A Growth Mindset – introducing NZHL Group

There's a shift in the market - a slow incline with a more positive outlook set for 2024 and many advisers are looking to develop a strategy to maximise the opportunity.

Thursday, February 1st 2024, 3:22PM

By NZHL CEO Kip Hanna

We've partnered with independent economist Tony Alexander to gather the latest market insights based on a monthly survey of real estate agents in The NZHL Property Report.

Key insights from the November report include:

36% are seeing more people attend auctions
47% are seeing more people attend open homes
26% say there are more investors in the market (up from 14% in October)
34% say prices are rising in their locations
60% are receiving more requests for property appraisals.

At NZHL, we are well advanced in our growth plans - purchasing LFG (Link Financial Group) in late 2022 to form what is now known as NZHL Group – amplified by the technology of Advicelink, a CRM, sales and servicing tool to support record keeping, compliance and ultimately good client outcomes.

What does this mean?

We’ve expanded our footprint and evolved our technology with a brand-new adviser platform and upgrades to DebtNav – our online monitoring and debt management tool.

NZHL Group has the skills and expertise to provide a full home loan and insurance service offering - with full market access enabling NZHL advisers to expand beyond our core proposition.

Consolidation trends are developing throughout the sector due to increased regulation, costs, and complexity – advisers are recognising the need to combine forces to progress their business.

Over the last year at NZHL Group, we’ve seen the collective benefits of two organisations working together, with shared resources and knowledge optimising what we can achieve and how quickly we can enhance, grow and take some of the manual strain off our advisers.

NZHL Group is a people-led, digitally enabled business. As we developed our adviser platform, it struck me how vitally important access to good technology is to the success of advisers.

With challenging loan requirements requiring a higher level of advice for homeowners, the industry requires a more hands-on approach – meaning processes need to be simplified by technology that offers complete client management from lead to application, insurance management, and ongoing reviews.

We've been able to utilise the power of AdviceLink, a platform proving very popular to other industry groups – with discussions around how AdviceLink can optimise their network and provide a safeguard with built-in compliance and due diligence.

However, it's important to stay ahead of the game – I’m predicting a larger focus on regulation in 2024, so the constant technology developments with the operation of an advice business at the forefront will be a game-changer.

As a group, we've taken advantage of our collective skills, from advisers to developers, and close working relationships with service providers to ensure our client-facing teams can rely on having the latest information available in one place (their advice platform).

As we look toward a brighter 2024, with the full support of our shareholders, NZHL Group is focused on helping more Kiwis achieve their financial goals with the protection of sensible insurance cover.

In an environment where increasingly more is expected from a regulatory perspective and from clients themselves, advisers need to be enabled to stay focused on what they do best – giving advice.

Good technology is a must alongside strong compliance processes and a progressive brand. We can’t be complacent – to meet the needs of the strengthening market, we must continue to develop and refine - we have expansion plans in place for all parts of NZHL Group and I encourage all advisers to ensure they are backed with the technology and support they need for sustainable growth.

About NZHL Group

NZHL Group is a Kiwi-owned, respected, and trusted brand - a purpose-driven (financial freedom, faster) home loan and insurance network that offers a solution to support advisers and help put Kiwis in a better financial position.

Part of Kiwi Group Capital Ltd (KGC) which is 100% Government owned, NZHL Group operates with an Independent Board and local business owners nationwide.

* Please note – Kip Hanna is the CEO at NZHL and has written this opinion piece based on his experience. This article is intended to be general in nature and should not replace personalised business or career advice.

Tags: NZHL