A word from Optimise Aggregation
At Optimise, we are a tech-focused asset finance aggregator with a strong emphasis on innovation and transparency.
We specialise in empowering our brokers to maximise their potential through our tailored aggregation services, advanced tools, and industry expertise.
With decades of combined experience in the industry throughout our organisation and the backing of our cutting-edge (AFOS) platform, Optimise is uniquely positioned to understand our customers’ needs firsthand.
This is why we’ve quickly become an industry leader: not only do we have the tools to help you succeed, but we’re committed to providing you with the support to go above and beyond for your clients.
Whether you’re looking to streamline your operations, access better lending solutions, or expand your client offerings – our team is ready to support you.
The landscape of Australian finance throughout the 2026 financial year presented a unique paradox for broking professionals operating within the asset finance sector. Macro-economic conditions were defined by a mix of shifting commercial investment drivers and evolving consumer habits.
Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics for the June 2026 quarter revealed that overall private new capital expenditure on plant, equipment, and machinery experienced a notable decline across broader industry metrics. This softening in overall capital expenditure was driven largely by a pronounced pullback in heavy mining equipment investment as major resource operators adjusted their capital deployment strategies.
Despite these broader macro-economic headwinds in industrial expenditure, though, brokers, lenders, and aggregators across Australia have reported that underlying market demand for asset finance remained exceptionally buoyant over FY26.
While large-scale industrial machinery procurement faced a localised slowdown, consumer appetite reached historic highs. This structural shift was significantly propelled by extraordinary consumer demand for electric vehicles, incentivised by ongoing fleet modernisation trends, favourable fringe benefits tax treatments, and a growing domestic commitment to sustainable transport solutions.
Consequently, brokers who specialised in consumer motor vehicle finance (or pivoted to do so), as well as commercial machinery and business technology, found themselves operating in a remarkably target-rich environment.
In this first instalment of The Adviser’s Elite Broker Ranking 2026, run in partnership with Optimise Aggregation, we measure the scale, impact, and resilience of the top 100 asset finance originators operating across Australia.
This comprehensive initiative highlights the top performers who successfully navigated these complex market dynamics to write substantial volumes of business. The final ranking serves not only to recognise individual success, but also to illuminate the vast spectrum of operational models that currently define modern asset finance broking in Australia.
Analysing the top 100 brokers reveals a remarkably diverse landscape of business models and distribution strategies.
The broking market in Australia is far from homogeneous, and success is defined differently depending on a broker’s target client base and operational scale.
On one end of the spectrum, high-volume transactional brokerages leverage digital platforms and streamlined consumer processes to settle hundreds, or even thousands, of smaller deals every year.
On the other end, highly specialised commercial brokers focus almost exclusively on high-value equipment acquisitions, settling only a handful of complex transactions annually.
Additionally, a growing cohort of established residential mortgage brokers and commercial finance specialists successfully supplement their primary service offerings by integrating asset finance solutions to meet the holistic funding requirements of their existing clients.
This trend was seen particularly in the second half of the financial year – as rising interest rates and a softening property market led more brokers to diversify into other revenue streams.
This dynamic range of business models directly influences the massive variance in loan sizes and settlement counts across the top 100 ranking.
The commercial realities of asset finance mean that the monetary value of professional business equipment can be exponentially higher than standard consumer vehicles, with specialised heavy machinery, medical equipment, and aviation assets routinely exceeding $1 million per unit. A broker specialising in heavy haulage, specialised yellow goods, or high-tech medical equipment might achieve multimillion-dollar volume totals through just a few carefully structured deals, while a consumer-focused broker must maintain intense operational efficiencies to match those total settlement figures.
Collectively, the top 100 in the Elite Brokers – Asset Finance ranking 2026 wrote more than $775.3 million in asset finance across 9,885 loans in FY26.
The highest-volume individuals
Taking out the prestigious top spot overall in the Elite Broker Ranking 2026 was Michelle Gorsevski, the founder and director of lendlab. Gorsevski delivered an extraordinary performance across FY26, settling a market-leading overall volume of $58,596,225. This was nearly $10 million more than her settlements in FY25.
Beyond securing the highest-dollar volume in the country, she also proved to be the most prolific originator in the ranking by total deal count, settling a staggering 1,859 individual asset finance loans over the 12-month period.
