Results Over Excuses

Trent Bradley wears: Henry Navy POW Check Suit $1,299 (SDC804), Willard White Textured Essential Shirt $169 (CFNQ0021), Navy Prep Tie $189 (TIG006) From Working Style

For more than two decades, Trent Bradley and his team have been behind the scenes of some of New Zealand’s most complex property deals, structuring loans, solving funding challenges, and building long-term financial plans that actually work. As Director of Luminate Financial Group, he’s helped clients secure 1.5 billion in lending by doing what others won’t: stepping into the hard stuff, cutting through the complexity, and getting it done.

Luminate also provides a strong platform for investors, offering access to secured, property-backed returns through a model built on trust, performance, and real-world experience. It’s smart, simple, and increasingly appealing in a market where traditional income options no longer keep pace.
Bradley isn’t one for buzzwords. He prefers discipline over drama, focus over flash, and accountability over excuses. He shares insights into where the economy is really heading, why financial freedom isn’t what Instagram says it is, and how a few simple principles can still build wealth, for borrowers and investors alike.

Let’s do a recap. The last couple of years, for many business owners and mortgage holders, have felt like a bit of a washing machine cycle.

One of the key things in the last couple of years is that people have had to come to grips with their inadequacies as business people. For the most part, business in New Zealand has been reasonably straightforward, and most of us have done fairly well. But after COVID, a lot of businesses experienced 30 to 40 percent reductions in turnover, and were no longer profitable. They had to make the changes to become profitable again.

Some of our inefficiencies were exposed, and many of us realised we weren’t as good as we thought we were. A lot of the success we’d attributed to our own brilliance was really just being in a good market.

So when we hit a down market, we had to lift our game. That’s been a major factor for a lot of businesses and clients I work with. They weren’t operating efficiently enough and had to make difficult changes. Some had to close and move into other areas.

That’s quite confronting. I always thought it was easier to blame the Reserve Bank.

And that’s what we do do. My favourite saying in business when someone brings up an issue or someone that’s done something wrong is to look at one of my staff members and say, “You know, the Reserve Bank is not the reason why we’re not successful right now.” Or, “the Reserve Bank is not the reason why we’re not making a profit right now.” Or that particular

economic issue is not the reason we’re not successful. We’re not successful for x, y and z.

There is an element, especially when you have a government-imposed regulation or set of circumstances, that is outside of your control. But COVID was three to four years ago. And using COVID as an excuse for not making money now is not acceptable. There’s definitely some hangover from that period, and there’s been some change in the way people operate from that period, but the reality is if you’re not making money now, it’s because we’re not running our businesses well enough. It’s that simple. That’s hard to get your head around. The next two years are going to be a good example of that. It’s my belief that we could be in economically challenging times for at least 18 months.

What are you basing that on?

I’m not an economist. I don’t have a Master’s from the London School of Economics. I tend to look at things more simply.

We’re in a recession. There’s a 10-year high in liquidations, a 12-year high in receiverships, and unemployment is officially at a four-year high of 5.1 percent, though I suspect it’s higher. Bank defaults are at record levels.

Add to that, immigration is not where it needs to be. As of November, we were down 32 percent on people coming into New Zealand, and up 28 percent on people leaving. Over half of those leaving are going to Australia. So we’re not gaining the people we need.

In the property market, the stats aren’t awful on the surface, but the background trends are concerning. Median house price is just over a million, days to sell are sitting at 40 to 55, and that’s being propped up by agents manipulating listings. There were 30 weeks’ worth of housing stock on the market in January. That’s eight months’ worth.

Government might step in with interest rate cuts or shovel-ready projects, but that takes time to flow through. I don’t see a quick fix.

Is there a silver lining?

Yes. We’re being forced to make improvements. Businesses are becoming more efficient. Building consents are down by nearly 10 percent, which will help clear the construction backlog and rebalance things. But there does need to be a price correction to bring stock levels back down.

We’ve had the wake-up call we needed. Tough times are when you learn the most. Losing money is confronting. You start to lose control, and that forces you to change.

Has it been tough for you?

We’re lucky that we’re small and can adapt quickly. There have definitely been times of concern. We’ve had to go out and find new business rather than waiting for it to come in. The market’s also much noisier now, with more brokers doing what we do. But we’ve got a strong, loyal client base, and that’s helped a lot.

You mentioned not being from the London School of Economics, but your analysis makes a lot of sense. Do economists overcomplicate things?

They’ve got a tougher job than I do, so I wouldn’t criticise them. I’ve had to educate myself more, especially as we’ve started creating more content for clients. A lot of it is just thinking things through. I’m always open to other perspectives. I know enough to have a relevant opinion, but I really value economists when it comes to global insights. That’s where they bring huge value.
One of my regrets is not acting earlier on inflation. I remember in 2021 a café owner telling me their chicken bill had tripled, and that should’ve been a trigger but interest rates were still low and the property market was good so I didn’t make any changes. Do we need to take more responsibility?

