They say the changes will positively impact adviser businesses, lenders and clients
The new financial advice regime is less than two months away, and mortgage advisers say that the majority of the sector is now well prepared - however, it will undoubtedly be a big change for both lenders and advisers alike.
The Fundmaster’s Dev Dhingra says his brokerage has worked hard to align itself to what the regulators want to see, and that, ultimately, customers will see benefits from every side of the process.
“Things are changing for the banks and the adviser channels, so there are going to be big adjustments across both sides,” he commented.
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“From our side we’re prepared, we’re following the requirements of the new regime and we’re trying to work towards what the banks, the FMA and the customers want, and we’re adjusting accordingly.
“It’s still a work in progress. A lot of things will change and improve, and that’s both on the lender side and the adviser side.”
Loan Market adviser Paulette Trotter says the industry has had a good amount of time to prepare for what’s expected, and that the biggest changes will likely be in documentation.
“We’ve been forewarned of what’s expected and there are still new processes to be rolled out, but we’ve got a high-level view of what that looks like,” she said.
“We’ve had plenty of discussions around what qualifications are needed and how we can do the right thing by the customers - which, to be honest, 99.9% of advisers are already doing. We still need to roll out some of the training, but we’ve certainly done a lot of training already.
“It’s more about documenting that and proving it when we get audited, so we’re fully aware of what we need to be doing.”
Mortgage Express’s David Gopperth says that, ultimately, strengthening the processes around advice will help brokerages to offer more to the market.
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Mortgage Express is being licensed under financial services firm Astute, which has a membership base across both Australia and New Zealand.
“We’re thrilled to be working with Astute and its CEO Sarah Johnston, who I think does an awesome job and we really admire what she’s achieved,” Gopperth said.
“We need to make sure that our team gets to the level that it needs in order to be compliant. There’s a challenge coming, and we’re in a phase where we think we’ve got some fantastic offerings for the market. Quality advice is very important to growth, so if we get success there, that enables us to deliver an outstanding service to clients, which is our end goal.”
