"Both advisers and lenders should embrace technology, not only will this improve efficiency but it will provide customers with more choice as to how and when they interact with their adviser."
FR: Your current job title is Relationship & Development Manager – what does your role involve on a day-to-day basis?
A major part of my role within the Mortgage Club is evolving the later life and buy-to-let propositions, making sure that we are supporting both lenders and intermediaries on a daily basis. For the intermediaries, this involves helping them to fulfil their growth strategies by making the most of all the opportunities available to them and ensuring they are can offer holistic advice to all of their customers. On the lender side, this includes sharing market insight and assisting with both product development and propositions.
I also work closely and strategically with trade bodies such as The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries, The Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association and The Equity Release Council to develop specific market sectors.
FR: You have worked with the Legal & General Mortgage Club Team for over 10 years, in that time how would you say the mortgage market and lender relations have changed?
Having joined Mortgage Club just before the financial crash means a lot has changed! One of the most notable changes we have seen has been to regulation, with the introduction of the Mortgage Market Review. Now, ten years later, there is a much larger focus on responsible lending, which has really been embraced by intermediaries, resulting in an increased share of mortgage lending.
As time has gone by, not only have we seen more and more lenders join the market, but there has been a significant increase in the number of products and we are continuing to see product innovation, which has helped maintain healthy competition within the market. We have also been able to improve and develop our relationships with our lender and broker partners, by supporting their growth strategies.
The way in which the market views and uses technology has also come a long way. Technology should not be viewed as a threat by the industry, but instead as an opportunity. Both advisers and lenders should embrace technology, not only will this improve efficiency but it will provide customers with more choice as to how and when they interact with their adviser.
Lastly, although high street lenders will continue to play a huge role in providing mortgages to customers, over the last few years we have seen smaller building societies increase their market share via niche lending areas.
FR: What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the mortgage market, and what should advisers be aware of when dealing with both lenders and clients?
First and foremost, advisers need to be aware and have an understanding of the wider economy. Depending on where we end up with Brexit, it’s likely consumer confidence will be affected. Advisers therefore need to ensure they are flexible in both their approach and business strategy to fully understand their clients’ needs and to see if they need any additional advice depending on whether their situation has changed.
Secondly, the adoption of technology and robo-advice continues to be a hot topic. Advisers need to welcome technology with a positive mind set and make sure they are utilising the opportunity it brings. If used correctly, it will reduce the time they spend on administration, and provide them with more time to talk with their clients about issues such as protection and their family’s mortgage requirements.
Finally, advisers need to ensure they are aware of any regulatory changes, particularly with the introduction of GDPR just around the corner. With so much at stake, they really need to think about what they need to do to make sure they are compliant with the new regulation and focus on any areas they might need to make changes to in order to become compliant.
FR: With later life lending becoming increasingly popular among consumers, how does the Mortgage Club plan to support advisers who want to know more about the later life/equity release market?
Education, education, education. Not only have we set up our later life proposition, which includes regional building societies who support this sector and specialist lenders who are creating innovation to bridge the product gap between mainstream and lifetime products, but we’re also in the process of creating a later life hub. Through this site advisers will be able to access support and learn more about this growing market sector.
The Mortgage Club is also committed to running specific later life events, which we hold twice a year and focus solely on this sector. Featuring leading industry speakers and panel debates these events are a great opportunity for intermediaries to learn valuable market insight and improve and broaden their proposition in order to offer more holistic advice to their clients. We’re really committed to growing this sector of the market and are excited to have recently run our first pilot workshop, which we now hope to run on a quarterly basis. These workshops will not only provide support for advisers who are working towards their qualification, but it will help those who are recently qualified on how to build the foundations in this area of the market.
FR: If you could see one headline about the housing market this year, what would it be?
'Lifetime mortgage sector reaches over £4.5bn'. Whilst this may be a bit aspirational, one can only hope!
