CMP recently polled 14 national brokerages across Canada to uncover what they offer their brokers - everything from compensation to training to ancillary services. Here are the results.
It's been quite a year for all the superbrokers polled in CMP's annual survey, and if all the accounts are accurate, it's a year that should end on a high note. Brokers enjoyed steady business with the help from record low rates, housing sales have enjoyed a robust period of movement, and some have even uttered the dreaded 'b' word (as in, boom) to describe what's currently happening.
That said, rates are well on their way back to "normal" and pretty soon that wonderful euphemism the experts like to throw around, "market correction," will be the new buzz phrase, but it's fair to say that all of Canada's superbrokers, through a combination of innovations and staying the course, have weathered the rough ride.
About the survey
This year CMP decided to let the brokerages speak for themselves, so in the following pages what you will find is a chart devoted to each participating brokerage that was generated based on their responses.
The actual survey was in the form of an e-mail questionnaire and followup phone call, asking various questions about how the brokerage does its business. Along with the information charts, CMP has also included various answers to these questions.
Since the survey's inception the number of participating brokerages has varied, citing several different reasons why. This year we have more participating brokerages than ever, and our goal for next year is to have even more.
While several national brokerages opted to tell all and completely answer every question, some others selected to only answer specific questions for privacy reasons, while others still decided not to participate altogether or simply did not answer repeated e-mails and phone calls.
With the missing entries this survey is obviously not what you would call a complete coverage of the brokerage market in Canada, but it does include information from leading brokerages all across the country and serves as a great reference tool for anyone interested in seeing what is out there. Of course, if you have any further questions about the information in the following pages, don't hesitate to contact the respective brokerage.
We hope you find the results informative, and be sure to look for more coverage on mortgagebrokernews.ca, when CMP anonymously polls various broker from across the country to see how their respective brokerages can improve their game.
Next page: Axiom
#pb#
Number of agents: 450+
Established: 2007
Compensation
- 100% commissions; 100% volume bonus; each owner determines agent splits
- All fees paid to licensees regardless of whether they switch firms
Brokering Model
- National network of independently owned and operated brokerages
- No cost to join, anyone with brokerage can apply
- 60 brokerages across Canada
Ancillary Services
- White label product
- Hybrid of upfront compensation and trailer fee model
- Group benefi ts
Lead Generation
- Rather than providing leads, they teach agents/ brokers to grow business
Compliance
- Individual licensee is responsible for compliance
Payroll
- Not currently offering payroll services
- May be made available to the network in 2010
Next page: MorCan Financial
#pb#
Number of agents: 150
Established: 1997
Compensation
- Commission splits not specifi ed but described as "aggressive" and based on volume thresholds
- Agent's split affects all volume bonuses in accordance with the compensation package offered at the time agent joins
- If someone leaves the company, the trailer fees follow contractually
Brokering Model
- Franchise opportunities available
- There is no franchise cost to the broker who opens up a branch office
- Require that agents sign and adhere to the Morcan. Code of conduct and regulatory body in the provinces in which they operate their business
- Operate in Atlantic Canada, Ontario and Manitoba. Expect to launch in Alberta and B.C. by year-end
Ancillary Service
- Leasing program
- Centralized underwriting
- Alternate Financing Solutions program
- Journaling and best practice forum
- Morcan creditor insurance
Lead Generation
- Brokers/Agents generate own business
Compliance
- All staff and brokers/agents must be fully compliant and adhere to provincial regulations
Payroll
- Upon receipt of an audited, completed file and receipt of the finder's fee from the lender, agent will be paid electronically into their account every two weeks.
- Process also applies to all volume bonus payments and trailer fees. Payment must be received by the lender five business days before the pay day.
Next page: Dominion Lending Centres
#pb#
Number of agents: 1,500+
Established: 2006
Compensation
- Franchise owners receive a 95/5 split
- How brokers and agents are paid is determined by individual franchisees
- Trailer fees can be earned through white-label offerings
- If someone leaves the company, the trailer fees follow contractually
Brokering Model
- Franchise opportunities available -cost = $20,000
- For an existing team with volume exceeding $40 million, this fee can be absorbed by head office
- Over 200 franchises across Canada
Ancillary Services
- White label
- Equipment leasing, with internal credit department
- Creditor life insurance through Mortgage Protection Plan package (life and disability insurance) for clients
Lead Generation
- Generate leads through national campaign and main website
- Rotationally distributed to agents
- Leads also generated by agent websites
Compliance
- Every mortgage professional has access to ongoing education and up-to-date compliance information from regulators and industry associations
- Information communicated via network-wide or province-wide communications (depending on the issue), the DLC Intranet, DLC Weekly Bulletins and the monthly Dominion Opinion internal newsletter
Payroll
- Turnaround time for receiving payment from lender to paying broker/agent: 48 hours
Next page: Home n Work Mortgages
#pb#
Number of agents: No response
Established: 2007
Compensation
- 100 % on the first $2,000 earned on a per file basis and then 90 % thereafter
- Lowest is 10 % and highest is 90 %. Pay based on the greater of (1) personal production or (2) recruiting others
- 90 % trailer fee is paid to the writing agent
- Trailer fees follow the writing agent contractually
- All clients are owned by the writing broker and vested, meaning all rights to and all data belongs to the writing broker forever
Brokering Model
- Everyone is offered a 'lifetime guarantee' that they can leave at anytime with all their files
- Not a franchise model, so no fees are attached
- Based on training in order to do more deals
Ancillary Service -National weekly training through web seminars and designed online video tutorials
- Weekly web seminar talk show on lowering one's effective rates of interest and paying off debts faster, which agents can invite clients to attend
Lead Generation
- Agents receive $20,000 worth of marketing support for $495
- Receive customized website
- Generate leads through referral partners and advertising
- Each agent is assigned at least three to five financial planners that will refer to them
Compliance
- Detailed checks and balances throughout the file process
- For new people to the industry or just busy people, there is MC Assist - a backroom of licensed brokers to handle the paperwork on a file
Payroll
- Three times weekly
- Turnaround is less than 24 hours from when funds are received
- Goal is to be daily 5 times per week in 2010
Next page: Real Mortgage Associates
#pb#
Number of agents: 440+
Established: 2007
Compensation
- Senior consultants receive 100% of all finders' fees and volume bonuses
- RMA only provides payroll and compliance services to consultants. As such, it charges a standard monthly fee of $750 to process and pay up to 200 funded deals per year
- A pay-per-deal program is also available ($1 - $149,999 is $99,$150,000 - $249,999 is $125, $250,000+ is $175)
- Trailer fees follow the senior consultant contractually
Brokering Model
- Operating in every province but P.E.I.
