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One fast-rising brokerage has started reaping the rewards of a scheme that ‘coaches’ clients into finance over one or two years.
Iconic Home Loans, which was a new entry on this year’s Top 25 Brokerages list, is now winning business from the scheme it launched two years ago, said owner James Pibworth.
He told The Adviser that the Perth firm prepares home ownership guides and savings plans for clients who are one or two years away from qualifying for finance. The clients then report their savings achievements every fortnight, he added.
Mr Pibworth said the first wave of coached borrowers had now been placed in home loans, resulting in business for Iconic Home Loans that it wouldn’t otherwise have gained.
“It’s a lot of work, but it pays off. We've found that in talking to a lot of these clients – they had seen other brokers first that simply weren't interested in helping them and told them to come back when they qualify,” he said.
Iconic Home Loans was founded in 2008 and wrote $317 million of loans in 2013. It has 11 established brokers along with another nine trainees who are now starting to write loans.
The firm refers about 70 per cent of clients to Iconic Financial Planning, which was founded in 2012, said Mr Pibworth.
The clients see their planners at least once a year to review their plan – at which point they are referred back to their broker, he added.
There are now four planners – two were added in the past three months, and there are plans to add another two in the next six months.
Mr Pibworth told The Adviser the growth had come from winning referral business from other brokerages.
The Iconic group is poised for further expansion, with Iconic Accounting set to launch in early July. It will initially consist of one accountant doing tax returns, he said.
[Related: Iconic Home Loans Q&A]
