CHOOSE ASTUTE and diversify your business
Astute has established itself as a highly respected financial services provider with a membership base comprising of approximately 500 finance, insurance and financial planning specialists across Australia. We are a privately owned business, leading the market with a fully integrated financial services offering to our members. With a loan book of over $23 billion dollars, we are well positioned for growth. We are committed to innovation in the financial services industry and are proud to provide our members with access to an unmatched suite of financial products. at Astute ABOUT US OUR JOURNEY 2000 v v v v v v Astute established as a single operator mortgage business Mortgage aggregation & broker growth Commercial & Equipment Finance added to business Australian Mortgage Brokers & Mortgage Wisdom join us Transition to a Fully Integrated Financial Services Model Financial Planning added to the business 2003 2010 2012 2006 2009
Commencing our business as a mortgage aggregator Astute quickly diversified its product offering to include commercial and equipment finance in 2006 and in 2012 launched the financial planning arm of the business to create a fully integrated financial services model. Since launching the Astute brand in 2015, we have further expanded our product offering to include a full service General Insurance offering and a Health Insurance product for our members to offer their clients. We are committed to helping our members become the centre of their clients’ financial world. “Diversification is not a new idea, it’s in our DNA! We’ve been helping members grow diversified businesses for over 20 years. If you want to grow it’s time to change.” BRAD WOOD - DIRECTOR v v v v v v Astute commences retail branding project Astute branded retail product suite Launch of Astute retail brand Launch of General Insurance and Astute Simplicity Health Mortgage Express Australia and RateOne join us. Centrepoint Alliance Lending join us 2015 2018 2022 2016 2013 2014 v Launch into New Zealand 2018
At Astute, we believe the future of our industry lies in our members’ ability to become trusted advisers to their clients. We’ve created a business model that helps members consult with their clients in all areas of finance, insurance and wealth. We encourage them to focus on their skill set, and recruit or refer to other specialists. This not only enhances their relationship with and service to their clients, but strongly diversifies their income. We believe diversification is not merely a tick and flick exercise, but a process of understanding the needs of clients and ensuring our members are able to fulfill those needs. Connecting you with a network that supports your business clients’ every need WE SUPPORT YOUR
JOANNE WALL - HENDRA QLD “Well respected by lenders, and offering finance, insurance and wealth solutions, we can access a depth of resources (both industry knowledge and marketing) to grow our business. From staff induction and mentoring, through to systems and sales support, I believe that Astute offers me the best in the business.” v v v v v v MORTGAGES VEHICLE/EQUIPMENT FINANCE COMMERCIAL FINANCE HEALTH INSURANCE GENERAL INSURANCE FINANCIAL PLANNING Our management team work with members to ascertain the best method of integration for their business. At Astute we are focused on helping members get the most out of an integrated business model.
Business Evolution YOUR ASTUTE Sole operator business • All business development and administration undertaken by one person • Business is typically operated from a home office • Relationship with customer is transactionally focused • Other financial products are offered on a reactionary basis • Limited planned marketing in place Several people working for you • Business typically contains a fulltime support person focusing on administration/marketing support • Greater level of systemisation in the business • Limited but consistent cross-sell • Informal referral arrangements exist with other product providers • Typically operates out of an office environment SOLE OPERATOR BUSINESS OWNER
Full range of financial services offered • Specialists exist in the business for each of the services (eg. Financial Planner, Mortgage Broker, Commercial Broker) • Documented customer service processes are in place • Marketing systems are in place • Joint ventures may exist with key referral partners • Business typically exists out of a fully branded environment FULLY INTEGRATED FINANCIAL SERVICES MODEL FINANCE INSURANCE WEALTH • Residential • Commercial • Equipment • Car & Personal • Construction • Personal Protection • Business Insurance • General Insurance • Vehicle Insurance • Health Insurance • Financial Planning • Superannuation • Debt Reduction • Estate Planning • SMSF
Footprint OUR ASTUTE From North Queensland in Australia to the South Island in New Zealand, Astute has a comprehensive presence across the Tasman. Tasmania Victoria Northern Territory South Western Australia Australia Queensland New South Wales Auckland Wellington Christchurch
v v v v Astute commenced operations as a wholesale Lending Aggregator, and has successfully developed an Astute Retail Brand. The Astute Brand reflects our belief in simplifying the complex world of finance and providing long term support and peace of mind for your clients. Members who operate under the Astute Brand receive all of the benefits that come with a maintained brand, including a fully supported marketing program. We take the stress out of maintaining a retail brand, including compliance and regulatory requirements. If you choose to use the Astute Brand, all marketing collateral is available for your use and can be tailored for your local market as required. Astute THE BRAND COMMISSIONS PAID QUICKLY $23b LOAN BOOK 500+ MEMBERS 85k+ ACTIVE LOANS
your business MARKETING KAYLEIGH KILGORE NEWCASTLE - NSW “The best part of being part of Astute is the family vibe. The other offices are all determined to help each other succeed, and help grow not only their own businesses, but each other’s. The collaboration and relationships between offices has significantly helped me grow my business and improve my systems and processes.” JOSH EGAN MELBOURNE - VIC “My relationship with Astute commenced in 2008. Since then I have been nominated for and won numerous industry awards. What I expect from my aggregator is assistance with credit issues and business planning, good software and marketing support; Astute ticks these boxes and even pays my commissions regularly and on time. If you are looking for an aggregator that cares about the success of your business look no further than Astute.” The Astute Client Engagement Program is designed to provide the marketing support you need to help you focus on the day-to-day running of your business. Whether you choose your brand or ours, we have marketing services that will help to keep you front of mind with your clients. As they look to make important financial decisions throughout their lives, we actively position you as the central point of contact for their every need. Marketing campaigns are developed in-house to assist members in communicating consistently with their clients throughout the year.
