With an increasing reliance on technology, the need to ‘stay ahead of the game’ has never been greater. Coupled with a marked increase in buyer activity within the market, sourcing systems are at the front line of matching a client with a deal.
As the market has progressed, so has the need for sourcing systems to provide a high level of compliant and efficient provisions, ranging from the inclusion of a conveyancing angle to their proposition, to adding new ways of conducting business.
Trigold recently launched its Z-Apps service, doing away with the need for brokers to key in lender application forms, and launched its Version 7 software. Mortgage Brain increased its market share with the addition of Your Move and Personal Touch to its system, among other enhancements. In both cases, the sourcing systems have been improved to provide a greater service to its users and Bill Safran, chief executive officer at Trigold, says sourcing systems must continue to adapt to what the market wants to provide the best service for its users. He says: “Huge advances have been made in the sourcing systems market over the past six months, and we only see this continuing. We have introduced six new products into the marketplace, including Version 7 of our software and Z-Apps. There has been a lot more integration with both mortgage intermediaries and lenders are integrating our software into their offers.”
Rapid change
He adds that the strength of the mortgage market has meant the speed of change has been rapid, a pace he expects to continue throughout 2006. “I think our enhancements go hand-in-hand with what the market wants. We are not offering a facility just for the sake of it, we are acting on what people have told us; lenders, brokers and so on. It was particularly the case with the launch of Z-Apps and Version 7 that we undertook market research to see exactly what was wanted and, as our market share of over fifty per cent shows, we have been able to act on feedback from our users to enhance our system for its users.”
Mike Pendergast, IFA at Zen Financial Services, uses Trigold’s system and agrees that the improvements to the site have made marrying a client with a deal an easier process. “Trigold is very good and there are a few bits of software that you can integrate it with to provide extra information,” he says. “It is easy to use and takes you right through from the original quotation, right through to the application procedure. I don’t see any real need to change it any more.”
Mortgage Brain similarly enhanced its proposition with the addition of a number of new services, including TitleAbsolute to provide users with access to its network of lawyers and conveyancing firms, and making its system available to Openwork, among others. Mark Lofthouse, chief executive officer at Mortgage Brain, says: “Sourcing systems will continue to evolve with the market. Over the past few months a lot has changed, but there are still a few differences between the systems on offer. It depends on what kind of service the broker wants from a sourcing system.
“For a middle-tier broker there are three main elements. From step one, which is point of sale and compliance, step two, which is the product sourcing, and step three, which is electronic trading. It is important that people recognise just how much sourcing systems support other sales. For example, Mortgage Brain can integrate with other systems and can enable the 700 plus pieces of data transfer that can happen.”
Lofthouse adds the system will continue to evolve over the next 12 months. “We will be making further enhancements to our system in the near future, and we will also have a look at how Mortgage Brain can move into new product areas.”
Future enhancements
Enhancements to sourcing systems have not gone unnoticed among brokers, with many benefiting from the changes made. Peter O’Donovan, mortgage adviser at Bestinvest, argues sourcing systems are a good research tool, but should not be relied upon completely. “Trigold is easy to use and gives you a lot of information,” he explains. “For research purposes it is excellent, but I always check the figures with the relevent lender after looking on it.”
Discussing future enhancements, O’Donovan adds: “The sourcing systems contain too much information. A mortgage product might appear on the list 10 times or so, as it is available with different clubs and, for this reason, a suitability letter does not look as strong if the product is 12th on the list. But this is only because many of the ones above are the same product, offered by different clubs.”
It is clear to see that sourcing systems must continue to evolve if they are to serve their role effectively within the mortgage market. They cannot afford to rest on their laurels, and their commitment to continual improvements and enhancements means that intermediaries should be able rest easy in the knowledge that sourcing systems are keeping up with market advances.
Grant bather is assistant editor at Mortgage Introducer
