Queensland’s best brokers named at Better Business Awards 2021

During the course of the evening, the top brokers, business development managers (BDMs) and loan administrators from across the state were celebrated for their hard work and dedication to supporting their clients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Individual awards

Loan Market brokers dominated the top individual awards on the night.

Jodie Wolfenden, broker at Burleigh Heads brokerage Superior Wealth (Loan Market), was named as the state’s Best Finance Broker and Broker of the Year at The Adviser’s Better Business Awards in Brisbane.

Fellow Loan Market broker, Carol King, of Loan Market Buderim, was named the state’s Best Residential Broker 2021.

Holly Bertsos from Niche Finance was named as the broker with Best Customer Service (Individual), with judges calling out her strong client testimonials from self-employed borrowers.

Meanwhile, Mortgage Choice (Peregian Beach) broker, Gordon MacVicar, was named the state’s Best Regional Broker, with judges noting his office’s rapid growth acceleration and strong customer reviews.

This year, the Mentor of the Year award went to John Hehir, CEO of financial services company Financial Advisers Australia. 

Buyers Choice broker Belinda Caesar was named as the state’s Rising Star this year, with judges particularly highlighting her work providing financial literacy to her clients.

New brokers were given a spot in the limelight, too, with Darra-based broker Duncan Ahlin from Real Estate Investment Finance being named as the Best Newcomer to the QLD broking industry.

Aptly, the senior broker and director of Your Loan Doctor, George Walklin, took home the award for Wellness Advocate of the Year in recognition of his emphasis on mental health and connection.

In the Editor’s Choice award, editor Annie Kane this year selected Xavier Quenon as the recipient of the Queensland award, particularly noting his passion and advocacy for furthering the broker channel.

BDMs, lenders and loan administrators celebrated

As well as highlighting the achievements of brokers, the Better Business Awards Queensland also commended business development managers (BDMs) and loan administrators for all they do behind the scenes to help their broker partners.

Michelle Rogers from Paddington-based brokerage Emerge Finance took home the trophy for Best Loan Administrator this year.

In the BDM categories, Andy Zhao from Bankwest was named the Best Lender BDM (Bank), while Michelle Rose at La Trobe Financial won the same award in the non-bank category.

In the Best Aggregator BDM award, Choice Aggregation Services’s BDM, Elizabeth Cree, was celebrated as the leading aggregator BDM in the state.

Group awards

In the group awards, the Southport office of IQ Finance for IQ Capital Group took home the award for Best Branded Office, while Ewan Ramsey’s brokerage Ramsey Property Wealth was named the Best Independent Office (5 brokers or less).

The state’s Best Regional Office this year was named as Mortgage Innovations in Varsity Lakes, while the team at Cornerstone Home Loans (Cashmere) were recognised for their hard work for their clients with the Best Customer Service (Office) award.

For their work in supporting the community, the award for Best Community Engagement Program went to Aussie Bundaberg, headed up by George Farmer.

Rounding out the group categories was Brookwater brokerage Zest Mortgage Solutions, which was named Queensland’s Best New Office.

The full list of Queensland’s Better Business Awards winners is available now. 

Congratulations to all the winners and finalists! 

Better Business Summit 2021

The Better Business Awards ceremony follows on from the Better Business Summit, which continues on to four states over the course of the next month.

Themed ‘Better Connected’, over the course of the conference, brokers will hear inspiring stories of resilience and fortitude – with keynote speakers Saroo Brierly telling his incredible and moving story of reconnecting with his biological family in India (on which the movie Lion is based), and Thankyou founder Daniel Flynn demonstrating how perseverance and passion can effect change and turn the business-as-usual model on its head.

As well as providing inspirational and thought-leadership content, the summit is packed with professional development content.

The Adviser team will unveil exclusive findings from the Consumer Access to Mortgages Report session to showcase what borrowers want from the mortgage experience and how brokers can help achieve it.

Editor Annie Kane also interviews broker referral partners (estate agents, buyers agents and accountants) to learn the key trends they’re seeing in the home buying journey, and what they most want from their brokers to maximise strategic partnerships – and catches up with a local elite broker to uncover how they got to where they are now, their tips for success and what they think of the current market.

Given that brokers are busier than ever at the moment, business coach Stewart Bell, founder of Audere Coaching & Consulting, will delve into how brokers can master their workflow, capacity and energy in three key areas, giving brokers the best chance of staying out of the admin and being front-and-centre with clients.

The final session of the day will hear from performance and wellness coaches as they unpack techniques to help brokers connect with their wellbeing so that they can ensure they can outperform competition, engage their intuition, and detox their day for improved work/life balance and increased professional performance.

The Better Business Summit 2021 is a not-to-be-missed event and tickets are still available for the next events, visiting:

• Perth (27 May)
• Melbourne (3 June)
• Adelaide (17 June)
• Sydney (24 June)

Make sure you don’t miss out by securing your place now! Tickets can be purchased here.

[Related: Better Business Summit 2021 agenda revealed]