes they’re well set up for any possible downturn in the Sydney market. “We’ve always put a huge buffer on rates and we never accept what the banks are necessarily doing in terms of their rates or models.”

Ultimately for Fisher, patience is key: if he was starting 1st Street today, he’d adopt that same referral-centric strategy. “You see some smaller businesses that are bucking the trend and doing ridiculous numbers in their first year, but the majority of brokers that I know who are writing good volumes have been doing it for a while, and year-on-year their volumes are growing because their database is growing … it’s time in the game and being consistent and persistent, and that’s all I’ve done and there’s no secret behind it.”

“If you’re doing something well, remain focused, remain consistent, and the results – at whatever level anyone wants to achieve – will get there”

www.mpamagazine.com.au

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Sponsored by

Darren Green, Westpac NSW state manager, presents the trophy to Jeremy Fisher (right) at Sydney’s Bondi Beach

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PROFILE

ERIC CUI & DONALD TANG

ERIC CUI AND DONALD TANG:

TAKING THE NEXT STEP Alliance Mortgage Solutions is one of the brightest new brokerages to emerge in Australia in recent years.

Its founders tell MPA editor Sam Richardson about their vision for broking, and how success brings its own challenges

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WE’RE ALWAYS reminded that broking is a young industry – but the truth is, it isn’t.

Most of the top brokerages and brokers in this industry are now well-established; Aussie Home Loans will soon be older than many of its junior brokers, for example. Eric Cui and Donald Tang are two young brokers who have broken the mould, establishing a brokerage which consistently performs: Alliance Mortgage Solutions, a new breed of brokerage, led by the new breed of brokers.

Indeed, life before broking wasn’t that long ago, just “four or five years ago”, Tang recalls. Although both were originally from China, they met in Australia: Tang was working at a resort in the Blue Mountains; Cui was in broking. Together with co-founder Cissy Fang – who was Tang’s broker and Cui’s colleague – they established Alliance Mortgage Solutions on 16 November 2012, and operations and recruitment commenced in February 2013.

Customer service

Donald Tang (left) and Eric Cui

Alliance Mortgage Solutions’ character owes much to the lessons Cui and Tang had already learned about finance. “Both of us had one or two years in broking,” Cui explains, “so we had ideas about marketing, company structure, new ideas and things we wanted to implement.” At its core was an emphasis on customer service as the broker’s primary responsibility – as opposed to lead generation.

Many brokers would claim there’s no conflict between the two, but for Cui and Tang it’s an issue of time management. “Most mortgage brokers have to find clients and leads by themselves,” notes Cui. “We experienced that hardship, especially in our first three to six months; but at Alliance, all of the new brokers will get help with getting leads... we help them to grow very fast.”

Cui and Tang take it upon themselves to generate those leads, through establishing close relationships with referral partners such as real estate agents, accountants and solicitors. The leads are then passed onto brokers to handle, with the whole brokerage set up to ensure a strict division of responsibilities. “It’s all about the whole team working together; we have a marketing team,

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PROFILE

ERIC CUI & DONALD TANG ALLIANCE MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS’ TROPHY CABINET Both Eric Cui and Donald Tang, and their brokerage have won multiple awards. For Alliance, awards are a crucial marketing tool, as Cui explains: “So many brokers say ‘we’re number one’ but we want to have evidence that we’re recognised by this industry, that by the official rankings we are the number one Chinese brokers.” Their accolades include: New Brokerage of the Year, Australian Mortgage Awards 2014

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MPA Top 100 Brokers 2014 – Cui in 6th place, Tang in 9th place Ranked 5th in MPA’s Top 10 Independent Brokerages 2015

MARKETING IN MAINLAND CHINA Around 25% of Alliance’s clients are foreign investors based in mainland China, and the brokerage markets to them through partnerships. A growing number of Australian real estate firms are selling off-the-plan to Chinese investors, holding presentations and seminars in Chinese cities. By partnering with these firms, and being part of these presentations, Cui and Tang can present themselves as the primary choice for getting finance in Australia, and establish themselves as guides to help navigate Australia’s changing regulatory environment.

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operations team and a sales team. The brokers are only focusing on customer service.”

Very active customer base In common with many top brokerages, Alliance has a very clear idea of who their customers are. Whilst the media – and recently the federal government – has focused on foreign investors flooding the Sydney market, 75% of Alliance’s business actually

prompts clients to refinance, and “more than 50% of clients will say yes”, according to Cui. Sydney’s rapidly rising house prices mean many clients find they’re able to access equity to acquire additional properties, and often it is real estate agents, rather than Alliance, who make clients aware of this.

Aware of clients’ persistent interest in property, Alliance’s marketing strategy takes an educational approach: “I personally think educating clients is continuous,” Tang argues,

“Mortgage broking is my first job, and Alliance is my first baby. I’ve never managed before, and I’ve had to learn these skills from day-to-day operations” comes from Australia’s Chinese-speaking community. This community provides Alliance with a unique client base, and the brokerage has built this into their strategy.