Life circumstances cha nge Alread y t h ni kin g Astute Needs are fulflled Requires expert Client has a fnancial need Keeping your business front of mind. CLIENT ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM Astute proactively uses social media and digital campaigns to keep your clients informed about topical financial information and opportunities. This program helps position you at the centre of your client’s financial world.
With a broad panel of residential lenders, Astute provides access to a large range of finance products for all residential market segments. With a dedicated Credit Coach ready and willing to assist, and with development days aimed at business development and growth, Astute’s network of members are well supported as they grow their businesses. At Astute you have access to all types of residential finance including: • Owner Occupied • Investment • Reverse Mortgages • Low Doc • SMSF • Non-Conforming RESIDENTIAL Finance
Astute’s reputation in the commercial finance market is one of quality. Comprising 1st and 2nd tier Australian Banks, plus a range of specialist lenders, our lender panel is designed to meet a broad range of needs. Astute is solutions focused across a number of industries rather than catering to a specific market segment such as property. Astute’s approach supports a diversified business model by delivering access to a complete suite of financial products which include but are not limited to: • Business lending including acquisition. • Franchise lending. • Commercial property purchase including SMSF. • Review and restructure of existing commercial lending. • Working capital facilities including debtor finance. • Property development funding. COMMERCIAL Finance
Finance EQUIPMENT Astute’s key point of difference is that we actually understand the equipment finance market. We have a market leading lender panel which caters for a diverse range of your clients’ personal and business needs. Astute’s knowledge and resources in this market meets the needs of both the specialist, and the broker looking to diversify their service offering. Our platform is underpinned by: • Training and support provided by experienced personnel. • Access to current industry information. • Tools to assist lender selection. • Direct lender lodgement via our digital CRM. • In addition to traditional loan facilities we have access to specialised products including software funding, rental, fleet leasing, operating lease and Insurance Premium Funding. • Fully compliant NCCP lending process which ensures all your legal obligations are met. Regardless of your client’s needs we are well placed to assist you find the right solution.
Insurance GENERAL Partnering with Ausure, Astute has access to a large range of general insurance products for all commercial and domestic market segments. Referrals can be submitted directly from our CRM, via phone or via email. THE ASTUTE GENERAL INSURANCE OFFER INCLUDES: • Home and Contents Insurance (owners, renters and landlords) • Motor Vehicle Insurance • Business Insurance • Professional Indemnity • Public and Products Liability • Farm, Crop and Livestock • Corporate and Leisure Travel Insurance. We can also source a variety of other types of general insurance products offered by Australian insurance companies. These products include, but are not limited to: Strata, Construction, NSW CTP, Cyber Risk, Medical Malpractice, and Workers Compensation (WA/NT/ACT). We now have a team of in-house General Insurance Brokers and an Insurance Assistant located at Astute Head Office to support the network.
Astute now offers a market leading Health Insurance product. The product is underwritten by St. Luke’s Health who have over 65 years’ experience in the Health industry and provide Astute members with a quality co-branded health insurance product. KEY FEATURES: • Clients and staff are supported by a dedicated Astute Simplicity Health team based in Tasmania • Training to refer the product is provided digitally • A support team available via email, or phone to answer any questions • Supported by marketing materials, email campaigns, social media posts. ASTUTE SIMPLICITY HEALTH We’ve got you covered
and wealth Maximise the potential that exists in your financial planning practice. The Astute model provides you with the best of both worlds – access to a premium business growth model through your association with Astute and its unmatched suite of additional services, plus the strength of a largescale Licensee to provide core services and support through Centrepoint’s flagship Licensee, Alliance Wealth. The Astute Difference BECOME THE CENTRE OF YOUR CLIENTS’ FINANCIAL WORLD CONSISTENT COMMUNICATION STRATEGY TO YOUR CLIENTS INSURANCE
We realise that building a business is not easy and have specialist resources available to support our members. Business Managers - Our Business Managers have access to a range of planning tools including a program that steps you through the growth of your business. This program helps you analyse the current state and future plans of your business, and enables you to work towards your desired business goals. Credit Coach - The Credit Coach is available to help our members providing timely guidance on loan placement and loan structuring. The Credit Coach produces updates covering industry changes within the lending environment, and posts regularly to our Facebook Community group. Compliance - We have a full time compliance team whose role is to support and coach members through the compliance framework. We provide you with quality real-time feedback. This ensures that Astute maintains high standards around the quality of services that are provided by the group. Commissions - Astute has a full time commissions team that is available to members on a daily basis and pays commissions across all business streams. New Member Onboarding - We have a dedicated onboarding and accreditation team who support new members through the onboarding and transition process. We support you every step of the way. SUPPORT Network
MEMBER development Our level of training and support is a key differentiator for Astute in the marketplace and has been a key driver of our business growth. Member Days - These days revolve around developing members’ understanding of the roles of a diversified service offering. They are designed to help our members work on their business rather than in their business. Product Days - To keep up to date with the latest technical and specific product training, Astute coordinates sessions to provide industry partners with the opportunity to present new or updated information to our members. CRM Training - We have a dedicated CRM Trainer who provides ongoing training to members - both face to face and via webinar. The training is provided as different skill levels, to ensure both inexperienced and confident users are provided with appropriate training modules. Additional Training - Astute holds regular training sessions both face to face and via webinar tailored to specific topics pertinent to members. These include: Credit Coach training, EF/Commercial training, Marketing webinars, and more.
