Victorian and Tasmanian brokers celebrated at BBAs

During the course of the evening, the top brokers, business development managers (BDMs) and loan administrators from across the two states were celebrated for their hard work and dedication to supporting their clients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mortgage Choice Oakleigh broker Marvin Coleman took home two awards on the evening, being named Best Residential Broker and – as the highest-scored individual broker winner – the overall winner of Broker of the Year Vic/Tas.

Mortgage Choice brokers closed out the hat-trick when Mortgage Choice Bayside, headed up by Tim Leonard, was named Best Branded Office for Vic/Tas.

Robert Trewin, of Gippsland-based brokerage Trewin Mortgage Broking, won two awards on the night, taking home the trophies for Best Community Engagement Program and the Editor’s Choice award in recognition of his work supporting the Bairnsdale community and for his substantial dedication to raising awareness and funds for Sudden Unexplained Death In Childhood (SUDC).

It was another multi-award win for Loan Market broker Sarah Thomson, who held onto the title of Regional Broker of the Year for the fourth year in a row, while her Geelong-based office was named Best Regional Office. 

Two awards also went to Sadish Visvalingam’s Premier Financial Advocates in Mount Waverley, named as Best New Office and Wellness Advocate of the Year. The judges particularly noted his dedication in not only supporting the wellness of his direct contacts, but also harnessing the strength of the collective to help others.

In the Best Independent Office categories, growing brokerage Inovayt was named as the best large independent office (more than 5 brokers), while Timothy Reynolds’s Accession Finance won the award for the same category in 5 brokers or less.

Will Unkles, of 40 Forty Finance, was crowned Best Finance Broker for the two states, while Camberwell-based MoneyQuest broker Jason Butcher was recognised as Best Newcomer.

Meanwhile, Belinda Gibson of TM Finance Group was named as the broker with Best Customer Service (Individual), with judges also calling out her heavy emphasis on professional excellence and enhancing financial literacy of customers.

Cheltenham-based brokerage Loans Australia, headed up by Stephen McClatchie, was named as the office with the Best Customer Service.

This year, the Mentor of the Year award went to Jason Back, founder and managing director of Broker Essentials, in recognition of his hard work delivering training and advice to the broking industry across the country.

BDMs, lenders and loan administrators celebrated

As well as highlighting the achievements of brokers, the Better Business Awards Vic/Tas also commended business development managers (BDMs) and loan administrators for all they do behind the scenes to help their broker partners.

Kristel Ongoco from Entourage Finance was named as the Best Loan Administrator for her hard work.

In the BDM categories, Eliza Mead from Macquarie Bank was named the Best Lender BDM (bank) for her work in supporting brokers, while Steven Marinucci at Advantedge won the same award in the non-bank category.

In the Best Aggregator BDM award, it was the second year running for Richele Janjatovic of AFG to be named the best in Victoria and Tasmania.

The full list of Vic/Tas Better Business Awards winners is available now. 

Congratulations to all the winners and finalists! 

Better Business Summit 2021

The Better Business Awards ceremony followed on from the Better Business Summit 2021.

Themed ‘Better Connected’, over the course of the conference, brokers heard inspiring stories of resilience and fortitude – with keynote speakers Saroo Brierley telling his incredible and moving story of reconnecting with his biological family in India (on which the movie Lion is based), and Thankyou founder Daniel Flynn demonstrating how perseverance and passion can effect change and turn the business-as-usual model on its head.

As well as providing inspirational and thought-leadership content, the summit was packed with professional development content.

Broker referral partners (estate agents, buyers agents and accountants) unpacked the key trends they’re seeing in the home buying journey, and what they most want from their brokers to maximise strategic partnerships.

Local elite brokers also uncovered how they got to where they are now, their tips for success and what they think of the current market.

The Better Business Summit also took into consideration the importance of wellness when running a small business, particularly in a COVID-19 environment. Performance and wellness coaches unveiled techniques to help brokers connect with their wellbeing so that they can ensure they can outperform competition, engage their intuition, and detox their day for improved work/life balance and increased professional performance.

Find out more about the Better Business Summit and Better Business Awards here.

[Related: WA’s Broker of the Year 2021]