Registered investment advisors often play a crucial role in securing loans for their clients. After all, clients rely on RIAs as a source of financial advice, and loan offerings position RIAs as a “one-stop shop” for their clients’ needs.
However, the loan origination process can often be time-consuming and resource-intensive. The time spent finding the right fit for a client’s loan needs might be better spent providing more valuable services, such as consultations or financial planning.
One way that RIAs can streamline the loan origination process is by using loan generation platforms. These platforms are designed to simplify and speed up the process of matching borrowers with loan offerings, applying for loans, and automating many of the subsequent tasks.
Remove manual loan shopping
One of the most time-consuming aspects of the loan origination process is shopping for the best loan options. Even highly qualified applicants can receive different offers from different lenders, depending on the loan’s amount, term, and purpose. This could involve contacting multiple lenders, filling out multiple loan applications, and waiting for responses.
The variation in loan products brings a layer of complexity to a manual search process. Clients may be seeking a term loan, or a line of credit — and not all lenders have the same offerings. RIAs may find themselves doing a lot of research to pair their client’s needs with a lender’s products.
With a loan generation platform, RIAs can access a wide range of loan options from a single interface, making it easier to find the best offer for their clients. RIAs only need to fill out the loan details a single time, and then participating lenders will return their offers. It’s also easier to comparison shop between multiple loan products, and RIAs can review the options with their clients.
Integrate with loan origination systems
Many loan generation platforms are designed to integrate with loan origination systems, which can further streamline the process. This allows RIAs to easily and securely submit loan applications to the chosen lender.
Rather than sending the client to the lender directly, the RIA can facilitate the application, including borrower information, credit checks, and any collateral on the loan. The RIA can also monitor its progress when there is integration with a LOS, which can be useful if the RIA has multiple clients with applications in progress.
Integration with a LOS also improves communication between the RIA, the lender, and the borrower. If all parties are connected through the loan generation platform, it becomes easier to share updates about the loan application.
Focus on service instead of administrative tasks
Loan origination is often a tedious process, between lengthy applications, submitting the necessary underwriting documentation, and a stream of back-and-forth communication. All of this takes time and can leave the RIA caught as an intermediary.
With clients’ loan information centralized in a single platform, RIAs can focus on the interaction with their clients rather than administrative tasks, such as follow-ups with lenders from various banks or submitting loan applications through an individual lender’s portal.
RIAs are trusted guides for their clients, but for loan origination, they are taking a facilitating role since it’s ultimately up to the lender to approve the loan. But as a primary source for the client’s financial needs, it’s still a valuable service to find and discuss loan options. Loan generation platforms can help RIAs provide a more efficient and effective loan origination process, freeing up time to focus on the relationship with the client.