Her ability to combine high-volume processing efficiency with overall portfolio value demonstrates the phenomenal potential of high-volume asset finance models using technology in today’s digital environment.
Securing the second spot in overall asset finance volumes was Sidd Bahree of Xpress Finance, who settled more than $57,100,000 in settled loans. Bahree achieved this impressive figure across 487 transactions, maintaining a strong average loan size of $117,248.
Following closely in third place was Colin Evans from The Asset Finance Shop, who generated $52,564,793 in total volume across 770 settled loans. Following him was Stephen Corbett of Balanz Pty Ltd, who demonstrated the immense power of high-value commercial transactions by settling $44,883,106 across just 95 deals.
The contrast between volume-driven models and specialised high-value transactions is best illustrated by the broker who claimed the highest average loan size in the 2026 ranking. That honour went to Paul Frazis of George Capital Finance Solutions, who was recently named the Commercial Finance Broker of the Year at the Australian Broking Awards 2026.
Frazis finished sixth overall in dollar volume with just over $38,700,000, but achieved this astonishing result through just two settled loans over the entire financial year. This translates to a staggering average loan size of $19,350,000 per transaction, underlining the enormous scale of specialised institutional and corporate equipment financing.
Other brokers who demonstrated exceptional average loan sizes through specialised commercial finance included medico finance broker Michael Evans of MedX Finance, who recorded an average loan size of $493,610 across 48 settlements for a total volume of $23,693,301.
Similarly, Corbett of Balanz Pty Ltd had an average deal size of $472,453 in FY26, while Todd O’Reilly, also of MedX Finance, averaged $470,385.87 per loan across 59 settled transactions. These figures emphasise how specialised brokers serving medical, corporate, and heavy industrial sectors can achieve elite status through high-end commercial expertise rather than sheer deal volume.
Which asset finance brokerages are dominating?
Beyond individual achievements, the Elite Broker Ranking 2026 highlighted several dominant brokerages that successfully fielded multiple top-performing originators within the top 100 list.
The most prominent enterprise performance came from Valiant Finance, which achieved an overwhelming presence by placing 19 individual brokers in the final ranking. This remarkable achievement underscores Valiant Finance’s group scale, tech-enabled aggregation support, and ability to foster elite broking talent across its national network.
Another standout corporate entity in this year’s ranking was LoanOptions.ai, which successfully placed seven brokers in the top 100, led by Eugene Lee (18th place overall) with $10,996,824 settled across 292 loans and Brad Parker (ranked 20th) with $9,900,000 across 288 loans.
Specialised medical and dental capital provider MedX Finance demonstrated major brand authority by placing five brokers in the ranking, led by O’Reilly (eighth place) with $27,752,767 and Colin Taylor (ninth place) with $26,497,610.
Several other prominent brokerages had repeat entrants in this year’s ranking. Commercial broking powerhouse Balanz, including Balanz Pty Ltd, featured three brokers in the ranking, headlined by Corbett in the top four and supported by Angus Chrisp and Abdul Osman.
Boutique equipment specialist Dealify also secured three positions on the list, led by Hayden Lamont in 26th place with $7,747,865 written across 165 settlements. Other brokerages with multiple entrants included Quest Finance, Build Invest Grow, and Mortgage Choice (across its various franchise locations).
Every professional named in the Elite Broker Ranking 2026 – Asset Finance has demonstrated extraordinary commitment, technical acumen, and operational excellence over the past financial year.
Navigating shifting economic cycles, evolving borrower demands, and changing lender policies requires exceptional skill and dedication.
The Adviser and Optimise Aggregation extend their warmest congratulations to all 100 brokers recognised in this year’s elite ranking.
Methodology of the ranking
To ensure the integrity and credibility of the Elite Broker Ranking, a robust methodology was employed.
Undertaken by Agile Market Intelligence on behalf of The Adviser, brokers were invited to submit data regarding the number of asset finance loans settled, the value of these loans, and the average size of loans written for the financial year ending June 2026.
Each broker was required to provide evidence supporting their submissions, which were meticulously verified.
The final ranking was determined by ranking the brokers by the largest settlement volumes in dollar terms.
