Andrew Kelly, managing director of Anasta Finance Consulting, is a multi-award-winning broker who has no intention of slowing down
Industry veteran Andrew Kelly is a broker who thrives on a challenge and what he can learn from it, particularly when it comes to raising projects from the ground up and turning them into highly successful operations.
Kelly’s career in banking began in 1982 and spanned the next 20 years, after which he built a lucrative mortgage broking business for a large private firm, bringing together a team of 10 brokers within 18 months, which went on to settle more than $1bn in facilities over three years.
After that, he further challenged himself by founding Anasta Finance Consulting in 2006. To date, the company has written 1,100 loans and settled $670m.
Kelly has won numerous awards during his time as a broker, but the one he is most proud of receiving is the 2015 MFAA National and State Finance Credit Advisor of the Year, which highlights the longevity of his clients and referring partners. “It didn’t recognise … volume; it recognised what it is that I do, how I do it and the type of results that I get,” he explains. “It also recognises that all of the lenders I deal with know who I am, and they respect what I do.”
Kelly established Anasta Finance in Sydney’s inner-west suburb of Concord, specialising in residential, commercial and equipment finance. He has a predominately mature client base across a broad spectrum, from company directors and owner-occupiers to developers and manufacturers – and it’s evident he enjoys the variety and challenges each type of client brings.
Kelly says his banking background and ability to relate to customers on all levels is something that gives his clients a fair degree of confidence.“I think what sets me apart to a point is that I understand banking right from the first day to the last, but I also have a good relationship with a number of the major funders and the senior management who respect what I do and understand what I do,” he says.
“I get asked my opinion as to where the market is and what types of challenges are out there – what type of competition, what type of product needs to be tweaked, and what type of product would do well and be relevant.”
Kelly is also proof that adversity makes you stronger: In 2011, he fell onto his shoulder during a football game, damaging the nerves and losing the use of his left arm. After two and a half years of intensive physiotherapy, was he able to regain 50% of mobility. Now, four years later, he is more driven and passionate about his profession and life than ever.
“That was very trying … it was just coming out of the GFC and a very critical time in my life. It certainly made me sit up and smell the roses,” he says.
The injury affected his whole life, including work, impacting his ability to type, hold the phone and handle files, but he is grateful that he’s still able to move his arm. “I’m in constant pain, but it’s pain you just put up with,” he says. “I can use my arm. There are a lot more people worse off than me.”
Not slowing down
Such a setback – one that might have made others pack up shop – hasn’t kept Kelly from his pursuing his passions. Unlike most people who have reached his level of experience, he’s not thinking of slowing down anytime soon. “The saying is, ‘If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life,’ and I enjoy what I do.”
He says you get good days and bad, but overall, mortgage broking is a good business. “It’s a very good industry – it’s a great lifestyle,” he says. “It allows you to work as much or as little as you like, for as long or as little as you like. I’m going to work for as long as I possibly can. I can be a broker into my 80s – there’s nothing stopping you doing it.”
Kelly’s career in banking began in 1982 and spanned the next 20 years, after which he built a lucrative mortgage broking business for a large private firm, bringing together a team of 10 brokers within 18 months, which went on to settle more than $1bn in facilities over three years.
After that, he further challenged himself by founding Anasta Finance Consulting in 2006. To date, the company has written 1,100 loans and settled $670m.
Kelly has won numerous awards during his time as a broker, but the one he is most proud of receiving is the 2015 MFAA National and State Finance Credit Advisor of the Year, which highlights the longevity of his clients and referring partners. “It didn’t recognise … volume; it recognised what it is that I do, how I do it and the type of results that I get,” he explains. “It also recognises that all of the lenders I deal with know who I am, and they respect what I do.”
Building long-lasting relationships
Creating strong relationships with clients and lenders is what broking is all about for Kelly; he says he doesn’t have a single client he hasn’t personally met.
“It’s really quite satisfying that I can put my hand on my heart and say I’ve met every single one of my clients – that’s a lot of people!”
Creating strong relationships with clients and lenders is what broking is all about for Kelly; he says he doesn’t have a single client he hasn’t personally met.
“It’s really quite satisfying that I can put my hand on my heart and say I’ve met every single one of my clients – that’s a lot of people!”
Kelly established Anasta Finance in Sydney’s inner-west suburb of Concord, specialising in residential, commercial and equipment finance. He has a predominately mature client base across a broad spectrum, from company directors and owner-occupiers to developers and manufacturers – and it’s evident he enjoys the variety and challenges each type of client brings.
“You’re going to get very different questions, but you’ve got to treat them all with the same amount of respect and the same amount of time,” he says. “One thing I always do is never walk out of a meeting with anyone in that meeting not being sure of what it is we spoke about, discussed and agreed on.”
