The financial services group has announced the consolidation of its broking operations under a new national brand.
Viridian Financial Group has mothballed the Smartmove brand and launched Viridian Lending, consolidating its mortgage broking operations under a single national banner as it pushes closer alignment between lending and financial advice.
The company said the launch of the new business completed the integration of Smartmove Professional Mortgage Advisors into the wider Viridian group, three years after the top 25 brokerage announced its strategic integration with the financial services firm.
Smartmove had continued operating under its own name following the 2023 deal.
Viridian said the former Smartmove operation settled more than $1 billion in lending annually.
Cameron Wiles has been appointed general manager, lending, succeeding former Smartmove general manager – lending Darren Little.
The group said Viridian Lending would bring together its lending capability with its financial advice, investment and portfolio-management businesses, while allowing brokers to continue managing their own client relationships.
Viridian chief executive Raamy Shahien said the new structure responded to a change in how clients approached major financial decisions.
“Ten years ago, a client might have approached a mortgage decision separately from investment or retirement planning. Today those decisions increasingly sit side by side,” Shahien said.
He said lending decisions were increasingly connected to clients’ broader financial circumstances, including investment and retirement planning, requiring greater collaboration.
“Financial decisions are becoming more complex and more interconnected. Lending is no longer just about securing finance - it's increasingly one part of a broader financial picture,” he added.
“We believe the best client outcomes come when mortgage brokers and financial advisers work more closely together, and that's exactly what Viridian Lending has been built to enable.”
Advice and lending convergence
Viridian said the new national brand would combine the autonomy of individual client portfolio management with the scale of a “diversified” financial services group.
Under the model, the group said its lending personnel would have access to technology, operational assistance, referral opportunities and wider group capability, while maintaining independence in their client relationships.
Viridian said it now employed 100 advisers, 27 brokers and 16 portfolio managers and across the group, it oversees $7 billion in funds under advice, $5.5 billion in funds under management and $3.6 billion in lending.
The group added that recent changes to property tax settings had reinforced the value of closer coordination between lending and advice professionals.
AI focus under new leader
Wiles said the business was designed around the changing expectations of the broking profession, particularly the demand for both independence and greater operational backing.
“The future of broking isn't about choosing between independence and support - it's about having both,” Wiles said.
“Viridian Lending has been built around that belief, giving brokers the technology, infrastructure and support they need to focus on what they do best - building trusted relationships with clients and helping them achieve better financial outcomes.”
Viridian said it would continue investing in technology and automation, including examining how artificial intelligence could simplify workflows and lessen administrative demands.
“Technology is changing what brokers should spend their time doing,” Wiles said.
“As AI continues to evolve, we see significant opportunities to reduce administration and free brokers to focus on the judgement, relationships and complex conversations that clients value most.”
Wiles added that brokerages investing in these capabilities could create a more scalable platform by combining technology-led efficiency with closer collaboration across lending and advice.
“The brokerages that invest in those capabilities today will be the ones that give brokers more time to focus on where they add the greatest value for clients,” he noted.
“Combined with closer collaboration alongside financial advisers, that creates a better experience for clients and a stronger platform for brokers to grow their businesses.”
[Related: Viridian maps next growth chapter and priorities]
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