Rob Clifford on the FCA's protection verdict, why brokers must lead the conversation, and Stonebridge's plan to grow
When the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) first signalled its pure protection market study around 18 months ago, the mood across the intermediary sector was one of genuine unease.
The regulator had the power to change commission structures, restrict panel models and reshape the commercial foundations of every network in the country. Rob Clifford (pictured top), chief executive of Stonebridge, said the stakes were clear from the outset.
"The FCA could have changed the business model quite dramatically," he told Mortgage Introducer. "It wouldn't have decimated firms in our space, but it would have been a really serious shift in practice – the approach networks and brokers themselves take to advising on protection, and of course, ultimately, to commercial propositions and therefore profits."
The final report delivered a verdict the sector largely welcomed. Commissions were not the problem. Restricted panels were not the problem. The problem, the FCA concluded, was consumer understanding, and the vast protection gap that follows from it.
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Why does the timing of the protection conversation matter?
Clifford's read of the FCA's conclusion goes beyond regulatory relief. It is, he argues, a validation of what Stonebridge has long maintained. That mortgage brokers are uniquely placed to address Britain's protection gap, and that the advice journey itself is where the problem must be solved.
The government's concern is as much political as it is regulatory. A government that fails to encourage private protection takes on greater liability through the state benefits system. "The government doesn't want an extra million people claiming state benefits in the event of the circumstances that insurance would cover," he said. "The more people you can get to pay for themselves – it's a bit like private medical insurance – the less burden on the state."
Awareness alone, though, does not close the gap. Clifford's sharper point concerns timing. Protection cannot be an afterthought bolted on at the end of a mortgage appointment that has already run to 90 minutes or more.
"Sometimes consumers are a bit punch drunk by the end of all that – proving your ID, working out your affordability, which lender, fixed or variable, and then you say, ‘have you got another half an hour?’, and most customers go, ‘not really’."
The data bears this out. Clifford references the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) Viewpoint Survey 2025, which found that 61% of mortgage customers interviewed did not recall their adviser discussing protection at all. It is, he said, “an indictment” of an industry that has consistently left the conversation too late.
Stonebridge's response has been to restructure the advice journey so that protection is introduced earlier – before consumer attention and affordability begin to narrow – and to embed that sequencing into its proprietary platform, Revolution. The network's skills development programme, which covers areas including writing policies into trust, is consistently oversubscribed, with experienced advisers attending alongside new entrants.
Why Stonebridge builds its own technology
If protection defines Stonebridge's compliance philosophy, technology defines its competitive proposition. Unlike most networks, which licence third-party customer relationship management (CRM) systems, Stonebridge owns Revolution outright – a platform developed over 18 years by mortgage brokers, for mortgage brokers.
Stonebridge invests heavily in developing Revolution, on top of significant annual costs simply to keep the platform current, reflecting the weight the network places on owning its own technology.
"People join Stonebridge and, more importantly, stay with Stonebridge because the tech is that good," he said. "And it's that good because it's been built over 18 years by mortgage brokers."
The advantage Clifford returns to repeatedly is agility. When member firms or senior leadership identify a change they need, he and chief technology officer Mark Bailey – who previously built the Rightmove app and held roles at Sainsbury's and Barclays – can reprioritise the development roadmap within days. He contrasts this with a rival network he said was quoted 13 months by its third-party supplier to implement a mission-critical functionality change.
That agility is evident in the network's latest launch. Stonebridge recently unveiled My Mortgage Partner – a branded consumer app that gives member firms a digital presence in their customers' pockets, tracking mortgage milestones, enabling document uploads, triggering remortgage alerts as product end dates approach and supporting earlier protection conversations through tailored fact-find questions. More than 100 member firms took part in focus groups to shape the proposition before launch, and the app integrates directly with Revolution. Clifford said the investment – hundreds of thousands of pounds over the past 12 months – reflects where the competitive battleground has moved.
"My Mortgage Partner gives Stonebridge members a branded digital presence in their customers' pockets, helping them support borrowers during the application, stay front of mind after completion and start future mortgage and protection conversations at exactly the right time," he said. "We have invested significantly in this because we believe technology should help advisers build stronger, more valuable customer relationships, not replace them."
Technology also underpins Stonebridge's approach to AI. The network engaged a third-party consultancy approximately 18 months ago to shape its strategy, deploying AI in two areas – compliance supervision via automated file checking, and customer acquisition. AI-assisted file checking went into full rollout around nine months ago, allowing the network's supervision team of approximately 50 staff in Basildon, Essex, to handle growing adviser numbers without a proportional headcount increase. The use of AI in mortgage compliance is a trend gathering pace across the intermediary sector.
Clifford is measured about what AI can realistically deliver. "Do I think AI will be a game changer and enable me to double my profits or double my rates of growth in a mortgage network? No, I don't," he said. "I think it's going to be increasingly a really great way to create efficiencies."
Doubling down on market share
The network is now part of Betterhome Group, a South African-headquartered company that also owns Home Loan Partnership (HLP) – previously Stonebridge's largest rival, with approximately 1,100 advisers compared to Stonebridge's 1,450. The combined ambition is to double their collective market share of mortgages – a target Clifford is unapologetic about.
"We intend to double our market share," he said. "That's not arrogant. Lots of intermediary firms and networks have relatively small market shares despite doing a fantastic job. We intend to double our market share of customers and mortgages in the areas we operate in."
What drives that growth, he argues, has shifted. Brokers choosing a network today are less focused on commercial terms than on what the network will actively do to help them develop. Technology matters. So does what a network will actually do to help its member firms grow. Having attracted more new advisers than any other network for four consecutive years, Stonebridge under Clifford knows what that proposition needs to look like. For him, it comes down to something straightforward.
"We just want to be a really great home for mortgage brokers – keep them compliant, enable them to win more customers, and crucially to grow their business."
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