EXCLUSIVE. Fresh broker movement data has revealed contrasting fortunes among aggregation heavyweights, as Connective narrows the gap with LMG for the largest headcount.
Connective has led net broker growth among Australia’s largest aggregator groups, closing on headcount leader Loan Market Group (LMG), while Finsure and Lendi Group recorded further losses in the September quarter.
WealthX’s latest credit representative report, prepared with Padua WealthData, has revealed Connective Credit Services added 63 representatives between 1 July and 1 October 2026, lifting its total to 3,465.
LMG retained first place with 3,765 representatives but added just two over the quarter, narrowing the gap between the groups from 361 to 300.
Finsure lost nine representatives, and Lendi Group Distribution, which owns Aussie Home Loans, shed 10, extending their year-to-date declines to 107 and 88, respectively.
The movements accompanied a recovery across the top 10 licensee controllers, which collectively added 97 representatives to reach 17,833 after a softer June quarter, with seven recording quarterly growth.
Based on Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) credit licence and representative datasets, the report tracks registered individuals across controller groups, including sub-aggregator brands, rather than loan volumes or every broker associated with an aggregator.
Connective closes the gap
Connective’s quarterly increase outpaced Australian Finance Group’s (AFG) gain of 21, while its year-to-date growth reached 206 representatives, or 6.3 per cent.
Transfers between major groups also favoured Connective, with the aggregator receiving eight representatives from Lendi and five from LMG during the quarter, while six moved from LMG to AFG.
Since January, 19 representatives have moved from LMG to Connective and another 16 from AFG to Connective.
WealthX founder and chief executive Clint Howen contrasted LMG’s established scale with Connective’s stronger recruitment momentum, suggesting its asset finance proposition could be contributing to the growth trend.
“Loan Market Group growth is slowing, yes, they’re number one because of those acquisitions a few years ago, but their growth is not the strongest, whereas Connective is growing a lot,” Howen said.
“That could be due to their push into offering more asset finance offerings. Connective is growing at a huge rate; they’re the biggest in New South Wales.”
Asked whether Connective’s stronger net gains would continue narrowing its headcount gap with LMG, Howen said the competitive distance was already shrinking.
“Yeah, definitely, they’re closing, they’re closing the gap,” he said.
Connective’s gains were particularly pronounced in Victoria, where it added 40 representatives during the quarter, the largest single-state increase by any top 10 controller.
Since January, its Victorian headcount has increased by 82, and its NSW total by 56.
Different pressures on declining groups
Finsure remained the third-largest with 2,615 representatives, ahead of AFG’s 2,417.
LMG, Connective, and Finsure have occupied the top three positions since before January 2025.
However, Finsure’s year-to-date decline of 3.9 per cent was the largest absolute reduction among the top 10, largely reflecting its June-quarter loss of 152.
Howen suggested tighter admission and compliance requirements following the Hai Money controversy were influencing its numbers.
“Finsure, they’ve had massive growth over the years, but their growth is going backwards now, they’re tightening up their requirements to be a broker with them, and they’re getting stricter on compliance due to the Hai Money saga,” Howen said.
“It looks like they’re having a bit of a clean-up and also putting in tighter restrictions, and you can see that in the growth.”
Meanwhile, Lendi’s 1,175 representatives placed it fifth. Its 7 per cent year-to-date contraction was the steepest proportional decline, with losses recorded in every quarter.
Howen questioned how that trajectory aligned with its growth ambitions and technology strategy, while offering possible explanations for departures.
“Lendi is interesting because at the start of the year, they were aiming for a growth push in broker numbers by the end of the year, yet they’re consistently going backwards,” Howen said.
“They’re doing a massive AI push, and I’ve heard they’ve got KPIs inside the business for AI usage, so whether they’re pushing brokers out who aren’t adopting, or brokers are not seeing the value in what they’re offering and they’re leaving.”
Howen also identified Connective as a preferred destination for departing Lendi representatives.
“With the movers, so Lendi Group, the people that are leaving their favourite place to go is Connective,” he said.
Purple Circle lifts SFG
Specialist Finance Group (SFG) delivered the strongest percentage growth since January, adding 88 representatives, or 9.9 per cent, to reach 977, with the lift moving the aggregator from eighth to seventh place.
Its quarterly gain was 17, while Purple Circle added 20, indicating differing movements within the group.
Howen highlighted Purple Circle’s contribution and suggested its ownership proposition deserved greater attention.
“SFG, they’re growing a lot, but it seems to be coming from Purple Circle, it seems to be a bit of an underdog, not getting as much coverage or spoken about, but they seem to be growing a lot, and I know that their offering is a members-owned style aggregator,” he said.
Purple Circle describes itself as broker-owned and offers members shares in the company.
Elsewhere, Outsource Financial added nine representatives to reach 976, although it remained three below January’s level.
Yellow Brick Road (YBR) Group gained four to reach 932, taking its year-to-date increase to 13.
Mortgage Choice recorded the largest quarterly headcount fall, losing 16 to finish on 1,138, but remained three ahead of January, while AFG’s annual increase stood at 48.
Recovery extends beyond switching
Across the top ten, 881 appointments outweighed 784 exits, with quarterly growth of approximately 0.5 per cent lifting year-to-date gains to 279, or 1.6 per cent.
New participation also supported recruitment, with 687 people new to the register joining a top 10 controller during the quarter, taking that measure to 1,832 since January.
The report recorded 2,353 people joining top 10 controllers during 2026, including 362 arriving from another aggregator.
Separately, registered business representatives rose by 119 to 12,949.
Queensland led quarterly state gains with 37 additional representatives, including 11 at LMG, while NSW led absolute growth since January, adding 79.
Tasmania grew fastest proportionally over that period, adding 15, or 11.8 per cent, while South Australia gained 51, or 5 per cent.
Finsure lost 54 in Victoria and 49 in NSW since January, while Lendi lost 44 in NSW.
Connective had the most WA representatives, at 382, while AFG’s WA share was highest at 13.4 per cent.
Across all 34 aggregators covered, headcount reached 19,929, up 113 for the quarter but only 99 since January.
Outside the top 10, Viking Asset Aggregation gained 22 representatives, or 14.4 per cent, and Fintelligence added 21, or 11.1 per cent.
National Mortgage Brokers, meanwhile, lost 21, or 6.8 per cent, while Beagle Finance declined by 19, or 5.6 per cent.
[Related: New independent report reveals aggregator movements]
Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?
Make The Adviser a preferred news source on Google.
Click here to add The Adviser as a preferred news source.
