New Zealand Mortgage Adviser Head Officially A Global Leader

The head of New Zealand’s peak body representing mortgage advisers has been named in a globally respected annual list of the World’s 100 best mortgage leaders.

Country manager of the Finance and Mortgage Advisers Association of New Zealand (FAMNZ) Leigh Hodgetts’ was included in the prestigious ‘Global 100 report’ which included industry figures from the USA, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, who “are making a positive difference and helping drive change across the industry.”

The list is produced each year by a group of mortgage publications from across the world, and is finalised after an exhaustive research study spanning four months to identify and showcase the industry's top performers.

Ms Hodgetts, the only Kiwi on the list from an association or peak body, said the honour reflects what FAMNZ has been able to achieve since launching at the start of the year.

“Mortgage advisers and the service they provide have been misunderstood by many Kiwis, and I feel that even in the short time we have existed, we’ve been able to highlight the benefits to consumers by using a finance or mortgage adviser.”

She also said that mortgage advisers were not exclusively represented before FAMNZ.

“There are many different types of advisers and this led to confusion by consumers.”

Ms Hodgetts has spent much of the year not only raising the awareness of mortgage advisers, but meeting with the Commerce Commission, FMA, and lenders to increase competition in the lending sector.

This work was acknowledged by Chris Sweeney, managing editor for special reports at Mortgage Professional America, Canadian Mortgage Professional, MortgageIntroducer,MortgageProfessional Australia, and NZ Adviser.

“Leigh beat off a lot of top professionals to earn her place in the Global 100,” Mr Sweeney said, adding that those who made it “were recognised for leading within their company, offering education to others and championing key issues to carry the mortgage sector into a new era.”

Prior to her appointment at FAMNZ, Ms Hodgett’s held senior roles at Astute Financial Management NZ, ANZ, BNZ and more recently with Financial Advice New Zealand. She also spent time with the Financial Markets Authority as manager, retail operations.

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