PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME), a non-profit, national trade membership association created exclusively for independent mortgage brokers, hosted 3,000 brokers and wholesale mortgage professionals from all across the country last week for the largest nationwide gathering of independent mortgage professionals in the industry.
The 4th annual AIME Fuse National Conference included three days of content including a pre-event dedicated to empowering women leaders in the industry with AIME’s Women’s Mortgage Network (WMN) Summit. The Summit is dedicated to empowering women in the mortgage industry and this year’s Summit saw an overwhelming response in sold out attendance of 400 female mortgage professionals. The Women’s Mortgage Network Facebook group has seen a 100% increase in membership since September 2020 with over 3,100 individual members.
During the trade association’s keynote, Katie Sweeney, CEO of AIME, announced a new AIME Member Portal (AMP) and associated membership tiers that carry a variety of exclusive benefits for members. Lower tiers, including a free membership option, grants access to AIME’s Facebook groups and vendor discounts, while higher tiers include complimentary tickets to upcoming AIME Fuse conferences and access to AIME’s healthcare system that will allow members to offer their employees medical, dental and vision coverage through a single aggregated portal. The system will launch before the end of 2021.
“In order to provide the types of services that independent originators need to be successful, we as an association, need to develop a sustainable financial model in order to support them,” states Katie Sweeney, CEO of AIME. “With the launch of our new AIME Member Portal, we will be able to continue its efforts to educate borrowers on the benefits of working with brokers to create more awareness of the broker channel for years to come.”
“We are proud to focus on the needs of brokers every single day, however, that support comes at a cost,” says Brendan McKay, President of Broker Advocacy at AIME. “In order to level the playing field for brokers, they need access to healthcare, training programs, lobbying and consumer advocacy and that’s what we’re focusing on going into 2022.”
AIME created the Fuse National Conference to aid in its mission to unite originators across the U.S. to build a community that had never before existed in the industry. In addition to Sweeney, this year’s conference featured keynotes from Mat Ishbia, CEO of UWM; Molly Bloom, inspirational keynote speaker, entrepreneur and bestselling author of Molly’s Game; Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Chairman & CEO of Magic Johnson Enterprises (MJE); and Simon Sinek, renowned leadership expert and author of Start With Why and The Infinite Game.
Over 50 of the industry’s leading wholesale lenders and vendors networked with broker owners, loan originators and mortgage professionals in the largest gathering of independent brokers within the wholesale mortgage industry. AIME has seen a 100% increase in its lender partners and a 62% increase in its vendor partners since the AIME Fuse conference in 2020.
“We saw record levels of attendance in this year’s Fuse National Conference with 3,000 mortgage professionals from across the nation attending the conference,” says Sweeney. “Fuse is a culmination of the hard work and determination of the broker channel and an opportunity to experience the power of the broker community. It’s a once in a lifetime chance to collaborate with top producers and game changers in the mortgage industry and brokers turned up in full force.”
As AIME heads into 2022, the organization is focused on furthering its goal of educating borrowers that brokers are truly the best option for their home buying experience. AIME plans to expand its training programs and add certification programs for brokers to help them better serve consumers.
“I am incredibly impressed with how far AIME has grown under Katie’s leadership,” states Marc Summers, President of AIME. “With the AIME Member Portal, she has built a sustainable business model that will ensure we are able to continue its mission of supporting, protecting, and growing the wholesale mortgage channel.”
About Association of Independent Mortgage Experts
The Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME) is a non-profit, national trade membership association created exclusively for independent mortgage brokers. With over 40,000 members, AIME is committed to establishing a community of independent mortgage experts by creating an association that empowers them with unparalleled technology, continued education and networking support necessary to successfully advise consumers nationwide with their residential mortgage needs. AIME operates with a growth-focused strategy, providing tools and resources to propel the wholesale channel beyond a 25% share of the mortgage market in 2021 and beyond.
