“Purple Circle combines mentoring with a broker-owned structure and a genuine community environment. This ensures new-to-industry brokers are not operating in isolation, but instead have access to experienced mentors, peers, collaborative support, and ongoing guidance,” added Stephens.
Lessons from history
Unfortunately, while all aggregators stress the rigour and robustness of their governance frameworks, they can never be 100% watertight. And while the broking industry’s reputation is on the line, this isn’t its first rodeo.
When the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry exposed conflicts of interest, commission-driven behaviour and poor consumer outcomes in the broking industry, it raised serious concerns over the future reputation of the industry.
While the implementation of the Best Interests Duty (BID) following the Royal Commission went a long way to improving the industry’s image, there is always room for improvement.
“The broker channel has built a strong foundation of trust with Australians over many years which is underpinned by the professionalism and standards of most brokers and aggregators,” said Buchanan. “We would be foolish to think, however, that the actions of a few can’t spoil it for many. This is the moment of opportunity for the industry bodies and regulators to tighten up some weak spots and for the aggregators who have great oversight and do not have these issues to be assuring the markets that this is an isolated matter.”