This strategy is about more than recognising cultural sensibilities, although Alliance makes a point of sending gifts at Chinese festivals. MPA interviewed Cui and Tang shortly before the mid-Autumn festival, otherwise known as the Moon Festival, which is celebrated with lantern lighting and by giving and eating Chinese mooncakes.

Alliance takes the festival particularly seriously, jokes Tang: “We’ve literally sent out thousands of mooncakes in the last three weeks.”

What drives Alliance is repeat clients, and the reason they have so many repeat clients is because they recognise a particular attitude to money. “I can’t really say it’s cultural, but Chinese people love property,” notes Tang.

“They trust property as a wealth management asset. They don’t like to buy insurance or stocks in Australia, but everybody buys property.” That means clients acquiring properties for children to inherit, and investment properties for their wealth, in addition to their family home.

These clients are particularly active; they respond to interest rate changes and lender refinance offers and so Alliance occasionally

“and it’s not only during the interviews. Even if we can’t do a deal now, we do encourage them to subscribe to our Facebook or WeChat pages.” Their content includes basic information about mortgages and auctions, in addition to updates on regulation and industry news, and updates on the brokerage’s staff activities, all in Chinese languages.

However, it’s not all about mortgages: Alliance sponsors community events (“only the popular ones,” quips Tang), and in November will be sponsoring the visit of Chinese rock star Wang Feng to Sydney.

Whilst Cui and Tang aren’t the only brokers working with the Chinese language community, they try to distinguish themselves by showcasing their industry awards, according to Cui: “For Chinese people, they will see the reputation, the brand, and say ‘oh Alliance, we can trust them’.” Or as Tang puts it, “We want people to think, when they need a loan, call Alliance, not anybody else.”

Moving into management Alliance is now three years old, and that’s brought changes for Cui and Tang. In 2014, both brokers made the top 10 in MPA’s Top 100 Brokers, but now are finding themselves being pushed further from broking than ever.

That shift is expressed in their titles: Cui is sales director and Tang is head of partnership

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PROFILE

ERIC CUI & DONALD TANG TRAINING AT ALLIANCE MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS Alliance takes training seriously, and has drawn up its own program.

It has three key aspects: High standards Cui and Tang are extremely selective in their approach: of 150 resumes recently submitted, they’ve hired just seven brokers, and they expect they will lose some of these brokers along the way. With monthly reviews, they don’t allow poor performance to pass unnoticed.

Bad habits Alliance isn’t concerned about applicants’ broking experience; in fact, explains Tang, “we basically prefer people with no knowledge at all.” They believe even a few months’ experience in other brokerages can give brokers bad habits and “it can be very hard to turn them around”. They prefer to do all the training themselves.

Compulsory training Training never ends at Alliance, with aggregators and lenders being continuously invited to present to the staff, and brokers being expected to accrue 50 CPD points a year, considerably more than required by the regulators.

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development. Or, as the two explain it, Cui now trains the new generation of Alliance brokers whilst Tang is the brokerage’s ‘business development manager’. They’ve moved closer to the role of co-founder Cissy Fang, who as managing director focuses predominantly on administration.

“Both of our volumes are dropping,” notes Tang, “but our team volume is increasing a lot.” They now take pride in different things, explains Cui: “When we were brokers, we always thought in volumes and customer feedback; now it’s about the company’s

Melbourne and Canberra over the next few years, as well as hiring more brokers in Sydney, maintaining Alliance’s vision will become more important than ever.

What they’ve learnt Like their brokerage, Cui and Tang are at a turning point, moving from the high-volumes and sparkling awards nights of their emergence on the scene, to the more prosaic – but still rewarding – realities of running an established brokerage.

It’s not been easy for Cui: “Mortgage

“When we were brokers, we always thought in volumes and customer feedback; now it’s about the company’s achievements... [about] Alliance being recognised by the industry” achievements... [about] Alliance being recognised by the industry.” Tang adds, “We are happy about other people’s success and in helping people to be successful.”

It’s an extraordinary change in attitude – and a demonstration of maturity – for two brokers in their 30s. How have they found the challenges of management?

“Management is always difficult,” Cui replies, although according to Tang, the pair’s youth can be an asset when dealing with their staff: “We’re a similar age, so we communicate very easily with them; it’s not like a 10-20 year age difference, so we understand each other well.”

What holds the brokerage together is personal trust, Tang explains, and that starts “from day one”. Having a system where Cui and Tang hand leads to brokers means that those brokers must be trusted to do the right thing with those leads. “They must have the same vision as Alliance,” Cui insists. “We do actually terminate existing team members’ [contracts],” Tang explains, “and we actually terminated five brokers’ [contracts] in the last few months.” With monthly reviews and regular interviews, Cui and Tang try to ensure their brokers meet high standards of compliance and continue to share their vision for Alliance. And with plans for new offices in

broking is my first job, and Alliance is my first baby. I’ve never managed before, and I’ve had to learn these skills from doing day-today operations.” A recent experience in firing disruptive staff has particularly had an effect on Tang. “We had to terminate them; we had to make a very hard choice. In future, we have to do better every day with educating staff about our company vision... training is about knowledge, compliance and sales, as well as that vision” It’s not only a professional shift but a personal one, Cui explains: “If we were doing [purely] broker sales we could maybe earn more money, but it’s the lifestyle we don’t want.”

