There’s something quietly powerful in the feedback that came out of a recent Paradigm session held in partnership with Bank of Ireland for Intermediaries and UK Business Mentoring.
Asked what really mattered to them in the current market, business owners and advisers didn’t mention rate cuts, lender service, or even client acquisition. Instead, they talked about time management, people management, consistency of performance, and technology.
Not what we might deem the ‘flashy stuff’ but the meaningful, day-to-day disciplines that determine much of the success of each firm.
And that’s encouraging. It shows a sector, and individual businesses, maturing. It shows an increasing focus on what it can control rather than hoping external forces will deliver the answers.
Historically, there’s been a tendency to pin too much on the next big shift: a significant rate drop, a policy/Governmental change, or some macroeconomic jolt that might breathe life into the market. But what that feedback made clear is that more and more firms now understand success in this industry comes not from reacting to events, but from running a better business.
That’s not to say rate movements or market conditions don’t matter, they do, and they always will. You only need to look at the focus on Bank of England MPC decisions, to know that.
But most advisers now know not to bank on those changes triggering a new golden age of easy volume. There’s no going back to sub-1% fixed rates, for example.
We’re in a different environment now, and while a lower Bank Base Rate (BBR) will provide a lift, it’s not going to do the hard work of business building for you.
What we are seeing is a welcome shift in mindset. More firms are investing in systems, improving how they manage their time, rethinking their use of technology, and looking more carefully at how they support staff.
This is all necessary and perhaps somewhat overdue. It speaks to an intermediary sector that is learning to think long-term, plan more intentionally, and build resilience into its operating model.
I’m pleased to say that this is what Paradigm was actually set up to achieve and it’s obviously somewhat gratifying to see this type of foresight becoming the norm.
But in the middle of all this positive change, we must be careful not to take our eyes off the bigger picture. Because while advisory firms are understandably focusing on internal performance, others in the market are continually thinking about how they influence and, potentially reshape, distribution.
As Robert Sinclair stepped back from AMI earlier this year, he left behind a warning: that lenders still have designs on the intermediary market, and that the battle for control of the client journey is very much alive.
This was not hyperbole. In any market, competition for market share doesn’t go away, it intensifies. The lender who can bring in more of the right business, more efficiently, with greater control, is the one who ‘wins’. And that inevitably means we will see more efforts to shape broker behaviour, attract greater adviser loyalty, or engineer product propositions that suit the lender more than the adviser.
None of this is new by the way but as the intermediary sector has grown in terms of its distribution dominance – we are supposedly at over 90%-plus of all mortgage activity coming through our channel – there of course will be those lenders who are uncomfortable with this, and would like to see a greater degree of parity in this area.
Broker distribution may be pre-eminent, but it is not untouchable. That’s why this moment of internal focus must also be matched by external awareness.
This is precisely where the value of distribution partners like Paradigm becomes most visible. Our role is not just to secure access to a broad range of lenders and products, though that remains essential.
Our role is to provide a platform that protects, strengthens and supports advisory firms in every aspect of their business – from compliance and regulatory readiness, to tech integration, market insight, and business development. Distributors can see further across the landscape and help brokers respond before small shifts become systemic threats.
If your business is focused on internal strength right now, you’re doing the right thing. That’s the hard, often thankless work that pays dividends in future market cycles. But let’s not assume that others aren’t also working hard to influence the shape of this sector, and the adviser’s place in it. Robert’s point was well made: the future of advice is not something to be assumed. It is something to be earned, protected, and continually proven.
So yes, keep your eyes on the business. Keep refining what you do and how you do it. But don’t stop scanning the horizon. The next few years will belong to those who get both right; the firms that run smarter, stronger operations while staying alert to who else is trying to (re)write the rules.
Bob Hunt is chief executive of Paradigm Mortgage Services
