Mortgage, advice convergence set to snowball

Speaking to ifa, financial adviser Ben Warnes, who recently joined mortgage broker Shore Financial to head up its newly-created financial planning arm, says convergence between the professions has its upsides.

“The real advantage for mortgage broking businesses with a financial planning arm is that once the loan has been settled, the relationship doesn’t end there,” he said.

“There is more of a client relationship there as opposed to just one transaction. I think there is a huge opportunity for both sides of the relationship to create synergies.

“I can see a lot of mortgage brokers either merging with financial planners or having a referral arrangement in place.”

Mr Warnes said also that there is an abundance of work for advisers looking to broaden their offering to include risk products like insurance, adding that “it is no secret that Australians are grossly uninsured.”

“There is plenty of work out there for every adviser,” Mr Warnes said.

“I don’t get too concerned about competitors or people poaching clients; I believe there is so much work out there to be done that there is more than enough for me to earn a good living doing what I’m doing.”

Mr Warnes said many advisers moved into the risk space as a way to “pay their bills” during the GFC.

“Risk really came onto advisers’ radar during the GFC,” he said.

ifa is currently charting the convergence of mortgage broking and financial advice in the Financial Services Convergence Report. To take part in the survey, please CLICK HERE.