- Licence strategy
- $750/month or a pay-per-deal fee program
Ancillary Service
- An extranet system, RMAnet.ca, including commercial mortgage hub and a private lending hub
- Central underwriting unit
Lead Generation
- No response
Compliance
- Zero-tolerance policy for consultants that abuse lender relationships
Payroll
- Weekly payment via electronic fund transfer
Next page: Mortgage Architects
#pb#
Number of agents: 357
Established: 2006
Compensation
- 90/10 commission and volume bonus split to all lead planners
- Associate planners get their splits from lead planners
- Continue to pay volume bonus and trailer fees to the submitting agent if they leave the fi rm
Brokering Model
- No franchise opportunities
- All lead planners have ownership in the company, as long as they have minimum production of $25 million in annual volume before joining
- No contract, only 3-day notice clause
Ancillary Service
- Exclusive access to My Next Mortgage Company - a lender that provides exclusive and competitive products and rates
- MPP creditor life insurance available to clients
- Errors and omissions and fraudulent act coverage
- Lender rate summary
- Group benefits through Standard Life
- Corporate discounts with Rogers and Telus
- Personal websites and html e-mail program
Lead Generation
- Generated for planners through website and referred to planners on a rotational basis
- Lead and associate planners receive own planner web pages with customized bio and link to their online application, which is automatically directed to them
Compliance
- Paperless compliance process
- Planners scan their documents into a secure compliance
module rather than send documents to head office
- Where required by provincial rules, some planners must also maintain secure storage of their own physical files
- Every file is reviewed by a fully trained compliance officer
- If required, deficiency notices are auto e-mailed during the review process, giving the broker quick notification so he/she can correct the deficiency in a timely manner
Payroll
- Most of commission process is automated
- System allows them to apply funds automatically to a deal upon receipt of funds and for a compliance officer to sign off on a deal as soon as the documents are uploaded into compliance module
- Commission calculation automatically happens when both of these steps have been completed
- Weekly payment
Next page: Centum Financial Group
#pb#
Number of agents: 1,700+
Established: 2002
Compensation
- Starts at 5 per cent and declines to 0.3 per cent on all lender commission
- Commission and volume bonus splits vary between broker and agent
- Trailer fees can follow brokers/agents if they leave the company, but it depends on the lender
Brokering Model
- The storefront model is the only model at Centum
- Over 240 franchises across Canada
Ancillary Service
- White label
- Home and automobile insurance
- Creditor life insurance
- Free underwriting
Lead Generation
- Online leads generated through partnership with real estate website (traffic: 700,000 visits per month)
- Websites optimized for search engines and pre-packaged Google Adwords campaigns localized at the office level
- Referral from other industries and professional organizations
- Automatic direct marketing through internal CRM system
Compliance - No response
Payroll
- Franchisees are paid daily
- Turnaround time for receiving payment from lender to paying broker/agent: two hours
Next page: Mortgage Intelligence
#pb#
Number of agents: 800
Established: 2000 (traces back to 1989)
Compensation
- No response
Brokering Model
- Affiliate program that offers broker teams access to volume bonuses, payroll services and compliance
Ancillary Service
- Private label products
- Fees paid upfront or trailer
- Mortgage Insurance, covering mortgage life protection, critical illness protection and disability
- Book of insurance business earns commissions and trailer fees
Lead Generation
- Affinity programs with major financial planning companies
Compliance
- No response
Payroll
- Process payroll and pays brokers via weekly direct deposit
Next page: Invis
#pb#
Number of agents: 800
Established: 2000
Compensation
- No response
Brokering Model
- Invis regional managers will assist brokers to establish their own offices, guiding them through the process of getting the premises set up
- Commissions are upfront and trailer fee
- "Competitive" rates
Ancillary Service
- Private label mortgages
- Underwriting
- Mortgage Insurance for mortgage life protection, critical illness protection and disability protection.
Lead Generation
- Invis call centre provides brokers with qualifed leads.
- Partnerships with major financial planning companies
Compliance
- No response
Payroll
- Brokers paid via weekly direct deposit
