Mortgage sourcing systems have become a vital piece of the adviser armoury. Advisers know that there are occasional issues with data accuracy although this is strongly managed by both lenders and the sourcing engines. As the systems have developed, the range of fields that are available have grown, but the binary nature of many them means that what many lenders will do at the margins of their policy cannot be reflected in these systems. There are other issues around service, timing of fee application and offer timing and length that does not easily fit in initial searches.

It is these and other factors that might mean an adviser could wish to not select from the top set of returns in their search. Rightly some firms and networks are asking their advisers to justify when they wish to step outside the upper returns. Where the search has been done accurately, it is right that such a justification is provided to protect the customer, adviser and firm. We should never see the search result in isolation as even then it will be sorted often on initial cost, or cost over a specific term, that may need to be looked at more deeply in relation to fees and term to ensure the right answer is concluded.

It is the expert knowledge of the broker alongside the sourcing system that ensures consumers get the right product. Whilst sourcing systems are excellent tools they are only part of the advisory armoury.