Diversified broker groups face “long, hard road”: Brad Wood

Director Brad Wood said the aggregator expected to reach the milestone at the end of October.

“For us, 100 planners is quite a milestone because it puts us in the top 10 non-aligned dealer groups in Australia,” Mr Wood told Mortgage Business.

“That’s a good achievement for a business in three years. If you set it up right and get the right people in and put the right distribution channel in play, the business works,” he said.

His comments come after a string of broker groups have moved into the planning space including Mortgage Choice, Loan Market and Vow Financial.

“I see a lot of people getting press about this now, appointing people, and expecting to just be successful,” Mr Wood said.

“Let me tell you, they are in for a long, hard road,” he said.

“I wish them luck, we have been through the set-up and development phases and it is an exciting but difficult journey.

“Having come through that now, it places us in the ideal position to work closely with our members to help them build a strong and successful fully integrated financial services business. Watch this space…”

Mr. Wood said Astute’s diversification strategy has allowed brokers to offer their clients a more complete service offering, although he added that the broking and planning businesses operate separately.

“You need to specialise in a certain area but then have access to other professionals in other disciplines to make sure your clients are getting the same level of professional service that you are providing in your own discipline,” he said.

“There is no way that someone who specialises in mortgages, especially with all the requirements and regulations that you need to be across, has got the same amount of time to devote to a discipline like planning.”