The Intermediary –- May 2026 - Flipbook - Page 89
B RO K E R B U S I N E S S
Opinion
Is the term ‘broker’
selling you short?
I
’m always struck by how
passionately people in this
industry talk about what
they do. In my role, I speak
to brokers every day. What
stands out is the pride they
take in delivering quality advice to
their clients.
And rightly so. Brokers play a
central role in what, for most people,
is the biggest financial decision of their
lives. For that reason, the service they
provide is every bit as important as
that of an accountant or a lawyer.
But as any broker will tell you, their
role goes far beyond simply arranging
a mortgage. At different points in
the journey, they act as educator,
strategist, sounding board and a vital
source of reassurance during what can
be a highly emotional process.
Yet, despite everything they do for
clients, the term we use to describe
the value they provide – broker – is
incredibly reductive.
technology is handling more of those
back-office processes, what is the real
value that brokers provide?
For me, the answer is obvious:
it’s not the end product, it’s the
advice itself.
While AI is effective at processing
data and identifying paerns,
it struggles to replicate human
judgement, understand nuance,
anticipate risk and show empathy
when the stakes are high. These are
the elements of advice that customers
value most and, coincidentally, are the
ones technology will find hardest to
replicate.
Customers engage with brokers for
advice. Yet as an industry, we still tend
to position ourselves around access
to products rather than the quality
of advice.
In an increasingly tech-enabled
mortgage market, that must change –
and it requires a mental shi in how
firms position themselves.
More than transactional
Change in perspective
The traditional definition of a broker
is someone who ‘buys and sells goods
or assets for others’. That suggests a
transactional relationship, where the
broker’s role is simply to select the
best rate for a client’s circumstances
and move on.
In reality, booking a rate is the
culmination of detailed discovery
work, where expertise, judgement
and experience come together to
identify the most suitable solution for
the client.
With that in mind, it’s worth asking
whether the term ‘broker’ is still an
adequate description of what the job
entails, especially in an increasingly
technology-driven market.
We are already seeing artificial
intelligence (AI) and machine learning
models do an increasing amount of
the heavy liing when it comes to
research and administrative tasks.
As that trend continues – and it will
– it raises a fundamental question: if
It’s not for me to say what brokers
should call themselves. But it may
be that the term ‘broker’ becomes
associated with more junior advisers
whose role is to carry out less complex
work, such as product transfers.
Meanwhile, alongside them, more
experienced advisers will differentiate
themselves through handling complex
cases, providing holistic guidance
and building long-term client
relationships, perhaps identifying as
‘advisers’, ‘planners’, ‘consultants’ or
any other term that beer represents
the value they provide.
It may also be that the mortgage
firm of the future starts to look less
like a traditional brokerage and more
like a professional services business,
such as accountancy practices or
law firms.
These sectors have long recognised
the distinction between transactional
work and higher-value advisory
services, and have structured their
RICHARD HOWELLS
is managing director
at LSL Financial Services
The traditional
definition of a broker is
someone who ‘buys and
sells goods or assets for
others’ [...] it’s worth
asking whether the
term ‘broker’ is still an
adequate description”
career paths and client propositions
and pricing accordingly.
What’s more, if firms did
restructure themselves along these
lines and were able to demonstrate
a more structured career path
from administration to broking to
consulting, this would encourage
more new blood into the profession.
Encouraging new advisory talent is
a challenge the market needs to face
into. I believe that our opportunity
is now. With an estimated 12.7% of
graduates looking for careers and even
more in jobs where they cannot see a
defined career, our profession has the
chance to open the doors to a whole
new generation of advisory talent, if
our offering is right.
In a future where access to products
is increasingly commoditised, it won’t
be the ability to find a mortgage that
sets firms apart. It will be the ability to
deliver holistic, high-quality advice. ●
May 2026 | The Intermediary
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