Stonebridge Group has defended the network model despite an anticipation of further market consolidation.

The mortgage and insurance network belives that those networks with the correct strategies in place won’t necessarily have to compromise.

A number of mortgage networks have also altered their charging structures in recent months and hiked monthly fees, but Stonebridge doesn’t levy monthly fees and hasn’t changed its charging structure since ‘Mortgage Day’ in 2004.

“There have been a number of networks making changes to their adviser fees lately and from the outside it looks like they are subsidising their preparations for the Retail Distribution Review (RDR) by hitting advisers in the pocket,” said Richard Adams, managing director of Stonebridge Group.

“We’re proud of the fact that our charging structure is completely transparent and has remained unchanged for eight years. This means our appointed representatives (ARs) can plan and budget effectively for the future without having to worry about us moving the goalposts further down the line.

“Aside from the fact that many advisers are having to deal with the effects of reduced volumes on their business, the introduction of new legislation and processes such as the RDR and the Mortgage Market Review, this should be a time when networks provide extra support and advice and not be looking to take advantage of their ARs by hiking fees.

“We are confident that the model we currently have in place offers our membership the best of all worlds and we will constantly review all elements of it to ensure this remains the case. Networks that constantly chop and change may find they need to merge or be subsumed by competitors, but those with a competitive and quality-driven model have a solid platform to build on for the foreseeable future.”