Broker Survey Reveals Adviser Challenges and Plans for the Future

16 June 2020

In a broker survey conducted by Brilliant Solutions, the mortgage club and specialist mortgage packager, brokers revealed their biggest perceived challenges as well whether they were planning on making material changes to their business.

Brilliant Solutions analysed responses from over 60 brokers to determine the impact that the crisis has had on their business, what their biggest challenges were in the next 18 months and also to determine how many were making material changes to their business to prepare for those challenges or adapt to the crisis. The survey was sparked by the company’s desire to sense check the broker sentiment from the intermediary market.

Matthew Arena, Managing Director of Brilliant Solutions said: “We’ve deliberately waited to hear from brokers until the month of May was behind them. It’s given advisers time to take stock of what is happening and get a bit more clarity on what the future holds. We have found understanding the market through the lens of the adviser is crucial. This survey helps and we are happy to share our findings.”

41% of brokers surveyed stated that enquiry levels were down this May when compared to May 2019. That is not a message that has been widely reported. 26% of brokers saw enquiry levels up as a direct comparison. The survey does not factor in the quality of the enquiries.

In terms of the largest challenges facing brokers in the next 18 months, the results are mixed. There are clearly a cohort of brokers that are concerned about new clients and volumes but nothing that stands out. Interestingly, direct to lender product transfers and margins were not seen to be major challenges over the next 18 months with less than 14 respondents ranking that as 1st or 2nd in terms of the challenges they expect to face. New Clients scored a much higher 34 votes for the same question.

Other factors mentioned were concerns on house prices and the impact this would have on transactions. Clive Langley of PSA Financial said: “We are concerned about house prices, that is the single biggest threat to our business at the moment and we expect them to drop significantly in the next 18 months.”

Broker confidence in their business models remains high. Only 19% of brokers said they would be making changes to their business model in the near future. Arron Bardoe of Davidson Downing summed up the confidence in their model when he commented: “I suspect many brokerages, especially large firms, will be re-evaluating their business models since Lockdown. Those pursuing solely profit may have found their models less sustainable than those who place the customer at the centre of what they do.”

Those brokers that were changing their business appear to be adopting more technology rather than changing any of the business fundamentals. Video meetings and new software upgrades were all frequently mentioned.

The Brilliant Broker Survey seeks to give a DA broker’s perspective on the market.