“We want to balance our personal success and company success,” Tang adds. That’s still a work in progress. “Nine-to-five is a dream for us,” laments Tang; both he and Cui routinely work from 10am to after midnight, and Tang still writes $8-10 million in loans per month.

Nevertheless, the killer instinct is still there, and Cui and Tang remain brokers at heart. “Broking is like a rest for us, right now,” Tang concludes. “We feel more comfortable doing broking. We have all these management responsibilities, but we still say ‘let me do a deal!’ ”

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THE SHINING STARS

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EVENT PARTNER

The Star Sydney was the perfect setting for an exuberant celebration of the mortgage industry’s achievers, showcasing industry legends and emerging talents alike THIS WAS the 14th year that the Australian Mortgage Awards has highlighted the industry’s elite, and like a fine wine it is indeed getting better with age.

Arriving at Sydney’s premier event venue, The Star, was a bigger and more diverse crowd than ever before, including the CEOs, banking chiefs and industry body figureheads you often hear from but seldom see together in one room. However, many of the faces you won’t have seen before – even in MPA magazine – and to the observer the crowd was younger and included more women than ever; a positive sign for mortgage broking’s sustainability as an industry in the long term.

First and foremost, of course, this was a night of celebration.

Attendees at the event – emceed by sports commentator Andrew Voss – were treated to a smorgasbord of entertainment, kicked off by the ever-popular finalists video, this year with an ‘out of this world’ theme.

They were then serenaded by singer Natasha Steger and thrilled by the drumming of TaikOz, and the night was rounded off by dancing. All accompanied by a three-course banquet and wine that seemed to flow ever faster as the night went on.

The stars of the night, the winners, came from all over Australia, from across the industry spectrum, demonstrating how the third-party channel has become more diverse than ever. Twenty-six awards recognised top brokers and brokerages; specialists in areas like insurance and nonconforming; as well as the hard work of BDMs, industry service providers and marketers. This year’s AMAs can be credited with unearthing new talent, particularly the Young Gun winners, but it was also noticeable that many top performers won awards for the second year running.

This is of course a good sign for the industry, and for the AMAs. Winning a trophy is the culmination of years of hard work and exceptional results, which an increasingly professional and influential industry is consistently achieving year after year. 2016’s AMAs might seem a long way away, but for its finalists and winners the journey begins now.

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2015’S AMAs BY THE NUMBERS

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Number of attendees

165

Companies represented

153

Number of finalists

68

Number of tables

7

Months to plan the AMAs

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AUSTRALIAN MORTGAGE AWARDS WINNERS 2O15 MOST EFFECTIVE INTERNET PRESENCE

WESTPAC BROKER DISTRIBUTION

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BEST COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

HOME LOAN EXPERTS

Westpac’s strategy is all about helping brokers adapt, national manager strategy, marketing and communication Neville Anitelea explains: “A lot is changing and evolving through digital disruption in a highly tech-savvy world.

They’re facing that challenge head-on, and we have to be there.”

“We want to show the industry a new way of doing business,” explains managing director Otto Dargan, whose brokerage sponsors educational projects in Nepal. “Your business should make the world a better place, and if it doesn’t, you should probably change your business.”

BEST INDUSTRY ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN

BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE FROM AN INDIVIDUAL OFFICE

PEPPER HOME LOANS

EMPOWER WEALTH

“The campaign that we put forward was about using real brokers’ stories and experiences with specialist lending,” notes Pepper’s channel marketing manager Sarah Pikardt (pictured centre left).

“Brokers want to see real experiences and options for their customers, and that’s what specialist lending is all about.”

Empower Wealth specialises in property investment, providing a wide range of services, but for finance adviser Simon Gillespie (pictured left), delivering quality customer service is simple: “Follow through; do what you’re asked to do, set expectations and don’t let them down.”

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BEST INDUSTRY SERVICE

CORELOGIC RP DATA

This is the second year in a row that CoreLogic RP Data has won this award, and providing consistently excellent service requires structure, explains Joshua Hodge, CoreLogic’s head of mortgage solutions. “We have a fairly clear ethos at CoreLogic, which is the client is always first, and we look at a whole end-to-end solution, not just from the lender to the broker but also the customer at the end – and part of that is feet on the ground, ensuring we can be contacted.”

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AUSTRALIAN MORTGAGE AWARDS WINNERS 2O15 QUALITY YOUNG GUN OF THE YEAR – FRANCHISE

QUALITY YOUNG GUN OF THE YEAR – INDEPENDENT

MARSHALL CONDON

RACHELLE EYNDHOVEN

MORTGAGE CHOICE SOUTH YARRA

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SPHERE FINANCE

Recent years have seen growing concerns that mortgage broking is an aging industry, but that hasn’t fazed Marshall Condon: “I don’t see it as a challenge; I see it as an opportunity.

