Brokers reveal what they want in an aggregator

For the aggregators, it is an opportunity to help them quantify their broker relationships, understand their position within the marketplace, identify their respective strengths and weaknesses as well as hearing first-hand experiences from brokers.

The online survey for this year was conducted over September and October 2020 and invited mortgage and finance brokers to rate their aggregator across a number of key relationship measures and across 14 attributes: leadership, agility, value for money, innovation, culture, communication, business support, professional development, industry support, BDM support, software, marketing support, compliance and regulatory support, and lending panel.

This year, the survey collected a representative sample of responses from 1,249 brokers.

Brokers continue to be generally satisfied with their aggregator

Overall, the results of the 2020 Aggregator of Choice survey found that 84 per cent of brokers are satisfied with their aggregator (down 2 per cent on last year).

Moreover, 11 per cent of brokers surveyed said that they are planning to switch aggregators in the next 12 months.

The survey results show there is continued need for aggregators to maximise the satisfaction of their brokers. The results show a strong correlation between low satisfaction and a broker’s plan to switch aggregators. For example, of the brokers that said they were dissatisfied with their aggregator’s offering, 70 per cent said they were planning to make a switch. Conversely, only 2 per cent of those that said they were satisfIed were thinking of moving in the next year. 

What do brokers want?

In 2019, following on from the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, brokers turned to the aggregators for strong leadership and the ability to be agile.

In 2020, these two attributes continued to correlate most highly with broker satisfaction, likely strengthened by the impacts of COVID-19 on the industry and the wider economy.

In addition to leadership and agility, “business support” has also become a much greater part of the satisfaction equation for brokers. Defined as “support to help grow or structure your business”, it is slightly more prominent than “value for money”, which rounded out the top three last year.

One broker commented: “[My aggregator] has provided excellent support, especially through the challenging times.”

Another told Momentum Intelligence: “During COVID they were truly amazing. Innovating to suit the times and support was at next level!”

Which aggregators are leading the way

Of the 14 aggregators/broking groups that were analysed in their entirety in the report, family-owned aggregation group Loan Market ranked first in the combined overall score that averages the key relationship measures that ultimately test the strength of their relationship with their brokers.

Loan Market scored highly in all four key relationship measures, including customer satisfaction, net promoter score, retention, perceived improvement, and overall performance across the individual 14 attributes measured.

“Loan Market’s brokers have continued to be extremely satisfied with their aggregator’s level of support and service over the last 12 months. While many of the other aggregators surveyed scored well, Loan Market’s performance in this year’s survey continues its strong position as a leader in the space,” said Momentum Intelligence’s Michael Johnson.

“The feedback from Loan Market brokers continually references the great culture that exists at Loan Market, and this positive environment is clearly having a strong impact on the experience of its brokers,” he said.

However, nmB brokers were found to be the most satisfied of all brokers surveyed – with the boutique group scoring highly across many segments.

Finsure and Liberty Network Services were also rated highly by their brokers.

Continuing the trend of the last few years, the survey uncovered that Connective was consistently reported as the aggregator that brokers would consider switching to if they ever decided to leave their current aggregator.

Find out more about the key insights and themes of the Aggregator of Choice survey in the December supplement of The Adviser magazine, or purchase the comprehensive report from Momentum Intelligence. This interactive report is designed to be a detailed competitive analysis tool for aggregators to view, compare and contrast their performance against the market. Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

[Related: Majority of brokers think aggregator offering has improved]