He is also a home owner and active investor in the property market himself, having bought and sold many properties over the last 20 years – something his clients appreciate. “I think you need to practice what you preach,” he says. “You need to know your market; you need to know your area. My investor clients know me, and they have known me for a long time, so they know that I don’t just simply write loans. I’m part of the buying and selling of the property market, so they appreciate that because I put my money where my mouth is.”
But when it comes to loan writing, the commercial space is what he enjoys the most. “It tests me. It makes me really get involved in the client’s business and get a full and true understanding of what they have, what they want and where they’re going.”
Although he has offered commercial, residential and equipment finance services from the beginning, Kelly is looking at diversifying into insurance premium funding instead of financial planning, as he feels this will be most beneficial to his clients.
“It’s just having an awareness that the clients have got more needs than what it is they’re asking for, and if you don’t ask the questions, you don’t know.”
Going independent
Kelly made the decision to start his own brokerage because he wanted to explore finance further and leave the management of large teams behind. But making the transition from employee to self-employment is never easy.
“It was a massive leap of faith,” he says. “I’d never been in a situation where I was cutting my own cheques, so it was something that I had belief in and really felt that, with the support of my referring partners, I could do it. I never doubted myself, and I think when you start up a brokerage, you’ve got to have internal belief and some type of internal fortitude; I felt that I was doing the right thing. I felt that the clients were really responding to me, and I was confident that by kicking off my own business, they would come with me for the ride – and they did.”
He is also a home owner and active investor in the property market himself, having bought and sold many properties over the last 20 years – something his clients appreciate. “I think you need to practice what you preach,” he says. “You need to know your market; you need to know your area. My investor clients know me, and they have known me for a long time, so they know that I don’t just simply write loans. I’m part of the buying and selling of the property market, so they appreciate that because I put my money where my mouth is.”
But when it comes to loan writing, the commercial space is what he enjoys the most. “It tests me. It makes me really get involved in the client’s business and get a full and true understanding of what they have, what they want and where they’re going.”
Although he has offered commercial, residential and equipment finance services from the beginning, Kelly is looking at diversifying into insurance premium funding instead of financial planning, as he feels this will be most beneficial to his clients.
“It’s just having an awareness that the clients have got more needs than what it is they’re asking for, and if you don’t ask the questions, you don’t know.”
Going independent
Kelly made the decision to start his own brokerage because he wanted to explore finance further and leave the management of large teams behind. But making the transition from employee to self-employment is never easy.
“It was a massive leap of faith,” he says. “I’d never been in a situation where I was cutting my own cheques, so it was something that I had belief in and really felt that, with the support of my referring partners, I could do it. I never doubted myself, and I think when you start up a brokerage, you’ve got to have internal belief and some type of internal fortitude; I felt that I was doing the right thing. I felt that the clients were really responding to me, and I was confident that by kicking off my own business, they would come with me for the ride – and they did.”
Kelly says his banking background and ability to relate to customers on all levels is something that gives his clients a fair degree of confidence.“I think what sets me apart to a point is that I understand banking right from the first day to the last, but I also have a good relationship with a number of the major funders and the senior management who respect what I do and understand what I do,” he says.“I get asked my opinion as to where the market is and what types of challenges are out there – what type of competition, what type of product needs to be tweaked, and what type of product would do well and be relevant.”
Kelly is also proof that adversity makes you stronger: In 2011, he fell onto his shoulder during a football game, damaging the nerves and losing the use of his left arm. After two and a half years of intensive physiotherapy, was he able to regain 50% of mobility. Now, four years later, he is more driven and passionate about his profession and life than ever.
“That was very trying … it was just coming out of the GFC and a very critical time in my life. It certainly made me sit up and smell the roses,” he says.
The injury affected his whole life, including work, impacting his ability to type, hold the phone and handle files, but he is grateful that he’s still able to move his arm. “I’m in constant pain, but it’s pain you just put up with,” he says. “I can use my arm. There are a lot more people worse off than me.”
Not slowing down
Such a setback – one that might have made others pack up shop – hasn’t kept Kelly from his pursuing his passions. Unlike most people who have reached his level of experience, he’s not thinking of slowing down anytime soon. “The saying is, ‘If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life,’ and I enjoy what I do.”
He says you get good days and bad, but overall, mortgage broking is a good business. “It’s a very good industry – it’s a great lifestyle,” he says. “It allows you to work as much or as little as you like, for as long or as little as you like. I’m going to work for as long as I possibly can. I can be a broker into my 80s – there’s nothing stopping you doing it.”