As an industry we are very new, but I think there’s a lot of opportunity for … us to create the next generation of brokers and a certain quality of advice for customers, so hopefully it’s a better experience for them as well.” Condon ranked fourth in MPA’s Top 10 Commercial Brokers 2015.

Our Young Gun Independent winner this year has actually been in the industry since 2004, in a BDM role.

Therefore Rachelle Eyndhoven found her greatest challenge as a new broker wasn’t unfamiliarity with the industry but instead starting her own business.

“The hardest part was managing staff, and that was a challenge and something I hadn’t done before,” she says. “But it’s been great and I’m very proud of the people I have working for me.”

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BEST NON-BANK BDM

BEST NON-MAJOR BANK BDM

GRANT SMITH

JANITA DE PAOLI

LIBERTY FINANCIAL

BANK OF MELBOURNE

For Grant Smith it’s the support he offers to his brokers that is key, although that’s not all: “I suppose my background in asset finance as well as residential lending has helped me offer something different to my brokers,” he says.

Brokers “just want support”, says Janita de Paoli. “They want somebody that they can call on that will answer their call and help them navigate around bank policy and process and get things done for their clients.”

BEST AGGREGATOR BDM

BEST MAJOR BANK BDM

TIMOTHY SCHNEIDER

TONY SEMRANI

CHOICE

Read more about Timothy Schneider on page 56.

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“I’ve been waiting for this for a very long time,” exclaims Major Bank BDM winner Tony Semrani. His advice for up-and-coming BDMs is short and sharp: “Pick up the phone, be responsive, be honest, and have a little bit of a backbone.”

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4/11/2015 3:10:36 PM

AUSTRALIAN MORTGAGE AWARDS WINNERS 2O15 NEW BROKERAGE OF THE YEAR

TIME HOME LOANS

Having already won a number of awards, director Ruan Burger regards Time Home Loans’ first AMA win as “sensational; it’s great to get recognition and I’m very happy”. The brokerage opened its doors in 2013 and is based in Brisbane, and Burger has relished the challenge of setting it up: “I think for me personally, knowing there’d be a lot of challenges, and facing them head on, and perseverance”. Time Home Loans also sponsors the Brisbane Youth Service, which supports vulnerable young people.

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BROKERAGE OF THE YEAR – DIVERSIFICATION

THE 500 GROUP

“It was a big risk to take on so much diversity in the business,” explains Darren Barclay (pictured centre). “It’s validation that we’re doing the right thing for our consumers and the industry.” Starting with mortgages, The 500 Group now offers commercial finance, financial planning and leasing – all part of providing an “overall solution”. Barclay urges other brokerages to follow suit: “It’s what the clients want at the end of the day; they want to come to one business to take care of all their financial needs.”

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BROKERAGE OF THE YEAR – FRANCHISE

MORTGAGE CHOICE IN BRISBANE AND SUNNYBANK

It’s been a great year for the brokerage Matt Cunliffe manages, which came second in MPA’s Top 10 Franchise Brokerages by a whisker. Being part of a wider network has its advantages, Cunliffe explains. “Within Mortgage Choice we obviously carry a fair bit of weight with our brand; we like to leverage off that. I’ve been with the brand for eight years, and our business has been there for 15 years, and it carries a bit of weight and our clients love it.”

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AUSTRALIAN MORTGAGE AWARDS WINNERS 2O15 DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE AN AMA WINNER?

BROKERAGE OF THE YEAR (≤5 STAFF) – INDEPENDENT

BROKERAGE OF THE YEAR (≥6 STAFF) – INDEPENDENT

TIME HOME LOANS

AUSTRALIAN LENDING AND INVESTMENT CENTRE

Winning both the New Brokerage of the Year and Independent Brokerage of the Year awards is a reflection of the quality achieved by director Ruan Burger and his team. The brokerage was praised in nominations for inclusion in lenders’ highest broker segments, and for innovative ways of dealing with referral partners. The Time Elite 6 Club is a invitation-only club for real estate agents who provide a certain number of referrals and are rewarded with events and functions.

Going up against the franchise networks with an independent brokerage means your service needs to be exceptional, as ALIC managing director Jason Back (pictured left) explains. “I think it comes down to individual service that the guys provide the clients. We tailor our strategy and structure to our clients’ needs; people like Mark Davis and Kevin Agent are some of the best people in this country at what they do; they’re passionate about their business and they love it every day.”

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Involvement in the Australian Mortgage Awards is a tremendously rewarding experience for the brokers and businesses that participate, generating valuable recognition of the best in a competitive industry. Make sure you get involved next year and it could be you and your team featured on these pages.

To receive updates regarding nominations for 2016, sign up to the MPA newsletter today at www.mpamagazine.com.au.

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AUSTRALIAN MORTGAGE AWARDS WINNERS 2O15 BROKER OF THE YEAR – PRODUCTIVITY

BROKER OF THE YEAR – FRANCHISE

DAMIEN ROYLANCE

JOSH BARTLETT

IPROPERTYPLAN

LOAN MARKET BAYSIDE

With an award that places heavy emphasis on the quality of submissions, it’s the entire team that makes the difference, not just the broker, according to Damien Roylance.

