Ex-Time Home Loans director partners with AFG

AFG has formed the partnership with Mr Burger’s new business venture called Success & Broker, which Mr Burger said would be launched in the next few months.

The partnership is designed for Mr Burger to assist AFG’s Queensland brokers and staff with business structures, recruitment strategies, referral relationships, succession planning and growth opportunities, according to AFG.

In his contracted role, Mr Burger will use his experience from operating two brokerages to coach other brokers on growing their businesses, and share his knowledge with AFG staff to help them provide further support to the AFG broker network, the aggregator said.

The new arrangement between AFG and Mr Burger was launched with a session at AFG’s Building a Better Future broker roadshow currently underway across the country.

Speaking at the roadshow, AFG head of sales and distribution Chris Slater said Mr Burger’s appointment would add an additional dimension to the support offered to its broker network, which he said was seeing “unprecedented growth in the productivity” of its small-to-medium enterprises (SME) across the country.

He said: “Ruan has built two award-winning brokerage firms from the ground up, and he’s got plenty of knowledge that our brokers and our staff will benefit from.

“Ruan has established industry-leading referral partner relationships, managed teams of high-quality brokers, and understands the struggle and effort required to get there. It’s a critical time for our industry, which is growing and changing at a rate I've never seen before and our brokers and our staff will welcome the extra support Ruan providers.”

Mr Burger said that he would be visiting the AFG offices in Queensland four days in a month as part of his role to speak with AFG’s broker network and provide them with guidance.

He also commented on his new business venture (Success & Broker) that is due to be launched in the next few months, stating: “I’m excited to be starting a new business that’s all about helping people in our industry and am delighted AFG has come on board as one of our first partners.

“We’ve been impressed with all the changes AFG has planned for their network, and helping Chris, Beccy and their brokers in Queensland is a great place for us to start. We’re excited to get this partnership underway.”

Mr Burger recently sold Brisbane-based Time Home Loans – which he set up in 2013 – to broker and Cliff & Moss founder Johnathon Reeves as the brokerage was due to expand into commercial and business finance.

Mr Burger built Time Home Loans into one of Australia’s leading brokerages (ranking 21st in The Adviser’s Top 25 Brokerages ranking 2021) with a loan book of just over $1 billion as at the end of January 2021.

Before setting up Time Home Loans, Mr Burger established his first brokerage, Home Loans Etc, in Gladstone, Queensland, in 2007, before selling the business and moving to Brisbane in December 2012.

[Related: AFG to invest $15m in neobank]