Whitepaper on broker value released

The 10-page paper, co-produced with Launch Finance’s operations manager, Kirsty Dellow-Pawski, provides background to the broking industry and the ongoing reports and commissions that have been looking at the sector and aims to “highlight some of the shortcomings” with them and “offer a more balanced industry-accepted view”.

The scope of the whitepaper is therefore “limited to discussing value of using a broker in promoting good consumer outcomes and the importance of maintaining a commission-based remuneration structure (including both upfront and trail commissions)”.

Following interest in the whitepaper from brokers wishing to share the research with their own politicians and customers, Mr Milligan has now made the whitepaper available through The Adviser.

Speaking about the reasons for releasing the paper, Mr Milligan said: “There have been a number of brokers approaching us asking us to release the whitepaper because they want to do a similar thing and sit down with their local and federal politicians about the broker proposition. So, rather than reinvent the wheel, we are happy to share our intellectual property.”

He continued: “I think brokers want to highlight the positives of using a broker, rather than the negative attention that has been playing in the media. So, we’d like to show the difference between brokers and financial planners and accountants, the difference in risk appetite for the different sections of the financial industry and highlight the many things that brokers don’t get paid for. It’s not all about what we get paid for — we do things that we don’t make money on but is part of our service offering to our clients.”

Mr Milligan added that he believes all parts of the industry “have to get [on] board” with sharing the message of the broker proposition, adding that he “really appreciates the Combined Industry Forum and the work and effort of MFAA and other groups in championing the broker channel”.

Mr Milligan previously told The Adviser that he hoped his actions would “bring awareness to the decision makers” and make politicians “aware that brokers do a really good job”.

He said: “We’re a good group of people that provide good consumer outcomes. It’s not just about getting a client a better rate (although that is a part of it), but every broker out there can tell you a story about a client whose house they have saved from repossession or helped [a client] achieve some financial goals that they could never have done before.

“That’s why I did it. I was tired with seeing what had been reported and decided to do something about it.

“I would encourage brokers to speak to their MPs and do it sooner, rather than later. Because at some point, it may be too late.”

Download the Launch Finance whitepaper TheValue of Finance Brokers and Positive Consumer Outcomes.

[Related: ASIC should make it ‘compulsory’ to visit a mortgage broker]