As borrower needs grow more complex, independent brokers are reshaping advice around planning, flexibility and long-term outcomes
Client-led advice has long been positioned as a core principle of mortgage broking. In practice, however, what that means is changing, as advisers move away from product selection towards strategy and longer-term planning.
For Emily Franks (pictured), founder of Emily’s Mortgage Services, that shift is rooted in how independent businesses operate. “I can't run my business without my clients, so it has to be client focused,” she said. “I don't earn money if I don't do a good job for my clients.”
That reliance is shaping how advice is delivered, moving the process away from rigid structures and towards a more conversational, tailored approach.
Advice begins with conversation
Fact-finding remains a regulatory requirement, but the way it is approached is evolving. Franks described moving away from highly structured, checklist-led interviews towards something more flexible.
“I remember doing my training in a corporate [environment] and being given a really strict structure,” she said. “You need the name, you need the date of birth, you need their home address, you need their employment details.”
That approach, she argued, does not always reflect what clients need at the outset. “What clients want out of that first initial meeting is are my goals achievable? Roughly how much is that going to cost me? Am I going to come up to any problems?”
Instead, early conversations are increasingly focused on understanding the client’s wider position and future plans. “I tend to have a let's get to know each other, make sure you're happy talking to me,” she said. “You extract the information that you need by getting to know your clients.”
That shift also changes how recommendations are framed. “This [product] fits because we've had this conversation and you've told me what you want your future to look like,” Franks said.
Strategy over product
Greater access to lenders has not removed the need for advice, but it has changed where value sits. For straightforward cases, there is often little to differentiate brokers on product alone.
“If you've got a really nice vanilla client, you can pick any one of the top five. You pick the cheapest, away you go, job done,” Franks said.
The distinction increasingly lies in how cases are structured, particularly where borrower circumstances are less straightforward. “Strategy is the most important part of what we do now,” she said.
That can mean prioritising criteria over headline rates, or advising clients to delay borrowing altogether. That flexibility, she suggested, allows independent brokers to prioritise outcomes over volume. “Because I'm not target driven, I can always do what's right for my client,” Franks added.
Speed and personalisation
Client expectations have shifted alongside wider changes in how information is accessed and delivered, with speed now a baseline requirement rather than a differentiator. “They are very much wanting faster turnarounds,” Franks said, noting that “the amount of information available to clients now is forcing quicker responses from us.”
At the same time, expectations around personalisation have become more pronounced, with clients more attuned to how they are treated throughout the process. “They notice the difference between them being just another client or another number on a conveyor belt,” she said, pointing to more informal, ongoing communication that often extends beyond the transaction itself.
For independent advisers, that level of service can be easier to maintain, particularly where working patterns allow greater flexibility.
Regulation and friction
Delivering a fully client-led model still requires working within regulatory and lender frameworks, which can introduce complexity.
Franks said advisers are expected to meet consistent standards, even where the client experience is more tailored. While that consistency protects both brokers and borrowers, it can also create friction, particularly when lender requirements differ from what clients expect.
“Lenders ask for very different information sometimes than what brokers do,” she said, noting that clients often question why more documentation is required through an intermediary.
That gap is often most visible around documentation. Clients may receive an agreement in principle directly from a lender with minimal input, only to be asked for detailed evidence when working through a broker. Explaining that distinction has become part of the advisory role, requiring brokers to guide clients through not just the process, but the rationale behind it.
Complexity drives change
The move towards more client-led advice is being reinforced by the nature of the cases brokers are handling. While product-driven decisions still apply in simpler scenarios, Franks sees the market becoming more complex overall.
“I think now clients need us more than ever for good advice,” she said. “We are moving more and more into more complex cases.”
That complexity is reshaping the conversations brokers have with clients. Decisions that were once relatively straightforward, such as choosing between fixed terms, now require a more nuanced approach.
“It's what are you comfortable with and how long do you see yourself staying there for?” Franks said. “It's got nothing to do with necessarily the difference in rates.”
Client-led advice is less about tailoring products and more about guiding decisions in a market where certainty is harder to find.