“It’s the support that I’ve got. I’ve got Hume [Leow] here, who manages my files from submission to settlement; we take great pride that we make sure we get the deal pretty much approved before we submit it, and do the research before we submit it.”

This is a second successive AMA win for Loan Market star Josh Bartlett, who emphasises the importance of “doing the right thing day in, day out, year in, year out” for those brokers chasing awards. Bartlett is also highly ranked in MPA’s Top 100 Brokers 2015, coming 16th, and is one of the highest-performing franchise brokers on the list. He relies on real estate referral relationships, of which he has 89, and uses lead management app eBroker to manage them.

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BROKER OF THE YEAR – INDEPENDENT

JUSTIN DOOBOV INTELLIGENT FINANCE

For Justin Doobov, competing means concentrating on broking and letting the marketing take care of itself: “All our business comes from referrals and repeat business from existing clients, so we don’t spend any money on advertising … we don’t need the big brands behind us because our brand is the last deal we’ve done. Our clients will go and sell us more than any Aussie franchise with advertising on TV; our clients will go to BBQs, sit around a dinner table, and onsell our services.”

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AUSTRALIAN MORTGAGE AWARDS WINNERS 2O15

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BROKER OF THE YEAR – FINANCE

BROKER OF THE YEAR – INSURANCE (MORTGAGE PROTECTION AND LIFE)

BROKER OF THE YEAR – NON-CONFORMING

GEORGE KARAM

PEITA DAVIES

GIULIO AVIAN

BYBLOS FINANCE

CHOICE HOME LOANS BLUE MOUNTAINS

FUNDSNATIONAL

Bursting into the limelight as one of Australia’s best commercial brokers is something that George Karam attributes to his clear service proposition. “We know what our client is looking for as soon as he walks into the office, and if he’s a good client with good character and good credibility then we’ll fight for the deal,” he says.

Karam came first in this year’s MPA Top 10 Commercial Brokers and has been expanding and improving Byblos Finance to capitalise on the Western Sydney construction boom.

As a multiple AMA winner in the franchise and brokerage categories, it’s interesting to see that Peita Davies is now leading the way in insurance, and she’s loving it. “To win an award outside of your core business, and to know you’re protecting your clients, is awesome,” she says. Davies thinks all brokers should consider insurance: “Why shouldn’t you protect your clients? Every client is going into debt; it’s our job to make sure they protect that debt.”

It’s the second time Giulio Avian has walked away with the Non-conforming AMA, cementing his place as an expert in this field of lending, which “can be considerably more complex than a normal deal, but sometimes it can be very simple as well,” he says. “You can be making an enormous impact on an individual; someone who doesn’t meet the general lending criteria of a bank.”

His brokerage Fundsnational is set up specifically to assist these types of clients.

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AUSTRALIAN MORTGAGE AWARDS WINNERS 2O15

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AUSTRALIAN BDM OF THE YEAR

AUSTRALIAN YOUNG GUN OF THE YEAR

TIMOTHY SCHNEIDER

RACHELLE EYNDHOVEN

CHOICE

SPHERE FINANCE

Australian BDM of the Year was one of the most competitive awards of 2015; there were 237 unique nominations across the four BDM categories. What made Timothy Schneider stand out was the quality and sheer quantity of his nominations from the broking community. He was praised by brokers for being constantly available – including after hours – but more broadly for going beyond the traditional narrow definition of a BDM as a problem-solver; he helped his brokers take their businesses to the next level.

Taking a leap of faith is never easy, especially when your career is on the line. Rachelle Eyndhoven’s willingness to leave her BDM role in 2013 and set up her own independent brokerage was impressive enough, but to then write $19m in her first year showed that she’d not just adapted to broking but was excelling in it. Already writing huge volumes just servicing NSW’s Central Coast, Eyndhoven is someone we’re sure to be seeing more of in the next few years.

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EVENT PARTNER

AUSTRALIAN BROKERAGE OF THE YEAR

AUSTRALIAN BROKER OF THE YEAR

AUSTRALIAN LENDING AND INVESTMENT CENTRE

JUSTIN DOOBOV

Successively winning one of the top four ‘Australian’ awards is exceptionally rare, a tribute to the Australian Lending and Investment Centre’s ability to maintain outstanding service and results. Again topping MPA’s Top 10 Independent Brokerages ranking, ALIC is pioneering new ways of working, from encouraging reciprocal responsibility in client relationships to proactively hiring young and female brokers.

The brokerage is also experimenting with different ways of sharing support staff and is determined, in the words of managing director Jason Back, to be “more than a transactor”.

One of the best-known brokers in this industry, Justin Doobov has become legendary for his sheer dedication to the job, as evidenced by hard work and extremely long hours.

Coming second by just $3m in this year’s MPA Top 100 Brokers list, smashing the $300m barrier, he continues to build an enormous client base without the need for advertising, in a brokerage that remains relatively small in size, albeit with an excellent and hard-won reputation.

