Balmoral Financial:

What happens when you pour over a decade into a career, only to have it evaporate overnight? That’s exactly what happened to Matt Symons when the COVID-19 pandemic grounded his aviation career as a pilot. With a baby on the way and a newly purchased home, Matt didn’t have the luxury of waiting for the industry to bounce back. 

Matt began looking for a way to transfer his skill set and existing financial knowledge into a new industry—and made the bold pivot to become a mortgage broker. Initially spending time contracting in the industry, in mid-2024, he launched his finance brokerage, Balmoral Financial on Sydney’s Lower North Shore and has written a staggering 91 deals valued at $71M in his first seven months with LMG as his aggregator. So how did he do it?

Matt’s runway to success started years earlier. Before becoming a pilot, Matt travelled to 55 countries, lived in four, and learnt to speak three languages fluently. During this time, he met his wife from Sweden and was deeply influenced by two key mentors. The first was his father-in-law, a property investor and hotelier from Gothenburg.

The second mentor runs a venture capital firm in Brisbane and has been involved in every strategic decision Matt’s made. For anyone building something meaningful, Matt believes having a mentor who inspires and holds you accountable is non-negotiable.

Leveraging his analytical thinking, risk assessment skills and task prioritisation – skills he honed in aviation - Matt knew that mapping his desired income and reverse-engineering the activity he needed to do every day to achieve his targets was crucial for business success. Each day was met with intent, clear goals and the discipline to show up for them every day. For Matt, that meant two high-value client meetings a day, room for follow-ups in between, and the operational capacity to service his customers without bottlenecks slowing down momentum.

Working on the business was just as critical as working in the business for Matt. The difference between being busy and being booked came down to one thing: learning how to sell. By mastering sales and investing in his development through education, Matt gained altitude, enabling him to lead every client interaction with confidence and ensure they felt informed and empowered in their financial decisions.

He was equally intentional about how he positioned himself in the market. Every client touchpoint—from the website to how he spoke about the strategy—was designed to shift perception. Not Matt, the former pilot. Matt the broker. Matt the educator. Matt the trusted advisor in all things finance and property investing. An impact that’s resulting in a high conversion rate and promising customer loyalty.

What impressed Matt the most about LMG and ultimately fueled his decision to join are the values and ethics of the family culture, and the consistent way LMG shows up to support brokers and their success. A stand-out for Matt was the phone call from Executive Chairman, Sam White before he’d even committed to joining. For Matt, that moment said everything. He wasn’t just another name—it proved that LMG wants to see as many brokers succeed in the industry and that ethos stems from leadership down to every employee.

Matt quickly realised he needed a CSM who knew the lending process and MyCRM, LMG’s tech platform, inside out—someone who could keep the engine running while he focused on building the business and meeting clients. Within days, TalentForce—LMG’s in-house recruitment specialist team—helped him source and hire a talented CSM who could hit the ground running.

With the right support around him, Matt is focused on building a sustainable business with ambitious goals. He’s growing a team to include five brokers and three CSMs, and setting his sights on establishing Balmoral Financial as one of Sydney and Brisbane’s leading luxury brokerages on the Lower North Shore with a reputation for delivering premium advice and care for customers. With a flight path to a billion-dollar business by 2030, he’s already on track to write $100M by the end of the 2024-25 financial year.