FOA president talks business progress amid strong Q1 earnings

Marketing moves

FOA inherited the marketing apparatus of American Advisors Group (AAG) when it purchased AAG’s assets. These were often seen as a benefit to the wider industry by individual reverse mortgage professionals.

But the company is aiming to try something new with its “A Better Way With FOA” campaign. The announcement was made shortly after FOA selected a new creative advertising agency.

Kristen Sieffert

“This campaign marks a shift away from traditional celebrity endorsements towards storytelling that reflects real-life goals and aspirations of today’s homeowners,” Sieffert said during the earnings presentation.

“Our goal is to create ads that highlight relatable use cases that dismantle stereotypes and show reverse mortgages as a smart tool for responsible financial planning, whether it’s funding or renovation, covering unexpected expenses or simply enabling peace of mind.”

The company will seek to embed that message across all of its customer and marketing touchpoints. Sieffert said that leaders expect the full transition to the new campaign will be complete by the end of June.

She added that despite the campaign only being online at “a small scale for less than one month,” the company has noticed a difference in its direct mail results, with a “16% improvement in our upper funnel inquiry to lead conversion.”

The company expects to gain new insights into the potential new kinds of customers engaging with the brand. And it will leverage this data to further refine its strategies in both growth and product development, Sieffert added.

“Given the various economic uncertainties impacting our customers — including stock market volatility, risk of recession and further inflation — we’re confident that our current solutions can assist many Americans in achieving the stability they seek,” she said.

Sales metrics and a C-suite addition

Sieffert went on to say that FOA is “well positioned to introduce new solutions to address additional needs.” The company is continuing to focus “on the fundamentals across the business and have seen notable improvements across key operational metrics in Q1.”

The percentage of retail loans funded within the first 30 days of submission, for instance, doubled quarter over quarter. The initial 30-day sales conversion rate increased by 40% and “cost per opportunity” was reduced by 12% in the same timeframe.

Jonathan Scarpati

Sieffert ended her portion of the call by issuing congratulations to FOA executive Jonathan Scarpati for his promotion to chief production officer of FOA’s operating subsidiary, Finance of America Reverse (FAR).

He “has been the head of our industry-leading wholesale division for over a decade, [and] in this new role Jon will oversee our sales and production strategy heading both the wholesale and retail channels,” she said.

“We believe this leadership will be key to helping us unlock the massive growth potential we know is available within our category.”

Scarpati’s promotion was announced by the company at the beginning of April. It followed his appointment last year to the board of directors at the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA). He is the first occupant of the new C-level production role at FAR and has been with the company in varying capacities since 2010.

“I believe there is so much opportunity for us on both the retail and wholesale side as we continue to innovate and enable homeowners to better utilize their home equity,” Scarpati told RMD upon the announcement of his promotion.

“Driving greater coordination behind the two channels at Finance of America will be instrumental in our next phase of growth, and the relationship with our wholesale partners runs deep.”