Last night was a pretty special one for the Float team at the Kiwi Adviser Network Awards.
To come away with:
- 3rd place for Outstanding Advice Business
- 2nd place for Outstanding Insurance Adviser - Cory Bennett
- 3rd place for Outstanding Commercial Lending Adviser - Blair Cooper
…is something we’re incredibly proud of.
Not because of trophies or titles, but because it reflects the work happening behind the scenes every single day from a team that genuinely cares about client outcomes.
We’ve always believed financial advice should be about more than transactions. It should be about trust, education, relationships, and helping people make better decisions for their future.
To be recognised across multiple areas of the business is a credit to the people inside Float who continue to raise the standard. And each award for us is a team award - we all allow each other to rise.
Most importantly, thank you to our clients, referral partners, and wider community for backing us. We don’t take that support lightly.
And we’re just getting started!
Big days out of the office are never really “days off” at Float.
Thursday was about stepping back so we can move forward better as a team.
We spent the day reflecting on what’s working, challenging ourselves on what can improve, refining processes, strengthening structure, and brainstorming ways to continue elevating the client journey across every part of the business.
The goal is simple:
To become the most trusted financial advisory firm in New Zealand.
That takes more than growth. It takes alignment.
It takes honest conversations.
It takes accountability.
It takes a team willing to constantly improve.
As Float continues to grow across mortgages, insurance, KiwiSaver and wealth, one thing remains the priority:
Delivering an experience clients genuinely feel the difference in.
Grateful to be building this alongside an elite team that cares deeply about outcomes, service and doing things the right way.
Huge year ahead.
Growth is one thing. Building something that actually works for clients is another.
At Float, we’ve always had a clear goal, to wrap the right advice around our clients at every stage. Lending, insurance, KiwiSaver, wealth, and now fire and general. Not as separate conversations, but as one joined-up strategy.
As the team continues to grow, it’s a reflection of that approach gaining traction.
And with growth comes a practical reality… more space.
Pretty cool moment seeing the Float name go up on our additional space at City Works Depot. A small signal of a much bigger direction.
We’re building something here. And 2026 is shaping up to be a big year.
Why your borrowing power might be different to your friend’s
We often see two people on similar incomes end up with very different borrowing capacities. On the surface, it can feel like the numbers should be close, but lending decisions are rarely based on income alone.
Lenders also look closely at day-to-day expenses, existing debts, credit commitments, and overall financial structure. These details can shift the outcome more than most people expect.
In practice, this means borrowing power is rarely a single figure tied only to salary. It’s a broader assessment of how a full financial picture fits within lending criteria at a point in time.
We find it helpful to step back from comparisons and focus on individual position instead.
Why your borrowing power might be different to your friend’s.
Understanding your own numbers - what’s coming in, what’s going out, and what’s already committed.
This gives a clearer view of where things sit and why.
It’s often this clarity, rather than the final figure itself, that helps people navigate the process with more context.
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We’ve packed it with updates from across the team - market insights, rate movements, insurance changes, and some big news on our end too.
Check your inbox if you’re on the list. Not on it yet? Drop us a message and we’ll get you added. 👇
Link in comments
We’re seeing more conversations around income protection at the moment, and it’s not by chance.
As mortgages increase and household costs rise, people are starting to recognise that their income is their most important asset. If that stops, everything else is exposed pretty quickly.
Most people assume they’ll be fine if something happens. Then you actually map out the numbers, what’s coming in, what’s going out, and the gap becomes obvious.
That’s where income cover fits in. It’s not about the policy, it’s about keeping life running if you can’t work for a period of time.
It’s also not a “nice to have” anymore. For a lot of households, there isn’t enough buffer to absorb a loss of income for more than a few weeks or months.
So the shift isn’t driven by trends, it’s driven by reality. More debt, higher costs, and a better understanding of what’s actually at risk.
The real timeline of buying a home
We often find that the home buying process takes longer than people initially expect. Not because anything is necessarily complicated, but because there are a few stages that naturally sit one after the other.
It usually starts with getting financially organised. Understanding income, expenses, and what lending might look like. From there, conversations with lenders help shape the borrowing position before the house search even begins.
House hunting itself can take time. Some people find the right property quickly, others need more time to understand the market and what feels right. Once an offer is accepted, there are further steps before things become unconditional, including conditions, valuations, and final lending checks.
In our experience, each stage has its own pace, and it’s rarely linear. Some parts move quickly, others require patience.
Having a sense of this timeline early on tends to shift expectations. It doesn’t necessarily make the process shorter, but it does make it feel more structured and easier to follow as it unfolds
A proud moment for the team at Float.
We’ve been named finalists in three categories at the Kiwi Adviser Network awards.
Outstanding Advice Business
This is the one that means the most to us. It reflects the model we’ve been building, supporting every part of a client’s financial wellbeing across lending, insurance, KiwiSaver and wealth.
Not in silos, but as one connected team.
A true team effort, with better outcomes for the people we work for, our clients.
Outstanding Insurance Adviser
Cory Bennett has been named a finalist for the second year running. A strong reflection of the insurance arm at Float and the standards we hold ourselves to when it comes to advice and doing the right thing for our clients.
Outstanding Support – Jacob Munoz (Afterburner for advisers)
This one reaches beyond Float. Afterburner has become a powerful tool not just for our team, but for advisers across the industry. Lifting capability, efficiency and ultimately client outcomes.
Grateful to be recognised alongside some very good operators.
And motivated to keep raising the bar.
We took a few of our referral partners from @atrealtygroup to our box on the weekend to watch the Wahs.
It was a good chance to get out of the office, spend some time together, and catch up properly outside of emails and phone calls.
We work closely with a number of partners across lending, insurance and wealth. When those relationships are strong, things run smoother. Communication is better, expectations are clearer, and ultimately clients get a better result.
No big pitch here, just a reminder that good outcomes are usually built on good relationships.
And as always - Up the Wahs
Naylon, Cory and Niran went down to Hamilton last week and joined Brett in the Hamilton office, presenting to a local law firm.
We ran through a market update, along with a look into how we approach advice at Float and what genuinely makes it different.
The big one for us is collaboration.
Not working in silos.
Not passing clients around through referrals outside of the business.
But having the right people, in the same team, working together as one unit. Lending, insurance, wealth, all aligned. Proper cogs in the same machine, focused on getting clients to where they actually want to go financially.
It’s a much better experience for clients, and a far more rewarding way to work
Big recognition for the Float team this week.
We’ve been nominated for 5 awards at the Kiwi Adviser Network Awards, and every one of them reflects the people behind the scenes who make this business what it is.
• Outstanding Commercial Adviser – Blair Cooper
• Outstanding Insurance Adviser – Cory Bennett
• Insurance Rising Star – Cory (still rising, apparently after winning this last year)
• Outstanding Support Person – Jacob Munoz , for the impact he’s had with Afterburner
• Outstanding Advice Business – THE FULL FLOAT TEAM!!
The one that stands out most is Outstanding Advice Business.
This is now the second time we’ve been nominated for it, and that means more to us all than any individual recognition. It speaks to the culture we’re building, the standards we hold, and the way we show up for clients every day.
At the end of the day, awards are great, but they’re a byproduct.
What matters is continuing to raise the standard of advice, working as a team, and delivering outcomes that actually make a difference in people’s lives.
Proud of this group. And we’re just building momentum 🚀
