The event is due to take place on 27 February at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole, with over 500 attendees already registered.
The event is the largest in the company’s history and aims to support the firm’s Appointed Representative (AR) firms and their advisors.
The focus of the conference will be on “navigating an inflationary and fluid rate environment by being customer-centric”. It will also look at its wholly-owned platform, Revolution, and explore market trends and regulatory changes.
The conference will open with a session on the company’s performance over the past 12 months, and outline how firms can collaborate across several product and sector areas.
HSBC overview and lender session
HSBC UK’s UK economist Elizabeth Martins will give an overview of the current mortgage market, outlook for the year with a particular emphasis on interest rates, household incomes, cost of living crisis and consequent impact on transaction volumes.
There will also be a lender session, moderated by Mortgage Brain’s Neil Wyatt, with Lloyds banking Group’s Esther Dijkstra, Virgin Money’s Nicola Goldie and Accord Mortgages’ Jeremy Duncombe looking at current lender activity.
Specific areas of discussion include procuration fees, product and technological innovation and lending appetite.
Consumer Duty in focus
Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) Robert Sinclair will moderate a session about Consumer Duty, including possible challenges for advisers and lenders and how they can be managed.
Stonebridge’s head of business standards, Alex Hill, and UK Finance’s director of mortgages, Charles Roe, will outline support available from the network and how firms can ensure they are ready for Consumer Duty measures when they are introduced later this year.
Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property science and innovation, will host a session on buy-to-let sector, with Paragon’s Richard Rowntree and Connect for Intermediaries’ Liz Syms providing insight on how best to support landlords, EPC legislation and greener homes for the rental sector.
The day will be rounded off with a session on how advisory firms can leverage social media with Stonebridge’s head of marketing Andrew Roberts and Rostrum’s director of PR and strategy Sophie Placido.
Stonebridge: ‘This conference will be our best yet’
Following the conference, Stonebridge will host its annual dinner and award ceremony in the evening to thank AR firms for all their efforts. Special guest and stand-up comedian Rob Beckett will provide the entertainment.
Rob Clifford (pictured), chief executive of Stonebridge, commented: “This year’s Conference, Dinner and Awards promise to be our best yet, with a two-fold focus. Not only is this our chance to say thank you to all our members, and their staff, for being part of Stonebridge, for all the incredible hard work they have put in and the results they have achieved over the past 12 months.
“It is also an opportunity to outline some of the challenges and opportunities ahead, the range of support and solutions we have available to meet this head-on, and the ways and means by which firms can be better equipped to continue winning market share by providing their clients with access to all the solutions they need.”
He continued: “Once again, our team has put together an excellent roster of sessions, with experts in their field from right across our industry covering a range of subjects and issues, including the UK economy and its impact on our market, lender activity and engagement, the Consumer Duty, buy-to-let and making the most of the marketing opportunity in social media.
“We end the day with an opportunity for our colleagues and member firms to let their hair down, where we will all be entertained by A-list comedian, Rob Beckett, who will provide the laughs, and help us celebrate those AR firms that have performed so brilliantly over the last 12 months.”
“It promises to be an excellent day for all attendees, and we’re looking forward to having all members and stakeholders of the Stonebridge family under one roof, for our second year in the Metropole, Birmingham.”
