Loan Market creates network success role

According to Loan Market, the creation of the new role also reflects the firm's growth, with the group stating it had seen an increase in market share growth across the country.

Ms McNaughton will head Loan Market’s network offering and be involved in the development and delivery of Loan Market’s new nationwide operating system, “The Loan Market Way”.

In the role, she will also be charged with sharpening the firm’s responsibility of keeping brokers safe, helping them find and keep clients, and grow their businesses.

Ms McNaughton said her primary focus will remain on the roll-out, network training and adoption of The Loan Market Way operating system to prepare the network for the best interests duty (BID).

“We believe best interests duty is a great opportunity for brokers, but understand any change in a business process can be difficult, so ongoing support and training will be of paramount importance, especially for those leading big teams,” she said.

“To deliver The Loan Market Way to our network, we will support our brokers through a combination of tech and face-to-face education by our state-based broker success teams – including small group training and one-on-one business support.”

Ms McNaughton told The Adviser that with the best interests duty legislation coming into effect from 1 July, Loan Market would structure the team so it has got “BID buddies” in place.

She said the firm, which has a total of 580 brokers, would appoint one broker success manager to 40 brokers, who would sit down with peers and examine their home loan application processes, and sign off on the quality of their notes about the recommendations they have made, and the rationale behind those recommendations.

The new appointee added that the broker success manager would also help peers use the firm’s technological tools to enable them to collect notes as they go instead of postponing the task to the end of the application process.

Brokers who require assistance with technological tools would receive one-on-one training while those who are tech-savvy would receive other types of support such as access to Hangouts and webinars on how to use the tools.

“Our message to brokers is engage with your BID buddy, your broker success manager,” Ms McNaughton said.

“We all know that brokers are always acting in the best interests of the clients. But the thing about proving it to an Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) surveillance program is that they want to ring us and pick up a file.

“With this Loan Market process, they’ll be able to understand why a broker recommended a particular product. It might not have been the cheapest product but it would have been in the client’s best interest given the way they’ve documented the goals and objectives of that client,” she said.

Loan Market executive chairman Sam White said the impending introduction of the best interests duty obligation meant brokers were looking for strong leadership and an enhanced service offering.

“In times of change – something our industry is not unfamiliar with – brokers will be looking for their aggregators for leadership,” Mr White said.

“I believe the role of the aggregator is now to design and implement systems that make running a brokerage more efficient and more profitable and which [enable] brokers to spend more time with their customers.

“That’s why the appointment of Loan Market’s executive director of network success is incredibly important and there was never a question in my mind that the right person was Andrea. She has a track record of success in supporting our biggest brokerages and developing great leaders within our business.”   

Mr White will be supporting Ms McNaughton and her team in executing the strategy.

“He’ll be holding me to account to deliver the four promises we make to brokers: find and keep more clients, keep them safe, grow their business, and save them time,” she said.

With Ms McNaughton’s promotion, Stephen Doyle, who joined Loan Market in September 2019, will continue in his role of director national growth.

[Related: Loan Market announces foreign currency partnership]