The new hires will focus on supporting advisers
Bluestone has announced the appointment of two new BDMs to its Auckland branch, and managing director Peter Wood said they will help deliver “outstanding support” to Bluestone’s adviser network as demand continues to grow.
Aaron Taylor has joined from fellow non-bank lender Pepper Money, and will focus on providing information and support to advisers who are new to Bluestone.
Nik Beri will be supporting advisers in the Auckland area and brings eight years of experience to the team, having spent over three years with ANZ and the remainder of his time at Kiwibank.
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The two new BDMs started at Bluestone last week and are the latest in a series of hires for the lender as it grows its New Zealand presence. Wood said the key aim was to ensure that advisers were “well supported” and that customers were dealt with efficiently in a hot property market.
“In addition to our new BDMs, we’ve recently increased our lending team by four and we’re continuing to grow,” Wood said.
“Being able to service customers efficiently is a particularity critical point these days, particularly when you have a market that’s pretty hot. If you go back 12 months, 18 months or two years, you might have had two or three interested parties in a property. Today, all of a sudden, you’ve got 10, and they’re all going in at the same time - so managing their expectations is really vital.”
“Our people are our most important asset,” he added. “We will continue to invest in them, and in our coverage to ensure advisers across New Zealand are well supported by us.”
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Bluestone’s head of sales Sue Griffiths noted that recruitment has only been “one part of the story” when it comes to supporting advisers, and highlighted the education and training initiatives that Bluestone has offered its advisers over the past year.
“So far this year we’ve run PA and admin training sessions and a very successful series of masterclass webinars,” Griffiths said.
“We’re about to roll out our self-employed workshops, which will teach advisers how to deal with self-employed borrowers after the worldwide impacts of 2020 and the resulting effect on their cash flows and overall financial position.”
