Distribution director believes there may have been a silver lining to COVID-19
Having been in the mortgage industry for several decades, Martin Sims (pictured), distribution director at fintech lender Molo Finance, knows it very well and has seen plenty of change during this time. But there’s one change he’s noted in recent years that’s particularly striking.
Since the pandemic, Sims observes, mortgage professionals have got to know each other and their lives beyond work much better, which he suggests enhances the business they do - particularly between lenders and intermediaries.
“I see more cooperation and collaboration now, and I think it's post-lockdown,” Sims told Mortgage Introducer. “I think people got to know each other, and I think that realisation has helped a lot. There was a traditional environment when I first started to work. Quite often someone in a suit would walk into another’s office, or meet and mix at all these events which were on. I worked for someone and I didn't really know who their wife was. I might know the names of their children, I might know their wife's name, I probably would never see them.
“Suddenly, we were all on those Zoom calls in our t-shirts, with kids coming backwards and forwards, cats hanging off curtains, you know, an ice bucket challenge, somebody chipping a golf ball into a hole in the garden, or whatever. So, I think we probably got to know each other a lot better, it’s far more open, there's less of a line - I think that's true between intermediaries and lenders. We’re all here to keep the wheels turning and we've got different parts of the chain to operate.”
He added: “I think, post-lockdown, we've seen a lot of opportunity because people can now work remotely. It has had an impact in that we've got a much wider, broader group of individuals who work in the industry now.”
Sims’ own entry into the mortgage industry and that more traditional environment he knew in his early days, followed a stint in the estate agency market. It was at this time that he developed a long interest in property – he has a portfolio to his name. After leaving school at 16, and starting to earn, initially as a management trainee at John Lewis Partnership, and latterly working for an estate agent, he bought his first home at the age of just 21. “I went to view the house with my boss at the time, who was my mentor, and he just said, “If you don't buy this one, I'll buy it’- it was a measured risk,” Sims recalled, adding modestly: “My confidence has always massively outstripped my competence. I've been fortunate in that I've survived through three recessions in my time, and a few other bumps in the road.”
His financial services career has variously seen him working in business planning, sales, management, and marketing, for names such as Castle Trust Bank, HL Partnership, United Trust Bank, and Rockstead, before Sims joined Molo in March last year. “I was told quite simply, by someone I worked with at a previous lender, work with people you know,” he said. “So, the idea is to get to know people, and if you can, do what you say you're going to do.”
Read more: Taking time off in the mortgage industry
How helpful is ambition in the mortgage industry?
Throughout his working life, Sims has been ‘driven and focused’, to use his words. “I wasn't wildly ambitious because I've been quite repulsed by people who are overtly ambitious,” Sims shared, candidly. “Sometimes they're not great people to work with. I think, probably, ambition tends to temper as you age, and then your target ambitions alter. I intend to stay with Molo and continue to build what we have started here. Exciting times.
“If I was going to give advice to anyone coming into the industry, I'd probably say, get as tooled up academically, and practically, as you can, particularly around any areas of specialism. I did an MBA at the age of 40 – I wanted to study an MBA to assist me as I was in a lot of boardrooms where I was dealing with financial directors and CEOs. I probably should have done that sooner, because it really helped with opportunities.”
Taking stock of his career, Sims identifies another change he’s noticed recently in the industry. “I think the generation coming through, there's a good crop of new – and not just young - people, in both lending and intermediaries, who just ‘get it’ - their work life balance has improved over time,” he said. “Some intermediaries could make our lives easier by way of preparation of a case, and to be fair, most intermediaries do that. But, there's some very bright, astute and successful intermediaries, running really good businesses.”