At Astute we are committed to ensuring our members have access to the technology they need to effectively grow their businesses. This includes dedicated resources within the business with specialist knowledge of our technology platforms. ASTUTE ONLINE - Astute Online is a portal that contains information for all of our members including marketing, product information, manuals and other information you and your team need to manage your business on a daily basis. The portal includes lender documents, calculators and other tools that are updated as new information is provided by our partners. CREDIT POLICY MATRIX - The credit policy matrix is a scenario tool that showcases multiple lender policies in one spreadsheet and is an indexed guide that allows brokers to search a specific topic across all lenders. The matrix substantially reduces the amount of time a broker spends waiting on scenario lines and BDMs to clarify a policy or niche. COMPASS - Compass is the leading system in the Financial Planning profession, helping our members to automate workflows in their businesses and provide quality and timely advice. Compass can also automate marketing and client communications. Platforms TECHNOLOGY
Built on a cloud based platform, GEM is a cutting edge CRM that allows our members to electronically lodge loan applications to our partners, and also gives you the ability to communicate to your clients, all in the one system. GEM incorporates a market leading client portal allowing full transparency and ease of communication through the lending transaction. GEM also has a fully integrated lending compliance document called the Credit Proposal, which is a complete overview of the transaction that is signed by the client prior to submission. This process helps our members to meet their compliance obligations, whilst providing clients with an overview of the deal being completed. GEM can be accessed across all technologies, including mobile phone, desktop and tablet making it simple and convenient for members. GEM also incorporates plug-ins such as Bankstatements, Equifax, RP Data and Pricefinder. GEM has fully integrated Marketing and Reporting functionality and is designed to help ensure our members are able to grow efficient and compliant businesses. Our members also have the ability to refer complimentary products and services to their clients seamlessly from GEM. This feature integrates all diversification processes into the loan process and additionally can be utilised during the annual review process with clients. Cloud Based CRM OUR CUTTING EDGE
CONTACTS Whether you currently operate in the lending or financial planning space, we have the systems and support to help you integrate the full range of financial services into your business. We help you transition your business from a transactional based model to one based on long term relationships responsible for a client’s entire financial lifecycle. We help you build your own financial services business. NATIONAL Nathan Kerr Head of Sales - 0402 217 388 [email protected] Andrew Stone Commercial and EF - 0410 525 047 [email protected] Stuart White Insurance and Wealth - 0400 035 481 [email protected] STATE MANAGERS Katrina Sydenham - NSW Business Manager - 0447 986 364 [email protected] Cameron Baseley - Qld Business Manager - 0450 119 726 [email protected] Natasha Ramantanis - Vic Business Manager - 0458 827 555 [email protected] Jason Milne - SA/WA/Tas Business Manager - 0448 635 759 [email protected] and grow JOIN US PETER TRETHOWAN WILSTON - QLD “It has been the vision of Astute that has helped me to develop from a single operator to a fully integrated business that now includes highly skilled brokers, in-house financial planners and a designated commercial broker. The team at Astute are friendly and approachable and always there for my team when required.”
Astute Financial Management Pty Ltd | ACN 093 587 010 | Australian Credit Licence 364253 | Wealth and Personal Insurance services provided by an authorised representative of Alliance Wealth Pty Ltd | ABN 93 161 647 007 | AFSL 499221 | centrepointalliance. com.au/AW. General Insurance provided by Astute Insurance Pty Ltd | ABN 59 622 582 236 | Authorised Representative of Ausure Pty Ltd ABN 94 096 971 854 AFSL 238433. Health Insurance products are underwritten by St Luke’s Medical and Hospital Benefits Association ACN 009 479 618 (St.LukesHealth), a registered private health insurer, [trading as Astute Simplicity Health] and members are introduced by Astute Financial Management Pty Ltd or related entities (collectively known as Astute) for which Astute receives a commission.