Loan Market champions its top performers at 30th celebrations

Leading brokerage Loan Market’s top business owners, brokers and support staff were celebrated at its 30th-anniversary celebrations in Adelaide this week.

From across Australasia, more than 800 travelled to Scale Up to network, learn about the latest tech advancements and training and celebrate the achievements of their peers.

Read on to find out more about our top performers over the last 12 months.

Top Broker - Paulette Trotter, Loan Market Paulette Trotter (NZ)

Since transitioning from banking to broking in 2017, Paulette has been a mainstay of New Zealand’s top-performing advisers.

This year, her accomplishments positioned her as the top broker across Loan Market’s international network.

Paulette has built a loyal base of clients and referrers throughout Auckland, its surrounding suburbs and the broader North Island.

Insurance is a major part of the adviser offering in NZ and Paulette has built her business on ensuring her clients benefit from her comprehensive knowledge of her insurer, as well as lender, knowledge.

As well as this monumental accolade, Paulette took out three more awards on the night - Asset Finance Award, Clients’ Choice Award and Chairman's Choice for outstanding contribution to the group.

Number 1 - Top 20 Individuals - International

• Second - Balpreet Bal, Loan Market Bal & Associates (WA)
• Third - Colin Mason, Mason Finance Group (QLD)

Top Commercial Broker - Daniel Green, Green Finance Group (QLD)

Daniel is one of Australia’s top operators. While his experience and connections span the full spectrum of sectors, his knowledge of childcare centre and hotel funding has seen his services sought out by business operators and investors from around Australia.

Professionals send their clients to Daniel because they know he’s the leading commercial finance broker in Australia and will offer an outcome and service to their clients which they can’t find elsewhere.

One of the hallmarks of Daniel’s service is his client reviews: alongside ensuring his clients are receiving the most competitive rates he also explores opportunities to add value to their interests, whether they’re a business owner or investor.

Whether it’s a $50,000 top-up or a complex $50m finance solution, Daniel approaches every engagement with the same service commitment.

• Second - Petro Triantafyllou, Podium Money (VIC)
• Third - James Kelder, Green Finance Group (QLD)

Top Asset Finance Broker - Will Hamer, Loan Market Accelerate (VIC)

In recent times, Will Hamer launched Loan Market Accelerate, offering a branded asset-finance solution for Loan Market network referrers.

Will has a broad range of clients, from mums and dads looking to upgrade the family car to high-net-worth investors seeking luxury models to businesses that want to scale up their operations with yellow goods and source cash-flow solutions for growth opportunities.

As a former diesel mechanic, Will can provide expert advice to business operators around finance strategies that reflect the maintenance and life-cycle of equipment.

Will is also a Licensed Motor Car Trader (LMCT) which allows him to assist clients with the financing and sourcing of vehicles.

• Second - Alan Walker, Loan Market (VIC)
• Third – Aaron Greffenius, Loan Market Specialist (NSW)

Clients’ Choice - Colin Mason, Mason Finance Group (QLD)

Colin Mason’s Mason Finance Group has grown exponentially since opening on the Sunshine Coast three years ago. And while the business handles a large volume of business - it settled more than half a billion dollars for clients over the last 12 months - Colin has ensured that no matter how busy he or the team is, clients always enjoy an exceptional experience.

Across a network that prides itself on putting customers first, Colin was a standout broker over FY24. Pre-approvals are a large part of his service offering, developing relationships with clients and helping them prepare to purchase before introducing them to real estate opportunities across the Sunshine Coast, Queensland and Australia.

Corby & Mills (Brokers’ Choice Award) - Sam Arthurs, Loan Market Warrnambool (VIC)

Sam Arthurs has been providing clients throughout Victoria’s South West Coast with unmatched service for several years. If it’s catching up with shift worker clients at odd ends of the night or traipsing through a dairy paddock, nothing deters Sam from getting out and about and helping his clients.

Sam also offers a lot more than simply mortgage advice. For instance, there aren’t any Buyer Advocates in Warrnambool. So, in addition to getting clients pre-approved, he ends up doing a lot of unpaid work helping them find a property, as well: talking to local real estate agents about off-market opportunities, providing clients with recent sales data etc. Going above and beyond has developed stronger relationships for him.

Financial Literacy - Evelyn Clark, Everlend (VIC)

Evelyn has embraced podcasting as an effective channel for education and has built an engaged audience as a result.

Through You Have My Interest, she tackles the issues that borrowers are curious about: from borrowing through a trust to how banks assess self-employed clients and everything in between.

Borrowers have gravitated to her content and made her business, Everlend, an industry award-winner.

Evelyn also hosts First Home Buyer and Investor webinars where she dives deeper into the specifics for these borrower segments.

Chairman’s Choice Award - Phil Rogers, Loan Market Edge (QLD)

Phil works between two locations - Townsville and Surfers Paradise - which ensures his diary is always full.

But even with a heavy workload, he’s always happy to share his learnings and industry wisdom with other business owners throughout the Loan Market network. He’s a vocal member of Loan Market’s small broker education groups and online communities.

He’s passionate about promoting the benefits of brokers to the marketplace. His ‘Weekly Wraps’ on social media with fellow broker Lauren Hall is a prime example of his commitment to client education.

Top Brokerage of the Year - Green Finance Group (QLD)

From residential mortgages to agribusiness, property development to hotels, Green Finance Group has evolved to become a brokerage capable of servicing every finance need and client.

Offering sector specialisations has led to Green Finance Group attracting a strong database of high-net worth investors, successful SMEs and discerning owner-occupants.

The office’s combined expertise - the majority of brokers transitioned to broking after senior roles in banking - has established it as a sought-after brokerage for clients right around Australia, resulting in the business routinely lodging more than $1bn in loans each year.

• Second - Loan Market Highland Park (NZ)
• Third - Mason Finance Group (QLD)

Also receiving acknowledgement over the annual gala were support personnel. Support personnel have been critical to the growth of the Loan Market network over the last 12 months - the brokerage onboarded 448 new support superstars across businesses over the period.

Support specialists, with the assistance of the digital learning platform Brokerversity, have the knowledge and expertise to manage the processing of an application, freeing-up brokers so they can focus on what they do best - delivering great strategies and face-to-face service to clients.

The top-performing Network Employees across Loan Market this year were:

• Michelle Heywood (QLD)
• Julie Turner (NSW)
• Kellie Pham (VIC)
• Justine Stokes (SA/NT)
• Tania Richardson (WA)
  
  

Loan Market also celebrated the best newcomers to brokers:

• Shaun Jones (QLD)
• George El-Khoury (NSW / ACT)
• Sarah Daly (VIC)
• David Signore (SA/NT)
• Robert Flynn (WA)
  
  

Andrew Rowlands from Loan Market Propel received the Loan Market Cutting Edge award and Cameron Muggeridge was recognised for the most settlements via referral partner Ray White.