Accountants named top referrers: elite brokers

The Adviser recently surveyed the country’s Elite Business Writers and star performers from the Young Broker of the Year ranking to discover which profession leads the way when it comes to partnering with mortgage brokers.

Almost 40 per cent of the surveyed respondents cited accountants as the best professional referrers.

Accountants were followed by financial planners, who received just over 26 per cent of the vote, while real estate agents came a close third with 21.7 per cent.

The Adviser’s Young Broker of the Year, My Mortgage Freedom’s Anthony Alabakov, said the conversion rate from accountant referrals was unparalleled because clients trust their accountants above other professionals.

Tiffen & Co’s David Friend said accountants had proved to be his most lucrative referral partner.

“Accountants qualify clients before sending them through. It’s generally not a single transaction for them, but a relationship building exercise to help their clients,” he said. “We are treated as a value-add service to their clients which costs the client nothing.”

The survey also revealed that 80 per cent of Australia’s top performing brokers currently have a referral partnership with an accountant.