Brokers and advisers in the competitive mortgage market of today need the correct support to thrive. Partnering with a mortgage network as an Appointed Representative (AR) can provide access to valuable resources, regulatory compliance, and enhanced business opportunities. However, with numerous networks offering varied services and fee structures, navigating the options can be complex.
To help streamline your decision-making process, we’ve outlined the key benefits of joining a mortgage network and how it can contribute to your business growth and long-term success.
What does a mortgage network do?
Mortgage networks essentially act as an umbrella for regulations, enabling all appointed representatives to utilise the permissions held by the network, which can simplify the compliance process.
All appointed representatives will engage on an individual basis with lenders whilst also maintaining the full support and backing of their network. Let’s take a closer look at how the compliance burden can be eased by joining a network.
Ease the compliance burden
Compliance is an essential and integral aspect of all financial services. Mortgage brokers must ensure that they take steps to remain compliant and aligned with all regulatory changes that occur, which can be time-consuming and increase the administrative work you are required to complete in addition to the work you’re putting in to support your clients.
Respected mortgage networks take on the full regulatory liability on behalf of their member firms, which means that this will no longer be a burden that you need to shoulder alone. Your network should provide you with guidance and training to optimise your compliance performance, helping you to ensure that you’re aware of new regulations as soon as they come into effect.
As your network is a regulated firm, there’s no need for you to directly register with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) yourself, which is known to be a very rigorous process that can require a substantial investment of time. However, it’s important to note that you’ll still be required to secure approval from the FCA to operate as an appointed representative.
While compliance support is often the most attractive benefit that comes with being part of a wider network, there are also a number of other benefits that could factor into your decision to join.
Access competitive lender fees
Different networks offer their own selection of perks, so it’s important to understand exactly what’s on offer when you’re considering your options. As one of the largest independent mortgage networks in the UK, Stonebridge is in a position to provide our members with some of the most competitive lender fees available.
Additionally, we don’t charge monthly adviser costs, FCA or FSCS fees or PI insurance premiums. Procurement fees are also paid on exchange and not completion, all of which enables our members to stay on top of their accounting processes and invest in the future growth of their business.
Focus on what you do best: advising your clients
Running a mortgage advice business can be challenging, and you may quickly find that there are many demands on your time, especially if you’re eager to grow your business. By becoming part of a trusted mortgage network, you can focus your attention on your customers with the knowledge that you’ve got a supportive team that’s just a phone call or email away.
Stonebridge offers a selection of support services to our members, including a dedicated team who can provide advice and guidance with regards to business development, strategic planning, marketing, lead generation, and recruitment. Our offering differs from many other networks in this respect, as we’ve ensured that there’s always someone on hand from a relevant department to provide tailored advice and guidance to every member query we receive.
Market your business with ease
It’s enormously important to look for a network that will take your unique business objectives on board and work to help you develop bespoke marketing strategies to achieve those goals. This way, you can ensure that you aren’t being provided with generic information that ultimately won’t help you to develop a robust and unique business that will continue to drive success.
It’s important that your chosen network can provide you with support in a range of different areas, as everything from marketing strategies to understanding how to recruit strong team members will play a role in navigating what can be a very competitive market space. With the right support, you’ll find it easy to identify your niche, connect with the right customers at precisely the right times, and build a sales funnel that will consistently enable you to drive those all-important conversions.
Benefit from advanced technological solutions
The mortgage market is extremely fast paced, which is why networks provide members with access to technology systems designed to streamline each process. Many networks have a suite of solutions for members to use, however most of these solutions can be quite disparate and require advisers to log in and out of various platforms, which can be time-consuming.
Here at Stonebridge, we wholly own our unique Revolution platform, which is a single-platform solution that delivers seamless access to a range of valuable tools to meet a vast array of client needs. This means that you can feel fully confident that you are providing your customers with the very best options for their needs. It also means that you can access seamless systems to support your administrative processes, enabling you to optimise your time and remain adaptable to what can be a highly changeable marketplace.
Obtain professional reassurance for peace of mind
Even during times when you’re working independently and delivering first class services to your clients, simply knowing that there’s a professional support team just an email or phone call away can provide the peace of mind and confidence you need to continue pushing forward.
We know that the mortgage market is changeable, so the ability to chat with other professionals within a welcoming environment where there’s no such thing as a silly question will help you navigate any potential industry upheaval with ease.
Additionally, you’ll also have opportunities to network with other advisers, which can provide further peer support and potentially help you to nurture more leads, particularly if your wider network contains advisers with a variety of different specialisms. As a number of different forces can affect the mortgage sector, one of the few things that we can be certain of is that there will be new challenges that we’ll all need to face and overcome, which is something that’s far easier to tackle with a supportive network by your side.
