The first two events of the year will be held in Hamilton and Christchurch this February
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The popular Speed Dating event hosted by nine specialist lenders is set to land in Hamilton and Christchurch this February, with the quick-fire format having proved a hit with mortgage advisers during Auckland and Wellington events last year.
The event is being jointly hosted by Avanti, Bluestone, First Mortgage Trust, Heartland, Liberty, NZCU Baywide, Resimac, Southern Cross Partners and Spotcap. A second round of events in Auckland and Wellington are also on the books for this year, and the format event now includes guest speakers, along with follow-up questions and time for networking.
“The first event saw five non-banks come together,” Resimac’s Huia Manuel told NZ Adviser. “That was a huge success and gave the advisers a format that was quick, convenient and gave them an update on what we all do.”
“We call the event ‘speed dating’ – all the lenders have their own section, the advisers get put into nine groups as they arrive and we have a buzzer start,” she explained. “They then each go around each lender who will do a ten minute pitch, and they’ll keep moving until they’ve heard from all of them. It’s very quick and snappy, and each lender can talk about their particular niche or specialism, and there’s time for questions afterwards. The main event lasts about two hours.”
Manuel says the events have been a huge success so far, with both new and experienced advisers showing up and promoting the various options within their own brokerage. First Mortgage Trust sales manager Bruce Smith says the events have underlined the importance of lenders helping advisers learn about and access the various options on offer across the market.
“The specialist lending environment has become a very diverse industry,” Smith said. “We are focused on being part of the training and upskilling of the adviser network in this space and collectively this can only improve the customer service proposition and options advisers can present to their clients.”
“We all have our niches, and the events are really about raising the profile of non-bank lending in the market, and letting advisers know that there are many other solutions out there,” Manuel concluded. “We help them get access to more information in a fun and engaging way.”
The Hamilton event will be held on the 26th February, followed by the Christchurch event on the 28th February.
