Does a single brand better reflect how closely advice and lending now sit in client conversations?
Viridian Financial Group has folded its Smartmove broking arm into a single national brand, Viridian Lending – a move it says reflects how closely mortgage decisions and financial advice now sit together for Australian borrowers.
The rebrand caps a process that began when Viridian acquired Smartmove in 2023, a period that saw the brokerage's leadership team expand well before the rebrand took shape, and the group says it was in no rush to get here. "The strategy for us was never just to buy a mortgage broking business," Viridian Financial Group chief executive officer Raamy Shahien told MPA. "The idea was how can we bring advice and lending closer together around the client."
The push for a unified brand came from the brokers themselves, according to newly appointed general manager, lending, Cameron Wiles (pictured, top), who succeeds industry stalwart Darren Little. "There was a sense that we already are one business, but we're sitting under two different brands," he said. "It would just make everything a lot easier if we were a single brand."
The two arms remain legally distinct – lending and advice each hold their own credit licence and financial services licence – but Wiles argued the single banner "raises the level of accountability and trust, because you're representing everyone across the board."
Shahien linked the strategy to broader change in how Australians make financial decisions. "Historically, you could see advice existing in a world completely independent of lending," he said. "But given the amount of complexity – house prices, interest rates, and the impact on people's overall wealth – they're no longer independent decisions."
Wiles put it more simply: "Advice and lending are somewhat of a symbiotic relationship. The advice piece looks after strategy, and the lending is the glue that facilitates it."
The timing of the rebrand is notable. Reforms to capital gains tax, negative gearing and SMSF lending, which will take effect from 1 July 2027, are expected to reshape how brokers guide property investors – from the choice between an established property and a new build, to how a purchase is structured, to the taxation of trusts and a fresh ban on SMSFs borrowing to invest in residential property.
It's exactly the kind of structuring complexity Viridian Lending is targeting with its integrated approach. But what does the business model mean for Viridian Lending's 27-and-growing team of brokers?
The employee model
Every Viridian Lending broker is an employee rather than a subcontractor. "Everyone has a proper base salary with all their usual entitlements," Wiles explained. "We run a debits-credits model on top of that, with uncapped earnings based on a split tied to experience and tenure. You're rewarded for two things – how good you are at what you do, and how hard you work."
This salaried model is similar to how other large-scale broking businesses operate, such as XIN Mortgage's hybrid salary-and-commission structure and even Aussie Home Loans' salaried broker roles – which it advertises alongside its traditional self-employed store model.
Because brokers are employed rather than self-employed, client loan books stay with Viridian Lending when a broker exits – unlike under a typical subcontractor arrangement. In a time where brokers are forging multigenerational relationships with clients, it could be a difficult model to digest, although Wiles said the group manages those transitions proactively, with an incoming broker reaching out to affected clients directly rather than waiting for them to call in.
Shahien added the aim is for clients to trust the organisation itself, not just one broker. "We're never going to hold a client back," he said. "Clients are free to engage wherever they see fit."
Wiles believes the salaried structure could help address concerningly high broker attrition rates. Estimates vary, but figures cited in MPA's own reporting on why most brokers fail within a year put the failure rate at anywhere between 50% and 75% within the first twelve months, with one industry source suggesting up to two-thirds of new entrants don't make it past year one. Newcomers entering the profession without enough financial runway – typically needing 18 months to two years to replace their prior income – combined with a broking landscape that has grown far more competitive than it once was, have exacerbated the problem.
"If you don't write any loans, you don't make any money – and how long can you sustain that?" Wiles said of the commission-only model common elsewhere. "You can't do a six-week course and be a great broker. That's a journey that takes several years of support and mentoring."
A trade worth making?
But the model is not without trade-offs, and even Viridian's own leadership concedes it won't suit everyone. Shahien said as much when discussing the group's culture: "We're not standing here to say we're perfect for everybody... it's got to be right that you actually take value and pride in those benefits that you get being a part of a bigger organisation. That's not for everybody, right? Some people are not suited to that."
For an established broker who has spent years building a loan book – and the ongoing trail income that comes with owning it – joining an employee model like Viridian's means trading that asset for a salary and a split.
Wiles pointed to the practical load Viridian takes off a broker's plate: a dedicated marketing team, HR, IT, compliance and risk support, all centrally provided rather than managed by the broker themselves. As he put it, Viridian Lending gives brokers "the technology, infrastructure and support they need to focus on what they do best – building trusted relationships with clients and helping them achieve better financial outcomes."
Whether that proposition wins over more of the industry's established, book-owning brokers may take time to prove. But for Wiles, the direction of travel is clear. "The future of broking isn't about choosing between independence and support," he said. "It's about having both."
For now, Viridian Lending has 27 brokers settling more than $1 billion annually, within a Viridian Group that oversees $7 billion in funds under advice. Something clearly appears to be working.
