October marked a major milestone for The Adviser, with the inaugural UK Study Tour held in London.
Over the four-day tour, Australia’s top brokers and distribution executives gained first-hand knowledge of the UK market and connected with the leaders of the UK mortgage industry.
According to Jim Hall, head of mortgages at Momentum Media, the tour was a unique opportunity for Australian businesses to get a privileged insight into the best mortgage businesses in the UK and stress-test our local market based on the experience of our UK cousins.
“A clear message from the UK market, and an underlying theme for the tour, was that preparation for greater legislative oversight is essential, while broking businesses should be exploring what their businesses might look like with tighter trail commission revenue.
“Central to this discussion was the opportunity to deepen income via protection plus developing other revenue streams – including the business opportunities through servicing the SME sector,” Mr Hall said.
The depth of the UK speaker line-up was first class, with representation from the heads of top-tier banks including Barclays, Santander and the Royal Bank of Scotland, as well as leading aggregation businesses Mortgage Intelligence and Legal & General.
The CEOs of both industry associations, the Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries, presented to delegates, plus the heads of the UK’s top broking businesses Mortgage Advice Bureau and London & Country Mortgages.
Mr Hall said this was the first time in the history of the UK market that all of these groups and individuals participated in the same business conference.
“Our speakers were open, honest and transparent – sharing with our delegates business insights that would traditionally be a closed shop in a UK setting.
“The level of collaboration and accessibility was a unique attribute of the event and I’m sure a memory that will resonate with the Australian delegation,” he said.
Outside of the formal daytime conference, delegates, speakers and their guests enjoyed a number of once-in-a-lifetime networking experiences, including a private dinner at the Churchill War Rooms.
“Our final conference dinner at Churchill’s wartime bunker in Whitehall, which included access to the restricted Cabinet Room and an address from Winston Churchill’s granddaughter Celia Sandys, was a real experience for us all.
“The UK Study Tour was a great success and we look forward to sharing more of these experiences across all of our professional communities and audiences,” Mr Hall said.