Aaron Strutt, director at Trinity Financial, said that many brokers are promised leads and help when they join firms, but these do not always materialise, noting that with the current market where purchases are slowing down and remortgages are increasing it can be difficult for brokers without an established client base.
He continued: “Ten years ago the market was very different but there are still a lot of opportunities for younger brokers if they are willing to put the effort in. Most firms are always looking to hire new brokers if they can improve the business, so if you really want to move you need to get your CV out there.”
Regulatory changes can be overwhelming
David Sheppard, managing director of Perception Finance, said that there were a host of reasons brokers may feel the need to move onto fresh pastures. He said: “This may be due to a lack of leads, the ability to get better pay and conditions elsewhere or the view that going self employed is a means to retain all the money earned from doing business rather than just a fraction of it. This is common in the industry and has been happening for as long as I can remember.”
He added that the constant regulatory change that brokers wrestle with may have dimmed the enthusiasm of some advisers, having made the job much harder today than it used to be.
He continued: “I have long called for a period of stability when it comes to regulation to allow time for previous changes to bed in and determine if more is needed. I hope we will see this now but fear that more intervention is inevitable as regulators the world over have been criticised for not foreseeing problems before, so are now determined not to expose themselves to further criticism.”
Times are changing… but it was ever thus
Paul Flavin, managing director of Zing Mortgages, said that when he joined the industry 15 years ago many of the established brokers warned that the job wasn’t what it used to be.
He continued: “So we have to deal with increasing compliance and lenders who seem to have ever more fluid lending criteria, but when has it been any different? A constant requirement to improve knowledge and skills should be viewed as a positive not something to bemoan.
“Existing advisers should gain pleasure in the fact that they are able to offer clients deals that are better than ever and earn a handsome sum for doing so. New advisers need to have their eyes opened to what a great industry we work in, be given support and training in some real old school sales techniques, then educated in the fact that the first two years of trading are always the hardest, after which point you should have a loyal client bank that will support you for the rest of your working career.”
Greater need for female brokers
Helen Pierson, head of business development at Mortgage Bureau, said that customers now expect immediate attention, day or night, which was not always the case and can prove exhausting for intermediaries.
However, she noted that there is also a lack of recognition of he importance of broker’s work. She explained: “No one grows up wanting to be a mortgage and protection adviser, and we definitely need more women to balance things out – there’s too much testosterone wafting around at times. I think more could be done by the Government and trade bodies to promote the fact that a career as a mortgage broker is a highly skilled profession; we’re not viewed on the same level as lawyers and accountants but I think we should be.”
