A decade in the industry, a clear-eyed critique, and the case for the adviser relationship model
Mortgage advisers have never been better qualified. They have never been more regulated. And according to Debbie Reed (pictured), a Hastings-based adviser with ten years at Loan Market and a decade in UK banking before that, they have rarely been more undervalued by the institutions they work alongside.
"We are currently well paid for the work that we do, but this is being undermined by the banks, who are encouraging a transactional model rather than a long-term relationship of support and advice," Reed says.
It is a pointed observation from someone who has watched the industry professionalise from both sides of the counter — and who believes lender behaviour is working against the gains the industry has made through regulation.
Regulation: the right call
Reed is unambiguous on the value of the regulatory changes that reshaped broking.
"Whilst painful at the time, it has provided the industry with credibility, and it is now a more professional industry," she says.
That credibility, Reed argues, has not been matched by institutional recognition. Advisers are now delivering financial education and support to homeowners, investors, and prospective buyers that goes well beyond the transaction — and a significant portion of that work goes unremunerated. The disconnect, in her view, is not accidental. It reflects a deliberate push by some lenders toward a model that suits their interests, not the client's.
The transactional model problem
The practical consequence of that shift is worth naming. If banks succeed in reframing the adviser's role as transactional — one application, one settlement, one commission — the long-term relationship that drives referrals, repeat business, and genuine financial outcomes for clients becomes harder to sustain commercially. Reed sees this as an active threat to the value proposition that has defined the industry's growth.
Reed is equally direct about where the imbalance sits.
"There is often a disconnect between expectations on advisers and on banks,” she says. “Advisers are now qualified and well regulated, and overall providing much needed financial education and support to home owners, investor and prospective buyers. The service and additional support that is provided by advisers is often under appreciated by some regulatory bodies, with a lot of time, support and advice being given without payment."
What the model is actually for
Reed's career illustrates the relationship model at its most concrete. Early in her return to the industry, a client approached her needing to purchase a home for her family. The bank had declined her.
"She wasn't in a position to meet the bank requirements. However, I was able to source a loan for her to meet her needs, until other funds became available," she says.
Months later, the client showed Reed the house. The outcome wasn't exceptional by industry standards — it was exactly what the adviser model is designed to produce. But it is the kind of result that disappears in a purely transactional framework, where difficult clients are a cost rather than an opportunity.
"Being able to assist people in different situations, who have often had financial difficulty in the past, are often the most rewarding to help. This is the real extra value an adviser can bring," Reed says.
Growing the industry
On the question of attracting new advisers, Reed is direct: the fundamentals of the role remain strong, but candidates need to enter with clear expectations. The network-building requirement is real, the first-year income gap is real, and the rewards that follow are also real.
The more pressing question for the industry, perhaps, is not how to recruit advisers into the current model — but how to ensure the model they are recruited into still reflects the value they are being asked to deliver.
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