CMP's Top 75 Brokers for 2012 Revealed

For the sixth consecutive year, Canadian Mortgage Professional (CMP) Magazine has released its Top 75 Brokers list. The magazine received a record number of submissions from mortgage brokers across the country who were then ranked by their total funded volumes for 2012. This year, CMP formatted some of the results into an infographic-style spread. Then, after listing the 75 mortgage brokers with the highest funded volume, CMP also included Q&A interviews with the Top 5.

The Numbers

One interesting stat found among the list is the fact that the combined funded volume in 2012 was down $560 million from 2011. We could assume that number has something to do with varying home price increases across the country, as well as the mortgage rule changes, which may have pushed some potential buyers out of the market. However, the total number of funded deals also fell – by 1,300 – meaning that brokers increased their total funded volume per deal.

The Brokers 

This year’s list features brokers from all across Canada, with brokers representing nine out of the ten provinces. One key difference between this year’s results and last year’s results is the brokers’ average years of experience. In 2011, the average years of brokering experience was just 6.8. In 2012, however, that number jumped to 15.9. Dominion Lending Centres and Verico dominated other mortgage brokerages, with 33 and 26 of the 75 spots.

The Top 5

The top 5 mortgage brokers in 2012 were:

1. Jim Tourloukis (Ontario) – Jim Tourloukis finished 2012 with $218.1 million in funded deals – $14 million less than the year before, but still enough to put him at the top of the list. His secret? Tourloukis utilitized mortgage rate comparison sites to help him find new customers and increase his business. He attributes his success to the fact that he uses many different avenues to find and retain his customers.
2. Collin Bruce (Alberta) – Collin Bruce finished 2012 with $201 million in funded deals and, aside from Tourloukis, was the only other broker to go over the $200 million mark. Last year, Bruce was also in the Top 5 but ranked 5th with a funded volume of $150 million. This year, he took advantage of Alberta’s strong housing market to increase his funded volume by more than $50 million – a huge accomplishment in any brokers career.
3. Dave Butler (Ontario) – In 2011, Dave Butler ranked 4th on the list with a funded volume of $153 million. In 2012, he moved up to 3rd place with a funded volume of $186.6 million. Unlike some mortgage brokers, Butler says his business was hardly affected by the new restrictions placed on amortization periods in 2012. Most of his clients are investors who make down payments of 20% or more and, therefore, qualify for 30-year mortgages.
4. Nicole Drummond (Ontario) – Last year, Nicole Drummond was not on CMP’s Top 75 Brokers list. This year, however, she finished with $123.7 million in funded deals. In 2012, Drummond says she took advantage of the amortization rule changes by educating her clients and advising them to refinance before the changes came into effect; this strategy obviously worked, as she finished 4th out of the 75 brokers on the list.
5. Jason Singh(Ontario) – In 2011, Jason Singh closed $114 million in funded deals and ranked 8th on the Top 75 Brokers list. In 2012, he finished the year with $121 million in funded deals and a spot in the Top 5. Singh believes that his determination to provide the best service to his clients largely contributed to the increase in his funded volume and, ultimately, his entrance into the Top 5.

A notable absence from this year’s list is last year’s top broker, Dan Eisner, CEO of True North Mortgage. With Eisner’s business model, it is likely that he would have finished first again. As such, Eisner decided not to submit his financial details to CMP this year, so another broker could claim the top spot. When asked if Eisner would have won, Tourloukis said, “Of course. Nobody is close to his numbers.”