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On ASIC’s remuneration review, honesty in broking and target shooting
Q: Who or what inspired you to become a broker?
A: I’ve been in the banking and finance industry for more than 29 years and was lucky to know at a young age what I wanted to do. Working with a major bank led me into mortgages and then on to being a broker. I love providing clients with genuine, personalised service, which I believe is becoming rarer.
Q: What does your ideal Sunday look like?
A: Sunday is gun day! I recently took up bench rest rifle target shooting. It’s a challenging sport that requires calm and focus. I entered my first competition recently and scored 502 out of 550. I ended up in eighth place against people who have represented Australia.
Q: How do you see a broker’s job evolving over the coming years?
A: A lot of clients are craving to deal with people who are honest and upfront about what they are achieving with a loan. The old pushy ‘sales pitch’ method from the 1990s and early 2000s is starting to wear thin. Clients don’t need to be convinced; they just need to be educated so they fully understand what they’re getting. Many clients have been ripped off in some way in the past, therefore good, selfless service will win over a sales pitch.
Q: What do you hope comes out of ASIC’s remuneration review?
A: I hope that the review is fair on brokers and makes no change to the current commission structure. A lot of work goes into each loan settlement, and if a governing body is doing an assessment, they can’t just look at the ‘amount paid’ on each loan. They need to do a holistic review and take into account the amount of hours and hard work that it takes to be a professional broker – networking and sourcing leads, the paperwork involved in every application, and being on top of the ever-changing lending policies. This all takes time, and for most of us it’s not a comfortable 38-hour work week! How much would a government employee expect to be paid if they worked nights and on weekends?
Q: What was the last band you saw live and how were they?
A: Diana Krall. She was excellent – a great jazz vocalist and pianist.
