Exposed to lending from the age of four, finance is in this broker’s blood
Born into the industry, Nathan Taddeo says he had his first experience of lending at the age of four.
Fast-forward to adulthood and he finds himself navigating the GFC, the Royal Commission and the COVID-19 pandemic as a successful broker working for a diverse clientele.
MPA spoke with the Melbourne broker about how he got started in the industry and how he is dealing with the challenges caused by the coronavirus.
Born into banking
Taddeo says he travelled the country as a child, sitting alongside his father who worked in banking.
“My dad was in banking since before I was born.”
Despite being exposed to lending from an early age, Taddeo says he never had any plans to become a broker while growing up.
He took his first job in the industry while finishing his studies at university. Working under his father at a one stop shop, Taddeo was exposed to broking, accounting, financial planning and sales and marketing. He soon found himself gaining the qualifications he needed to be able to talk to clients, and before he knew it, he was accredited.
“Then – hey presto, I’m a mortgage broker.”
In 2010, Taddeo’s dad was bought out of the business by his partner and they left the company for another one stop shop – one with a broking arm that needed some TLC.
“It was basically non-existent, so we restarted that there with them.”
“The cool thing with that place was that we also had sports management. Why it was cool from a career point of view was that I got to see the full life cycle in a short amount of time.”
“You’ve got to think if you’ve got a guy who at 18 is making nothing, at 19 is making $80,000, at 20 he’s making $400,000, and by 30, he might not have a job, you kind of have to think ahead a lot quicker than what you would if the normal 24 year old came in and said, hey, I want to buy a house.”
“It kind of puts your experience on steroids.”
Creating Credo
Just over five years ago, Taddeo and his father parted ways with the company to start their own business, Credo Financial.
“Credo’s focus is lending solutions for anybody who needs them,” he says, explaining that its clients range from the residential to the commercial and even the not-for-profit sector.
Clients in this space include nurses and aged care workers.
“That’s just giving real advice to people that typically don’t go and get it, they’re either too scared to or time poor, but not the time poor wealthy person that a lot of people focus on.”
Overcoming challenges
Aside from the major speedbumps of the GFC, the Royal Commission and now the Coronavirus, finding the right staff who want to take on the role for the right reason has been a challenge for Taddeo.
He says he operates in order to help people and educate those who haven’t had the time or resources to know how to build financial security. While he says he can’t give advice about financial planning or accounting, his experience working at two different one stop shops has given him a wide knowledge base.
More recently, Taddeo has been faced with the challenge of fielding phone calls from customers who were worried about how the coronavirus shutdown would affect them and their livelihoods.
“I think the first thing you can do is make sure the clients know you’re always available.”
“I feel that you get good in this industry if you care.”
“But if you care, you’re also taking a lot of that on.”
To deal with this stress he runs.
“You can just get out and hit the pavement.”
He says it also helps to speak with other people in the industry as well as friends and family.