Until we’re in a difficult situation, we don’t. We’re not motivated until we have to be. When mortgage rates hit 7 percent, people complained, but most didn’t change their lifestyle. People still went shopping, still went out.

Real change only happens when it impacts your daily life. That’s when people start to take it seriously.

Do we need more hustle?

Hustle is one of my favourite words. It implies urgency and focus. Smaller businesses and sole traders have to hustle because they don’t have a safety net. You see it in the real estate agents who are grinding right now. They’re hustling because they have to.

Are you seeing more interest from investors now?

Definitely. There’s more interest in alternatives to bank deposits. But since the GFC, when 56 finance companies went under, people are understandably cautious. The FMA’s done a good job cleaning up the industry. That’s helped. But ultimately, investing decisions come down to trust as much as returns.

What’s built that trust in your business?

It starts with responsibility and honesty. You need to be credible. That means doing what you say you’ll do, and also admitting when you’re wrong. People appreciate authenticity. They don’t want perfect, they want real.

A consistent message helps too. If you’re always changing direction, people don’t know what you stand for. Our message is simple: financial freedom is a house with no debt and income coming in before you get out of bed. You get there by spending less than you earn and investing the difference.

When you were a teenager, could you have imagined yourself running a finance company?

No. I wanted to be an All Black. I gave that a good go. Then I fell into finance, and later found my sense of mission in it. Usually it’s the other way around.
I grew up in a humble home, and that creates urgency. I’ve talked before about applying to Sacred Heart and my dad tearing up the application because we couldn’t afford it. That stuck with me. I decided right then that would never happen to a child of mine.

How do you describe your mission now?

I’m here to solve financial problems and improve people’s long-term financial future. We do that through mortgage broking and finance. Our focus is always to leave people better off than when we met them. We don’t always get there, but that’s the goal every time.

Can you fill in the gaps a bit more between that Sacred Heart moment and starting the finance company?

Most people in finance take a more traditional path than I did. I was working at a bank, and we had a disagreement over something. I walked away. That limited my options in the industry, so I was forced to start something myself.

I was 30, and I’d only been in finance four or five years. Enough to do an apprenticeship, but not enough to really know how to build a business or run a finance company properly. So I had to make it up as I went along.

I had no clients. Most people go out and try to find clients. I thought if I had money, the clients would come to me. So I flipped the script and started phoning everyone in the Yellow Pages who lent money. I asked what they did, how they did it, what made them different. If I could access money, I could solve problems.

And because of my upbringing, I didn’t feel embarrassed about cold calling or walking into places uninvited. Real estate agents wouldn’t see me, so I bought a two-metre inflatable dolphin and walked in with it under my arm. I’d say, “This is Bob, my interest rate expert.” It made people laugh, and they’d talk to me.

Then I’d ask what kind of clients they were looking for, what their targets were, how I could help them grow. I didn’t pitch myself, I listened. That worked better than the usual approach. I got laughed at plenty, but I kept going.

If you’d stayed at the bank longer, would you have ever made the leap?

No, I don’t think so. The longer I stayed, the harder it would’ve been to leave. I’ve got a lot of respect for people who work in banks. Some of them are incredibly skilled, especially in business and commercial banking.

But I don’t think I could do what they do inside the bank, and I don’t think they could do what I do either. My best mate since we were three still works in the bank. He thinks I’m successful, but I look at him and think the same. Clients often need both perspectives. Especially when they’re in difficulty, they need someone outside who can steer the ship differently.

AI is working its way into every industry. How is it affecting yours?

Definitely affecting it. We’re using AI now, though not as efficiently as we should. We’re a bit behind, but we’re catching up. It’s going to change our industry significantly.

For straightforward, standardised transactions, where everything fits in the box, AI will take over. Deals will be processed faster, more consistently, and without the people component. You’ll input your data, and the deal will be done quickly.

But for clients who don’t fit the mould, who need tailored advice, that won’t change. People will still want to talk through complex situations. It’s like medicine. If you’ve got the flu, AI can probably diagnose it and give you the right treatment. But if you need surgery, you want a specialist. Financial advice is the same.

We’re looking at how we can use AI to improve what we do, but also how we can deepen relationships with clients who need customised solutions, property people, business owners, and people in financial difficulty. There’ll always be a place for that personal advice.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

There are two.

The first is that how you deal with adversity is the most important trait you can have. When things go wrong, the questions you ask yourself in that moment matter. If you ask, “Why does this always happen to me?” you’ll get one answer. If you ask, “What’s the one thing I need to do right now?” you’ll get a completely different one. I reckon if people were taught that early in life, they’d be better equipped to handle tough situations. Adversity is guaranteed. How you respond is not.

The second is financial advice. People need a simple, set-and-forget way to manage money. If you spend 75 percent of your net income, invest 15 percent, and save 10 percent, it’s nearly impossible to be broke. That formula works. It’s not the only way, but 60 to 70 percent of people would benefit from sticking to that. Simple steps done consistently make a huge difference.