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Mandy Jordan, 33, The Mortgage Supply Company/ Astute Financial, Invercargill For Mandy Jordan, 33, the journey into the mortgage advice profession was all about connections. Having worked at SBS Bank in her native Invercargill for several years, she struck up a close relationship with The Mortgage Supply Company while processing loans. After taking some time off to start a family, The Mortgage Supply Company’s David Windler got in touch to offer Jordan some work down in the deep south. She began working for Mortgage Supply in an admin role, but couldn’t help advising some friends on their mortgages. “I helped my brother’s friend get into a house. I told him not to tell anyone, but before I knew it, ten people had contacted me in a week,” she says. Helping a family friend turned out to be an excellent decision for Jordan. She 018
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is now Mortgage Supply’s “Rookie of the Year”, owner of the MSC Southland business, and has written more than $60 million in loans in the close-knit Invercargill community. As a working mother, Jordan says the flexibility offered by the advice sector is a great advantage. “Aside from changing people’s lives, which is amazing, the ability to be there for my kids is a big achievement.” Her favourite thing about being a mortgage broker is “meeting people who think they can’t [get a loan], and calling them up to tell them they can”. “It’s pretty addictive, changing people’s lives, educating them, and helping them to reach their goals.” As a young adviser, Jordan is keen to use social media, smartphones, and other technology to make the home loan process easier for clients. “I’m on my phone a lot. We’re big on Facebook Messenger, having chats with the lawyer or real estate agents. We try and keep the language accessible to young people.” “We know young people prefer WhatsApp and texts to phone calls, so we try to do that rather than email, and make it more user friendly.” After two years as an adviser, Jordan, like many young brokers, was disrupted by the pandemic. “But we’ve coped, and the biggest thing has been the open dialogue with head office. We know it’s been tough, but we’ve got the right people looking after
‘Aside from changing people’s lives, which is amazing, the ability to be there for my kids is a big achievement.’ us, so we can go out there and put our big-girl pants on and do what we do best.” She says her business has been even busier since Covid, as banks struggle to service direct clients. “We’ve been a lot busier due to the pandemic,” she says. “I put that down to a lack of availability of the banks. It’s a chance for us to shine, as we are more flexible. We can look after them over the phone or on Zoom chats.” Jordan predicts a bright future for the industry – helped by the introduction of FSLAA legislation. “It’s nothing but positive for good advisers,” she says. “It will make the sector more transparent, and Astute has given us a great grounding in compliance. I can’t see the industry slowing down.” She offers the following advice to young people thinking of joining the profession: “Passion is key. If you have that you can achieve anything. Surround yourself with the right people, and the sky’s the limit.”
