Mortgage adviser shares his take on recent regulatory activity, and says the focus should be on raising quality in mortgage advice
The regulatory wheels keep turning. In the last two months we’ve had the new Financial Advice Code, and the FMA's review into advice accessibility. The regulator wants to understand how accessibility and quality work together, acknowledging the "trade-offs" between them. But Eugene Bartsaikin from Twine Mortgage sees things differently – at least for the mortgage sector. The problem isn't finding advisers, it's finding good ones.
With that in mind, he said standards should probably be higher in the industry – whether through education of ongoing development.
“There are a lot of advisers and the industry is growing at the moment, which is good,” Bartsaikin told NZ Adviser.
“However, the remuneration received from lenders and other sources – it’s already making financial advice accessible. The issue is that it’s not uncommon for us to come across someone who might already have an adviser, but that doesn’t mean that adviser has done a great job.”
Bartsaikin said he’s personally seen a “huge differential” in experience and expertise across the industry, despite the broader push to encourage more New Zealanders to seek advice. He says that starting with higher educational requirements would be a good move – even if they’re in the form of qualifications that aren’t strictly related to the industry.
“That might just be my cynicism, but I do wish for a higher standard,” Bartsaikin said.
“I think a Level 7 educational standard is good – even if it’s unrelated, say, a BA in English or in history. That higher level of education does improve how someone conducts themselves professionally, and that makes the difference. That way, when you supplement with the Level 5 in finance, you have the experience necessary to do the job.”
At the very least, he said there should be stronger clarity on what good continuous education looks like. The latest Financial Advice Code left this somewhat vague, leaving it up to individual advisers to shape their own learning.
For advisers who want to be on the top of their game, Bartsaikin sai continually addressing areas of weakness is key.
“On a practical level, a professional development plan needs to point out areas of improvement and how those will be addressed,” he said. “Advisers need to be honest about what they’re not good at.
“Continuous learning is also going to be important, whether formal or informal,” he added.
“For example, mortgage advisers should probably pick up and learn investments. That is related, even if indirectly.
“You might realise that you actually need to get better at communication, and so having a regular mentor to catch up with outside your business would be a good step. It’s important to have the thinking of, what am I good at? What am I not good at, where do I need to grow?”
Bartsaikin said that ultimately, the role of a mortgage adviser isn’t something you can do on the side. It’s something you need to fully commit to, and this starts with raising quality through education and learning.
“I used to think my job wasn’t that complicated, until I started witnessing the work of some other advisers, unfortunately,” Bartsaikin said.
“Mortgage advice just doesn’t work as a part-time role. You have to fully embrace it, learn, grow and develop.”
