Loss of just 249 ARs shows broker tenacity

23 January 2012 | By Gary Watts, director, Which Network

My heartfelt congratulations to everyone who survived 2011, which was a bit brutal, although maybe not quite as traumatic as 2010.

GARY WATTS, DIRECTOR, WHICH NETWORK

Many of us have now started to develop strategies to cope with the dire economic state of the UK and most lenders have also begun to realise that, however cautious they need to be, they are banks and need to lend money to survive.

Turning our attention to the network figures, remember they give appointed representative numbers from the Financial Services Authority’s register and although they are a good yardstick for tracking industry trends, they can’t be used for a deep analysis of individual companies because they don’t show actual adviser numbers or the profitability of a network.

The overall totals show a reduction of 249 in AR firms during the year which - given the hits that the financial sector has endured, including the difficulty of actually getting a lot of mortgages placed - is testament to the tenacity, business acumen and flexibility of brokers.

I have added a percentage change column to the table in an attempt to get some sort of proportion on the figures and enable individual network performances to be checked against the overall table totals.

The biggest loser in terms of ARs last year was Sesame, with a reduction of 85 firms although such is the size of the company, it still tops the network list. Lime, Connect and Connect Services - the three components of the Tenet group - appear the second-biggest loser, down 52 ARs, but some of this is possibly due to internal changes and restructuring.

The biggest winner is Lighthouse with an increase of 49 ARs for the year, up 25%, but about 32 of these which came through in December seem to be from a mass signing by Financial Services Advice and Support.

Personal Touch Financial Services is in second place in terms of growth, with an increase of 26 ARs, or 2.61%, during the year. Stonebridge has also seen an increase of 17 ARs which in percentage terms is 25.37%.

That’s the beauty of statistics, you pays your money and you takes your choice - and don’t even get me started on the size of the marketing budgets some networks expend on attracting new brokers. This is why it is good practice to take professional advice before joining or changing a network.