A big leap in education

After a lot of hard work and dedication, the Financial Intermediary and Broker Association (FIBA) and the Association of Short-Term Lenders (ASTL) are set to officially launch the Certified Practitioner in Specialist Property Finance (CPSP) e-learning qualification this year. The authors of the training programme speak about writing the content and how they expect it to revolutionise the specialist finance space

Michelle Westley Head of marketing at Brightstar Financial

As a specialist distributor, we work hard to provide education that demystifies the sector. This is because we recognise that if more people understand how specialist finance can help customers and the tools available to them, they will spot more opportunities to better serve their clients.

Writing the module wasn’t just a case of putting pen to paper—a lot of thought and effort went into every section, as we really considered how best to demonstrate the dynamics of the market and how it functions. It’s only when writing about how the sector works and the solutions it can deliver to customers that you really see just how varied and flexible specialist finance can be. This sector is one of the most dynamic areas of the market, constantly evolving to deliver new solutions for customers. The CPSP programme will help to provide a holistic understanding of it for anyone who chooses to take the qualification—this foundation of knowledge will facilitate good advice and help brokers to develop long-standing client relationships.

Steve Barber Managing director at Bridging Finance Solutions

The CPSP programme provides a baseline standard across the industry that can be relied upon by all stakeholders, as well as an attractive qualification structure for young, new entrants in the sector. While putting together the development finance module, I was surprised by the breadth of knowledge and requirements across multiple professions and client information needed to present a detailed funding proposal to a lender. The complexity significantly exceeds that of a bridging application and the information is derived from a much wider variety of sources. This may have dissuaded some brokers from diversifying into the development finance space in the past, so the certificate could allow them to confidently move into this specialist area. I expect to see an uptake in the certificate from progressive, forward-thinking brokers and lenders as part of staff development and training to raise standards within the wider specialist finance sector. The learning module shows that a fully detailed development proposal by a broker will certainly go some way to allow for lenders to underwrite proposals in a timely fashion, as they will be provided with pertinent information at the outset.

The array of specialist finance knowledge is vast, but you only realise just how much there is when you put it down on paper, and it’s brilliant to have a team of highly talented and knowledgeable people all involved in the construction of the course. For me, there were two particularly challenging aspects, one as an individual and the other as a collective experience. Personally, drafting the course exam questions was very tough—ensuring I had the right level of detail and formulating the wrong answers was much more difficult than I had anticipated. As a collective, it was hard to decide when to stop. Specialist and commercial finance can branch off into so many areas and knowing where to draw the line as to what should be included was also an issue. The beauty of this, however, is it allows for development of more advanced learning in the future, so brokers can continue their education and provide their customers with the best possible outcomes.

Tanya Elmaz Director of intermediary sales for commercial finance at Together

When we were putting the bridging content together, I was dazed by how many details are taken for granted by those who hold extensive experience. It also surprised me that we still need to demystify bridging finance to a certain extent—it isn’t as scary or confusing as it may seem. The process of developing this module did make me reflect on how I had learnt about bridging; having a programme such as this when I started out would’ve certainly been helpful. As the programme is for everyone, the main challenge was ensuring that every detail was covered in a way that was relevant and engaging to both a new entrant and someone who has more experience. I truly believe this programme should be commended; the course offers vital education to those in the industry and will help to raise knowledge and standards across the sector.

John Kent Managing director at White Rose Finance Group

As the CPSP has been developed from within the sector rather than being imposed by a regulator, it demonstrates a positive will to determine the quality of the advice and service that clients have a right to expect from brokers. The biggest challenge for me was attempting to convey all the information within the topic concisely, avoiding anecdotes, waffle and cliches, to ensure it was written in layman’s terms. It was also quite a task to include many of the features, such as think boxes, reflection questions and case studies. The final issue was coming up with credible wrong answers for multiple choice questions—for anyone old enough to remember him, I imagine it was a bit like Les Dawson playing the wrong notes on a piano on purpose! I believe that CPSP will send a positive message to the FCA that brokers and networks are operating with the needs of the client at heart and that, eventually, a more in-depth version of the programme will become the equivalent of CeMAP, raising the collective perception of accredited brokers as trusted professionals.

As I was writing content for the CPSP qualification, I was reminded of just how many elements there are to specialist finance. There are countless intricacies in what we do as an industry, especially with regard to the products and services on offer. It was useful to take a step back and appreciate this point when sitting down to contribute to this programme. It was amazing to be reminded of just how much work, specialist knowledge and coordination goes into what we do. The lack of existing resources or information available made the contribution difficult from a sourcing perspective at first, but I soon realised that those writing this qualification had to be the source. We’re pioneering something new here, which is a challenge in itself. However, it’s an opportunity in equal measure—the fact that it was difficult to find the necessary resources to back up our existing knowledge underlines the need for what we’re creating.

When I was asked to put together the topics around BTL for the CPSP programme, I felt confident I was up for the task as I had written a number of pieces for the market before. I did, however, completely underestimate the time it would take me not only to write the topic, but also to consider the order of the information and the detail needed to maximise the learning. I believe I went completely over my allocated number of words, yet there was still more that could have been added—it was definitely a challenge to make sure each section was to the point and covered the basics before exploring more complex areas. Specialist property finance is becoming increasingly important to the mortgage industry. However, the existing qualifications are geared towards regulated residential mortgages and do not cover the specialist market in any level of detail that would enable a broker in this market to develop sufficient competency. The CPSP programme is not only timely, but crucial—it will enhance the knowledge of brokers and improve the specialist market’s reputation at a time when the consumer duty is a big focus for 2023. As the owner of a network with many specialist mortgage advisers, I see this as a fantastic tool to provide to my advisers to increase their knowledge and awareness of all areas of the specialist market.