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BUSINESS STRATEGY

CORPORATE RETREATS

ARE CORPORATE RETREATS WORTH IT? Nikki Fogden-Moore explains why strategic escapes are essential for creativity, performance and leadership THERE’S A shift occurring in the business world that is happening outside the office – conferences and retreats are becoming the norm and the agenda is shifting from bar voucher to spa voucher – from boardrooms indoors to holding meetings outdoors – even on surfboards. So, is this working?

Despite a back-lash in the US many years ago about lavish retreats (“In 2008, after receiving bailout money, AIG executives spent over $400,000 on a corporate retreat.

Understandably, the public was outraged when this information leaked” – Huffington Post), corporate retreats are back in vogue and rightly so, for they can provide a crucial authentic time out for leadership and key teams to reconnect, assess productivity and build shared purpose at even the most challenging times of the business.

The corporate retreat is a vital part of the strategic year for companies that value their team as much as their bottom line.

The trick is to ensure you plan your retreat like you would your business – who should be there, what is your budget and do you have your purpose? With the right team running this with you, an annual break away for body and mind could be the perfect combination for your team to be healthy, wealthy and wise.

After over a decade of running corporate and boardroom retreats worldwide, I can tell you why the well executed ones work:

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Creativity

Creativity requires space to think and environments that can inspire. Providing a digital detox and fresh perspective for your team can get the brain off autopilot, and

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into fifth gear with energy and vision. Like the saying goes – keep doing the same thing and you’ll get the same results. So instead of re-painting the office walls and moving some plants around, plan in creative breaks during your strategic corporate retreats that truly allow time to reflect, think, indulge in ideas and space to feed back.

If you want to see changes in the level

of creative thinking, initiative and a fresh approach to corporate challenges then the best thing to do is create a real opportunity for people to switch off and have time to think, talk, create and engage. Choose your locations based around this thinking; get back to the ocean or nature spots, think about the use of space and where you will stay. The creativity starts the moment you arrive.

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?

BACK TO BASICS: Close the laptops and bring out the large A3 paper. The cognitive connection to thinking and writing is incredible – it allows a flow and a dynamism that cannot often be captured by tapping away at a keypad. Bring your team back to basics by making idea generation and problem solving larger than life on big sheets of paper that hold opportunities as well as a page for concerns and challenges. Bring it out into the open and tackle each area with transparency and shared purpose.

LET IT FLOW: Allow the conversation to continue over dinner or lunch and be open to the idea an agenda can flow when people are given the opportunity to open up and share ideas without a stop watch. Take notes at lunch or dinner – and add those to the ones from the more official creative brainstorm sessions. Carry this through and identify how you will share this when back in the office.

Create tangible milestones during the retreat you all agree to continue in the office for KPIs and performance.

Most of all, if you’re going to take away your learnings and apply agreed accountability measures, make them official and show that ideas agreed and generated on retreat can be swiftly implemented as soon as possible back at work.

Corporate retreats are back in vogue and rightly so, for they can provide a crucial authentic time out for leadership and key teams to reconnect, assess productivity and build shared purpose at even the most challenging times of the business Leadership

Performance A retreat is there to help recharge mental and physical batteries; not deplete them any further. Integrate a yoga or fresh air session in the morning with a mid-afternoon session outdoors or something that gets people moving. Engage in earlier drinks before choosing healthy, inspiring dinners at venues that understand delicious, fresh, high-quality ingredients. Encourage “home work” or calibration time in the evenings and embrace the value of sleep.

View the retreat as time to share the value of bringing personal and business vitality to life and how this can be integrated seamlessly back at the office. Bring in speakers and facilitators that understand the importance of both personal and business acumen – it can make the world of difference teaching your leadership team how to take all areas up to the next level.

If you’re the CEO or the leader of this retreat then set the scene upfront. Time out in strategy sessions combined with fresh air, fresh food and a fresh perspective can create an incredible shift in old style, work hard play hard thinking. Bring balance into the day and watch this philosophy find its way back to the office as well.

company – it’s essential for our increasing virtual world. This all greatly improves productivity and accountability.

Finally, whatever you do keep it relevant, efficient and forget about the fad gadgets and gimmicks or signature flashlights and backpacks. The best place to spend your budget is on the right location and the people hosting the retreat for you. You don’t

I always say there are three pillars of true leadership: • leading from within • leading by example • leading others Corporate retreats are an ideal opportunity for executive teams to test elements and roll them out for a period of time before sharing with the broader teams. It may be a four week implementation period post retreat that requires a re-group before rolling out.

By leading by example and practising what you preach, the element of authenticity and trust is improved, creating a real engagement with leaders across divisions as well.

Often retreats are an opportunity to see other skills, characteristics and ideas from those around you – a forum where problem solving and collaboration can show leadership in a different light.

Most importantly, leadership teams and executive level management have an opportunity to explore the core commercial elements on the agenda as well as their own personal wellbeing and goals in a safe and constructive environment. Increasing personal connection can greatly improve collaboration and work ethic inside a

want your leadership team coming back into the office on Monday exhausted from late nights of too many drinks and not too sure of what the next steps are. This is about lifting your corporate sessions up a notch and getting engagement from the get go. It’s the conversation, the quality connections, well organised time and content that allows a perfect blend of relaxation, connection and strategic thinking. Corporate retreats, if executed well, efficiently and with purpose, are a powerful tool to re-ignite shared purpose, engagement and a passion for performance in business and in life.

