Planners and accountants the future of distribution

Outsource Financial chief executive Tanya Sale told Mortgage Business that consumers already have a close, trusted relationship with their accountant or financial planner who will play a more prominent role in the future of mortgage distribution.

“I believe the new era is going to be driven by the accountants and planners,” Ms Sale said.

“I have always believed that is where lending will predominantly come from,” she said. “For the consumer, those are the people they trust.

“The accountant does their tax. They know their business inside and out. So does their planner, who does their statement of advice. That is where the new era is going there is no doubt about it.”

As an aggregator, Outsource Financial uses a different model in that the majority of its loan writers are accountants and planners who have added mortgage broking to their offering.

However Ms Sale said she is now seeing more interest from brokers looking to join a non-aligned aggregation group.

“Someone asked me why we were growing so strongly. I keep on saying one word: independence,” she said.

“Brokers are starting to turn and value independence over a branded group like Aussie or Mortgage Choice or AFG.”

As the company continues to grow, Ms Sale said she makes an effort to meet every new broker who joins the group.

“We want the right culture and quality under our umbrella,” she said.

“I don’t want to be another PLAN, AFG, Connective or whatever. I don’t want to be like them at all.”

While she has received a number of offers from banks, Ms Sale said she has no plans to align the business with a major financial institution.

“We get approached all the time, but there is just no way. We are independent and we built this group to retain the independence in the industry,” she said, adding that lenders only look to buy aggregators for one reason.

“They buy them for distribution and cross sell,” she said. “That’s what they buy them for.”