Speaking to Mortgage Solutions, Syms (pictured) who is also the chief executive of Connect Mortgages, said promoting the benefits of membership to the society and collaborating with other industry bodies to engage with the regulator were high on her list of priorities.
She said: “The main objectives of the society are to continue to promote professional standards in the mortgage industry for the benefit of the consumer.
“There’s lots of things we are doing, but one of the things the society could be better at is [raising] awareness of who the society is, what [it] stands for and who it’s serving.”
Her focus in her first year as chair of the society, after previously holding the deputyship, will be to increase that awareness not just among brokers but consumers too. Syms was appointed to the role in April.
Syms says in the past, the society’s role has been misunderstood as just being a qualifications route or a trade body, both of which she says are incorrect.
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“It doesn’t matter where you got your qualification from. You join the Society of Mortgage Professionals because it stands for continued professional development and being part of a community that believes in the professionalism of our mortgage community,” she added.
Once a member, mortgage brokers can benefit from support with their career progression through detailed roadmaps that outline all the roles in a mortgage professionals career path and how to progress into them, regular training and technical expertise. The support of the society, adds Syms, is particularly important to directly authorised brokerages that don’t have a network to provide similar services.
Industry collaboration
Syms said she wants to work more closely with other industry body professionals such as Stephanie Charman, chief executive of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI), and Adam Tyler from the Financial Intermediary and Broker Association to deliver a collective voice.
“There’s no point us all doing… the same thing; it’s about collaborating to make sure everybody gets the benefit,” she added.
The body also wants to build a relationship with the regulator and has an upcoming meeting with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), where it will represent the voice of its membership and their feedback.
She said: “The end result for providing this support for professionals is for consumer benefit and consumer trust. That’s where we’re different to a trade body, which is supporting the adviser as a business.”