Combine running your break away sessions like you do your business. Have a purpose, define who needs to be there and what value you want in return. At the end of the day building a culture that is healthy, wealthy and wise is the winning trifecta and corporate retreats are an ideal place to benchmark those three elements together.

Nikki Fogden-Moore specialises in coaching high achievers to bring business and personal vitality to life. Her new book VITALITY will be available internationally in September 2015. You can reach her on nikki@thevitalitycoach.com.au or www.thevitalitycoach.com.au

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LIFESTYLE

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF… Lexi Airey, chief customer officer, Gateway Credit Union

5.00am: My alarm goes off and I leap out of bed with all the energy of Michelle Bridges, ready to head across to the other side of the city to do a trampolining fitness class. I can say that with a straight face as Michelle admitted she most definitely doesn’t jump out of bed itching to exercise but forces herself to do it by going into robot mode. I can identify with that, I’m such a non-morning person I even have my clothes lined up in order and my school bag packed next to the door so I get that vital extra millisecond of sleep.

9.30am: Every day at 9.30am, our CEO

7.30am: After 45 minutes of

11.59 and 59 seconds: I force myself to wait until 12 as a respectable time to eat lunch despite having been starving for quite a while.

learning jumping routines, balancing weights, lugging huge ropes between trampolines and flipping in and out of foam pits, I’m at my desk with a very large coffee and toast.

8.30am: Monday morning the CEO, CFO and CRO and myself get together, not only to see how many acronyms we can fit in one room, but more importantly to discuss the developments over the past week and priorities for the coming week. This week I share the highlights from the Customer Owned Banking Association conference that I attended in Darwin. It was my first time attending and I was bowled over by the diversity of fascinating origins and histories of the credit unions in attendance. As one North American credit union campaign said a few years ago, “credit unions – we don’t taste like chicken”.

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Paul walks the floor and checks in on each and every staff member to hear how they are and how projects are progressing. As he has already seen me once today, he keeps on going.

The morning is spent on an assortment of projects. The good thing about working for a small company is getting involved in a huge variety of areas. Today, it is signing-off creatives for a new home loan campaign, checking some contract financials and reviewing pricing.

interesting to see who our new Twitter followers are. Discussion turns to future campaigns and, after achieving my mid-life crisis goal of being able to do the splits, we ponder issuing a C Suite flexibility challenge to other lenders.

3.00pm: A cross-business team gets together once a week to work on our new broker value proposition, reviewing the changes we are making to our service, pricing, process, promotion, potential new products and more. We go through performance and progress against the action plan.

4.20pm: I sit next to our call centre and can hear the conversations that our team have with customers and brokers. I can also

“11.59 and 59 seconds: I force myself to wait until 12 as a respectable time to eat lunch despite having been starving for quite a while” 2.00pm: On Monday afternoon, my team meet to review application levels, campaign performance and service levels for the previous week. The team is responsible for new partnerships, sales and service, PR and marketing across all channels. In the last few months, we have vastly increased our media presence and are currently advertising in the trade and consumer press, plus PR activity so there is a lot to get through. As well as looking at the numbers, it is always

hear their morning and afternoon check-ins.

Today, I eavesdrop on their afternoon check-in – discussing the calls of the day, any product updates, key learnings and actions to take.

HOME TIME: No evening committee meetings today, so most evenings I try to do something before going home to wind down.

Choices, choices... tonight I opt for dodgeball.

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THE DATA

POLITICS AND HOUSE PRICES

GOING SEPARATE WAYS Don’t make too much of Tony Abbott’s departure – the link between government, consumer confidence and house prices is increasingly strained

ABBOTT AND THE HOUSING MARKET On the eve of Abbott’s departure, consumer confidence was indeed plummeting: the Westpac–Melbourne Institute’s Consumer Sentiment Index fell from 99.5 to 93.9 from August to September. As Westpac chief economist Bill Evans said, it was “the 17th out of the last 19 months that the Index has been below 100. A level of the Index below 100 indicates that pessimists outnumber optimists”. The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Index was down to 106.0 – under the annual average of 111.6.

Nevertheless, home values continued to rise.

CoreLogic RP Data’s Home Value Index for August (the most recent figures) showed a 0.3% increase across the capital cities, albeit with a 1.1% rise in Sydney and falls in Perth, Canberra and Hobart. While this represented a slowdown in the rate of appreciation, CoreLogic RP Data noted that trend growth remained high.

confidence is still low and housing is still quite strong.” Although certain markets such as Canberra are impacted on by government, Sydney’s property market seems increasingly invulnerable to the Australian government, or indeed the rest of the Australian economy.

Even if Turnbull does make drastic changes, Kusher notes, they’ll probably have to wait until 2016’s federal budget.

