"Where over the past few years equity release and later life lending has been strong, now we are seeing growth in PMI."
FR: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background in the market?
I started off in financial services in November 1982 with a part-time position with FPS (later General Portfolio) selling life assurance while I looked for a ‘proper job’. After two hard years learning the ropes, I started my supervision and management career. In five-six years we built the business to over 800 self-employed agents.
Those days eventually fizzled out but after this we started again selling GI and commercial insurance into direct sales forces and IFA markets. We added a mortgage, then an IFA, arm to the business, set up a PI scheme for advisers, and became heavily involved in the non-regulated life market.
I like to think we were pioneers of our market, as we moved towards MCCB and statutory mortgage regulation. All our work, data and product opportunities eventually led us down the network route and we set up Personal Touch.
We added PMI and became a home for a multitude of brokers in all markets. In my opinion, learning all the facets of financial services and offering clients a holistic view of all products is an advantage for them and their customers. I have always enjoyed working with brokers; I suppose it's become a passion.
At TRM it's a breath of fresh air, we work with professional brokers to create good outcomes for our clients. We trust each other and respect each other. Working together should be a pleasure based upon the above, regulation is a framework on how to conduct ourselves.
A network is there to guide, support and help its members. I think the ultimate goal of us all is to get good advice to the general public. Protecting them, professionally advising them, giving them excellent products that are fit for purpose. A duty of care is very appropriate.
FR: The Right Mortgage & Protection Network is established in the industry – what sets you apart and why are you the home to over 750 members?
What sets us apart, specifically in the network world I think, is that we are a truly family-orientated business in terms of the people who specifically run, and work within, the business, but also in terms of our approach to our member firms.
So, we urge our members to look after their customers and clients as if they were family members, and we approach our member firms in exactly the same way. How would we like our family members to be treated if they were either a customer or a firm within the business?
We also operate much more of a carrot rather than stick approach. Our focus is on working with people, helping them to grow, helping them to understand the market threats and opportunities, and providing them with the tools to be able to be successful. For example, regulation and compliance is obviously a key concern for advisory firms, but we try to help them understand regulation, the rules, the responsibilities that come with it and what they should be doing to comply, rather than forcing it upon them.
FR: How have you seen the AR/network landscape shift in recent years? What do AR firms primarily come to you for, and why do they stay?
The landscape has shifted, and is definitely a more corporate environment now. Most of the networks are owned by larger corporate operations, and by necessity and design this means they find it difficult to maintain a personal touch approach, which for us is part of our DNA.
Corporates drive a certain type of working and a certain type of network, and we would argue this approach is not necessarily in the advisory firm’s best interest. It might be in the corporate’s best interest but, if you’re an advisory AR firm that wants to feel valued and looked after, then I doubt you’re going to get that in these larger-scale operations.
We believe the here and now and the future is all about smaller networks, who are able to spend more time with their member firms.
FR: The Right Mortgage Group isn’t just about the network though is it – can you tell us about the DA and retirement propositions as well?
So, not every advisory firm wants to go down the AR route, hence we have our DA Club which can offer many of the services and benefits of the network, but is for those firms who make their own decisions in many crucial areas. In a way, we’re not really treating DA member firms any different to ARs – it’s all still about the customer, and looking after people, and providing the support and scale of opportunities that may not be available to a DA firm who doesn’t use us.
The retirement proposition has a number of options, but ostensibly we’re seeking to provide those considering retirement – in whatever form – with opportunities and exit strategies either permanently or if they want to ease themselves out gently from a firm. We talk to them about how they envisage their retirement/exit going, what they would like to get out of it, their timescale, etc. and then we help them achieve it, with a guarantee to look after their customers in order that we support their income requirements into retirement.
FR: This is a challenging market in both mortgages and protection – given that, do you see more firms looking at ‘umbrella’ propositions like yours, especially given the regulatory and competitive challenges they face?
We are diversified as a network into the areas we want to be involved in. It gives our members choices so they can become regulated in those other areas. For example, where over the past few years equity release and later life lending has been strong, now we are seeing growth in PMI. We’re able to cover all those product areas that might see strong demand, and where the firm wants to be involved in. And of course, where members get authorised in those different areas, and are able to advise across those products and sectors, this can help flatten out the peaks and troughs that naturally come within the financial advice world. It makes a network proposition like ours very appealing because of the ease in which they can make those moves.
