Principal of iFin Capital, Nathan Hogan, sat down with Elite Broker to talk about his career as a leading asset finance broker, the trends he’s seeing in the space at the moment and his top tips for writing asset finance.
In a change-up from our usual mortgage broking guests, Nathan Hogan illuminates the world of asset finance broking.
After being crowned the Asset Finance Broker of the Year 2021, we caught up with the Sydney-based broker to find out how he found success with iFin Capital, the journey he took to build his business, and what top tips he has for other prospective asset finance brokers.
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How did you become an asset finance broker?
It was an interesting start, that’s for sure. I started out in commercial finance at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), then I went on to National Australia Bank (NAB), and then I was with GE Capital until they had a restructure and I had the opportunity to join Australian Structured Finance.
Four years later after that process was all done, there was an opportunity to start iFin Capital, and that’s where I’ve been since.
Were there any challenges you faced when navigating over to the broker channel from banking?
When you’re coming from a big-branded banking background, you don’t have that brand on your business card anymore. It’s all about you and what you bring to the table, along with the skills that you can bring when the opportunity of helping a client arises.
It’s really all about selling yourself, and selling your own skill set, which is a big difference.
How did you establish yourself and your brand in the broker channel?
I was lucky to have a lot of strong connections along with a large network out there, and that only grew as we put ourselves out there.
We had a lot of strategies around targeting specific industries, specific business leaders and decision makers, in particular. From there, it’s been mostly word of mouth and our referrals.
One of our biggest yardsticks is if the client’s willing to refer you to someone else, it means you’re doing a good push, so we really push for that.
What kind of loans are you writing?
We do a lot in large equipment companies, so anything from mining, transport, civil construction, manufacturing and material handling. Basically, anyone with forklifts, telehandlers, scissor lifts, etc.
You brought on rugby league legend Tom Trbojevic as a partner of iFin Capital a few years ago. We recently had Tom Trbojevic as a guest on New Broker talking about his route into broking — but how did the relationship first come about?
Tom and I were lucky enough to play at the same junior rugby league club. iFin Capital sponsors a few community sports teams, and a few years ago, Tom’s parents were there at the same club and we just got introduced from there. That’s where the opportunity came up.
He’s an associate partner with us now, and outside of football, he does a little bit of client work with us and he’s learning the ropes as a broker.
What do you think is key to being successful in asset broking?
The keys to success are having a deep knowledge of understanding financials and what drives businesses, as well as understanding what drives industries and understanding industry trends.
For example, if we’re looking at a specific asset type and we might know that the banks aren’t interested in that asset type, we can advise our clients as to why their loans are being rejected and advise them on other channels that can actually help them achieve their goals.
Do you have any top tips for anyone looking into becoming an asset broker?
Really get to understand the industries you want to target and everything that’s involved. I think that gives you a competitive advantage over some bankers out there.
If you talk the talk and walk the walk, you’ll find yourself way ahead of some of the people involved.
Another top tip is to keep asking questions. If you don’t know, ask. It’s better to ask the tough questions than go in blind, especially if you spend a bit of time writing up a deal.
Finally, one thing we do at iFin is have fun. Make sure it’s not all work and no play. Mix it up a bit!
You can find out more about Nathan Hogan and the world of asset finance broking in The Adviser’s Elite Broker podcast.
Tune in to the episode, How this leading asset finance broker is keeping up with demand, below:
