The poll questioned 200 financial advisers and revealed Openwork and Mortgage Intelligence had experienced strong growth over the previous six months. The membership of Openwork had almost doubled, buoyed by the addition of former members of the Zurich Advisory Network, the research indicated.
John Heron, managing director of Paragon Mortgages, said: “Over the last year, and in particular the last six months, there has been a marked shift in support for networks. Since regulation, the shape of the UK mortgage industry has changed and there seems to be a rise in support for small networks that offer specific expertise and put an emphasis on service to advisers in the wake of the new regulations.”
The report showed that Sesame remained the leading network, with 25 per cent of those questioned admitting that they were a member of the organisation. However, over the past year, the report revealed that Sesame experienced an 11.6 per cent decline in support.
Payam Azadi, head of marketing at Mortgage Times, said: “We have seen a definite shift in network numbers, and especially within the specialist markets, like buy-to-let. Semi-exclusive products have helped to stoke brokers interests.”
