Value of brokers showcased in new TV series

The five-episode series, hosted by wealth specialist Vanessa Stoykov, sees Australian sports stars assisted by financial advisers and industry specialists to achieve their financial goals.

The show aims to teach Australians about finances in a bid to increase financial literacy and help consumers feel more in control of their financial futures. 

The series will showcase the challenges faced by the athletes, which represent some of the most common challenges everyday Australians face, including saving up to purchase a property, managing finances to transition over to a new career, and preparing for retirement.

The first episode, which aired on Saturday, followed the journey of Australian Paralympian Madison de Rozario in her journey to buy a property.

On the show, the valuable role that mortgage brokers play in helping Australians achieve their dream of home ownership was showcased by aggregator CEO Tanya Sale of outsource financial.

Speaking on a panel discussion on the show, Ms Sale said: “If I was Maddie, I’d be starting to look now. I’d be choosing a mortgage broker, sitting down and actually planning.”

In an interview with The Adviser, the aggregator head said she intended to outline the benefits of using a broker to “ensure that the mortgage broking industry profile remains very high in the minds of the consumer”.

Ms Sale elaborated: “This show is about assisting, educating and guiding these five sports personalities in planning for their future – not just when they finish their career but all the way through it. While this focuses largely on financial planning, a big part of the show looks at property investment, which is when I became involved in the panel.

“The series just epitomises what we, at outsource financial, believe in – financial education. So I was very excited to sit on this panel and represent the broking industry.”

She continued: “What I wanted to try and get across is that the mortgage broker is there not only to help in the lending applications but to guide and assist you in your plan for whatever you want to achieve (i.e. purchasing a property). I wanted to showcase that brokers can guide you the process and flatten out any speed bumps. For example, a mortgage broker can help a consumer with a savings plan if they haven’t yet got enough of money saved for a deposit so that they can achieve their dream of purchasing a property.

“I urged people to see a mortgage broker because there needs to be more education around what purchasing a property entails. For example, 50 per cent of people that go to an auction don’t realise they need a pre-approval before even putting up their hand and that can be a major curveball. So we need to educate the consumer at this level so they know what to expect.”

She continued: “While a financial planner can help you set and achieve your goals, a mortgage broker is a major link in the property journey as they know all the specialist products, including those for sports professionals, such as the products offered by Westpac.

“A financial planner may not know that, but the mortgage broker has that knowledge and a consumer needs to tap into that,” Ms Sale told The Adviser.

The outsource financial CEO will also be outlining the benefits and ins and outs of using a mortgage broker in a series of blogs for the Secrets of the Money Masters website.

Host Ms Stoykov commented: “For the majority of Australians, the dream of owning their own home or the idea of investing wisely seems out of reach. I’m thrilled to be a part of this series through which we show the genuine struggles most of us experience and the way to gain control over those challenges.

“I’m passionate about bringing accessible financial advice to all and I am proud to be a part of OneVue’s mission to act as a champion for change within the financial services industry to deliver simpler, fairer access to professional investing for all Australians,” she said.

OneVue managing director Connie Mckeage added: “We’ve been through a difficult time in the industry and it’s time we stepped forward as a community and did something positive to regain the trust of investors. Accessing professional investment management and advice at a reasonable cost is important to us all.

“Our focus for the series is to enable all Australians to empower themselves to take control of their financial futures and become investors, allowing them to achieve their financial goals, whatever they may be.”

The series will continue on Channel 9 each Saturday at midday for the next month and will delve into the financial journeys of Olympic gold medalist and swimming record-breaker Michael Klim, two-time AFL premiership medallion winner Jude Bolton, Wallabies star Bernard Foley and soccer icon Kyah Simon.

[Related: FHBs ‘overwhelmed’ by mortgage process]