MPA has looked at past leadership changes – the tumultuous Rudd-Gillard years – to demonstrate why political hype shouldn’t sway your clients’ buying and selling decisions.

PRIME MINISTERS AND CONFIDENCE 2010 and 2013 both saw leadership changes for Australia and the Labor Party, with Kevin Rudd being unseated by Julia Gillard, and then…

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE

POLITICIANS, WHATEVER the party, tend to believe their policies make all the difference. Following this logic, Tony Abbott’s ousting by Malcolm Turnbull should spell good news for the housing market: even if Turnbull doesn’t make any changes, the rise in public confidence should buoy the market.

That’s not necessarily true, cautions CoreLogic RP Data’s senior analyst, Cameron Kusher: “I think the linkage at the moment between consumer confidence and how the housing market performs is quite broken …

2010 – Rudd-Gillard Average

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2013 – Gillard-Rudd Average

130 120 110

Jan

Feb

Mar

June–July 2010: Rudd ousted by Gillard Confidence jumped by 4.7 points in a month, coming close to the average for 2010

Apr

May

Jun

July

June–July 2013: Gillard replaced by Rudd Confidence only saw a very minor increase, and remained below the average for 2013

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

September 2013: Federal election The coalition’s victory saw a major increase in consumer confidence, by 6.7 points Source: ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Index

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“As someone who, along with the bank, owns a house in Sydney, I do hope our housing prices are increasing” Tony Abbott, June 2015

“Housing affordability is a big issue in Australia but, as we have demonstrated over many studies over many years, this is a supply side problem” Malcolm Turnbull, March 2015

LOOK TO GLENN STEVENS, NOT MALCOLM TURNBULL

PRIME MINISTERS AND PROPERTY PRICES It’s extremely difficult to prove correlation between leadership changes and house prices – Cameron Kusher, senior research analyst at CoreLogic RP Data, claimed leadership changes had no effect on their figures. The same lack of correlation between leadership, confidence and house prices was apparent in the ABS figures: The Rudd-Gillard transition might have increased confidence, but growth slowed

5% 4%

Central banks often have more of a role than governments. The Gillard-Rudd transition coincided with a sharp fall in the Australian dollar, from 104 to 91 cents, with the US Federal Reserve considering ‘tapering’ its financial stimulus package and the RBA leaving rates on hold.

Even the rise in confidence and house price growth after the federal election in 2013 can be put down to central bank changes. Westpac chief economist Bill Evans noted that “[rising confidence] indicates that the Reserve Bank’s series of rate cuts which began in November 2011 are finally gaining strong traction with households … election results played an important if not leading role in this strong boost to consumer sentiment”.

Finally, it’s worth noting that interest rates were chosen by seven times more buyers than government incentives in the recent CoreLogic/Nine Rewards Consumer Housing Market Sentiment Survey.

A 3.4% price increase did reflect rising confidence after the election, although other factors must also be considered

The Gillard-Rudd transition led to a slight decrease in price growth, despite a slight increase in confidence

3% 2% 1% 0%

Mar

Jun Qtr 2010

Sep

Dec

Mar

Jun

Sep

Dec

Qtr 2013 Source: ABS

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LIFESTYLE

FAVOURITES

FAVOURITE THINGS Siobhan Hayden, CEO, Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia Breakfast: My favourite meal of the day is breakfast, and if time permits I really enjoy having it at a local cafe. My local is run by a husband and wife team. They are a lovely couple who cook fresh and tasty food. It is so peaceful and relaxing, enjoying the morning whilst eating a lovely breakfast and having a great coffee with the family.

Start to the day: Unless I am up at 5.30am, I always arrange my alarm to wake up 20 minutes earlier than I need to and get my daughters to climb into bed so we are all together. My daughters (seven and nine years old) wear onesies to bed and they are so cuddly in the morning. Loads of cuddles, giggles and kisses are a great way to start the day.

Way of giving back: I feel very fortunate with my life and my health. There are many people who do not start their day with healthy children or a healthy body. Being thankful is a good start, but I do like to identify ways to ‘give back’. Simply, this includes giving good karma to those that I meet, but my deeper focus and passion is troubled children and Father O’Reilly’s Youth Off the Streets initiatives. It is always rewarding when you can offer your time to help someone else.

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Part of the job: In my position, I have the pleasure of regular travel and get to meet many MFAA members around the country.

Whilst travelling, I am always humbled when I attend award events. Learning how broker businesses are continually disrupting their own businesses and continually improving their ‘customer experience’ is inspiring.

Way to relax: Those that have met me will know that I talk fast, walk fast, and eat fast.

My daily routine is highly scheduled and fuelled by high octane. Once home, I spend time with my daughters, and once they are in bed I enjoy having a long hot bath. As a child, I grew up at Bringelly (southwest Sydney) and our house had tank water. As a result, showers were a two-minute timed event.

Today, I really enjoy filling a bath and relaxing with a book.

Part of the day: Let’s be honest… after a full day and a regular travel itinerary, a favourite part of my day is sleeping in my own bed. Perhaps it’s my ‘Cancerian’ attributes, but I love my own home and sleeping in my own bed.

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