Human skills will define the best advisers in an increasingly digital market: MAE London

The modern adviser is evolving far beyond transactional mortgage advice, but those that don't embrace an online presence are at risk of getting left behind, industry professionals predict. 

Jonathan Stinton of Coventry Building Society, Louise Weiss of Paradigm, George Sanford of VIBE Finance and Joel Bailey-Wilson of Meta Mortgages, speaking on a panel discussion titled ‘The evolution of the adviser’, explored how the adviser role is evolving as technology, regulation and changing consumer expectations continue to reshape the mortgage market. 

In the Financial Reporter Future Leaders theatre at Mortgage Adviser Expo London yesterday, the speakers discussed the impact of AI, automation, digital communication and social media, alongside the skills and behaviours advisers may need to succeed over the next 10 to 20 years.  

The panellists said borrower expectations have changed significantly in recent years, with customers increasingly expecting faster responses, more digital communication, greater flexibility and ongoing reassurance throughout the advice process. 

Joel Bailey-Wilson said that in the current climate "there's a lot more conversation, a lot more handholding, a lot more guidance, and a lot more teaching".

Louise Weiss noted that "the adviser's role has developed into also counselling, with great volatility and what's happened with the market". "I think we've got quite a confused generation coming through - overwhelmed, but very savvy, based on the information that's available to them", she added.

The discussion also focused on concerns around the ageing adviser population and whether the industry is doing enough to attract new talent.  

Jonathan Stinton commented: "I love the mortgage market, but if someone were to say 'this is what your first two or three years in the mortgage market is going to look like: you're not going to have any clients, any income, you're going to have compliance constantly checking every single thing you do. And by the way, you're going have to struggle with markets, rates, and sentiment.' But once you're in this market, it's so infectious, you don't want to leave. This is the job you want to do for the rest of your days. So how do we then translate that across as an industry?"

Joel noted that less than 2% of people in financial services are under 25. As someone who started his career at 21, he said: "I was always in finance and you understand a lot about the different financial roles, but you're never really told about advice and mortgage brokers. So I think for us, it's probably our job to talk about it a lot more."

A major theme throughout the session was the growing role of technology and AI within advice businesses. 

When asked what an adviser will look like in 10 years' time, panellists said technology can improve efficiency, communication, administration and customer journeys, but warned against over-reliance on automation and templated advice models.

Louise said she sees "a world where AI will take away all of the heavy lifting side. But the question is, what are you then going to do with that time?" 

Weiss, Stinton, Sanford and Bailey-Wilson discussed where advisers should continue to prioritise human interaction, empathy and judgement within the advice process. 

Louise encouraged advisers to explore how to become a "strategic ecosystem", understanding the psychographics of the client and learning about them at depth. "The human side only actually gets greater over time, people want that connection. It's the one thing that AI technology can't replace, isn't it?"

Looking ahead, the panellists explored which skills may separate the best advisers from the average ones in an increasingly digital market.

George Sanford said that property remains a "people business", and although clients might have more preconceived ideas due to AI and social media, "ultimately, the person that clients choose to go ahead with is based on that personal relationship". "There'll be an element of using technology to make things faster, cleaner, clearer. But the person behind it will still be what the client will make their decisions off, ultimately", he explained. 

Giving his tips to advisers in a digital age, Jonathan Stinton said: "If I were to write myself a Google review, what do I want my clients to think of me as a person, as an adviser, and as a business? And once you've written the perfect review, how many of those points are you actually hitting? What can you improve upon? What can you capitalise on?"

Mortgage Adviser Event London took place at Magazine London on 19 May, bringing together advisers, lenders and mortgage professionals for a day focused on the future of the industry. 

Visitors could attend 14 seminar sessions and meet more than 70 exhibitors from across the mortgage and specialist finance markets. 

The event also featured breathwork sessions hosted by Pepper Money throughout the day, alongside the Future Leaders theatre, which focused on supporting the next generation of professionals entering the UK mortgage industry. 

Closing the session, the panellists agreed that brokers should consider what they want to get out of their social media strategy, whether it translates into leads or is just an ongoing visibility piece.

Jonathan concluded: "I think it's about trying to understand what client expectations are. What do they want to see when they're engaging with an adviser?

"If you want to grow and bring on new clients, unfortunately clients today will want to find an online presence. So if you don't move with the times to a certain degree, then potentially you're going to start to see the effects of it."

Joel agreed: "Now in this industry, you have to have an online presence. One rule I always go to it comes to social media is the 70% rule. I always say if it's 70% good enough, then it's good enough to go out. So as long as you can keep yourself visible, continue to network, slowly but surely you will begin to grow as an adviser."