Evolve with the present and plan for the future

In 1903 the president of the Michigan Savings Bank advised Henry Ford’s lawyer, Horace Rackham, not to invest in the Ford Motor Company, in his words “The horse is here to stay but the automobile is only a novelty – a fad.” Add this to the foresight from Margaret Thatcher who suggested that a woman would never be prime minister in her lifetime; the record executive who said the Beatles had no future in show business and the promise made in 2014 by Microsoft founder Bill Gates that “Two years from now, spam will be solved” and it’s clear that history hasn’t always been kind to those who have been vocal in forecasting their future expectations. And, thanks to the internet – about which Robert Metcalfe, the inventor of Ethernet, suggested ‘will soon go spectacularly supernova and in 1996 catastrophically collapse’ - these are unlikely to ever be forgotten.

Predicting the future in such a fast-paced environment as financial services is arguably even more of a lottery. Times have changed fundamentally within the intermediary mortgage market over a relatively short period of time, and it’s inevitable that they will continue to do so. With that in mind, let’s focus more on what is happening now and what will ensue in the near future rather than dusting off the crystal ball to embark upon some pure guesswork.

The rapid emergence of a host of technological enhancements is constantly affecting our everyday working lives. In addition, the influence of mobile technology - and the growing consumer appetite for it - is changing how business is being transacted and the approaches of many firms when it comes to generating and maximising this business. This means that we all have to be more focused and efficient in our online activity and when introducing a range of technological solutions. It’s a brave new world in which firms of all sizes have to utilise the variety of available mediums to develop leads, establish additional revenue streams, develop support networks and interact with clients in an effective manner. Of course the continued emergence of technology goes hand-in-hand with innovation; however it’s also important to add that neither are - or should necessarily be - reliant on the other.

In terms of product innovation within the mortgage market we are seeing the emergence of facilities such as the Family Springboard Mortgage to help first-time buyers make the most of the financial support on offer from parents and other family members. A greater variety of alternative lending solutions are also being developed to meet the changing needs of borrowers. And individual lenders are also shaking up their retention policies, intermediary communication channels, not to mention how and when they pay proc fees. All of which are innovative in their own right.

The near future will see lenders continue to evolve their intermediary offerings both on and offline. Online offerings will increasingly provide hubs which house all the relevant information and tools to enable advisers to generate, place, track and complete business at the click of a mouse. The quest for additional efficiency has long been on the agenda for the majority of lenders and we are now starting the see the real fruits of their labour come to fruition. Although who knows what additional future innovations lay just around the corner.

Expectation around intermediaries will also continue to shift. We touched upon the customers changing needs and it’s vital to maintain an understanding of how people want to be engaged, where they look for additional support/information and why they need the advice process. For me, the focus at Barclays is on speed, simplicity and ease of use. The intermediary/lender relationship is also one which requires constant attention. Service providers have to be a heady combination of trusted partner, creative leader and mediator where necessary. We also need to formulate and maintain a deeper understanding of each and every intermediary partner's business needs and the motivation behind why they, and their clients, are (or not) submitting business. All things which will help elevate this relationship.

This is not an article intended to break the internet, overshadow Nostradamus’ legacy or put Mystic Meg out of business. Its intention is to underline that whatever the future holds we should always be looking to learn from the past, evolve with the present and plan for the future. There is certainly lots of work to be done but the short and longer term outlook remains bright for the intermediary community.