Comparing notes, three mortgage leaders found a unique opportunity
IN Partnership with
The OIM Group unites Orbis and Indi into one platform with a new benefit stack, pairing broker autonomy with shared infrastructure across Canada and the US
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When leaders from Orbis Mortgage Group and Indi Mortgage began talking, they weren’t searching for a solution to a problem; they were recognizing a shared one.
Each had built strong, successful businesses independently. Each had invested deeply in broker support, compliance, and growth. And each was seeing the same reality emerge across the industry: brokers were being asked to operate like fully resourced professionals in an increasingly complex environment while still carrying much of the operational burden alone.
Those conversations ultimately led to the creation of The OIM Group, a strategic joint venture between Orbis Mortgage Group and Indi Mortgage designed to preserve broker independence while delivering shared infrastructure at scale across Canada and the US.
Teddy Kyres, founder and CEO of Orbis Mortgage Group, had long believed that access alone wasn’t enough.
Headquartered in Montreal, The OIM Group oversees brokerage operations across Canada and the US, including Orbis Mortgage Group, Indi Mortgage, in-house alternative lender Swyft Mortgage, and the upcoming IMN: Independent Mortgage Network. The OIM Group is the first platform in Canada to offer a brokerage-contributed Pension & Savings Plan exclusively to its brokers/agents.
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“Often brokerages are doing about 50 percent of things extremely well. But there’s another 50 percent that gets missed, not because people don’t care but because they simply don’t have the capacity”
Teddy Kyres,
The OIM Group
“Brokers don’t fail because they don’t work hard,” Kyres says. “They fail because the industry keeps adding layers like compliance, technology, and lender demands without changing how brokers are actually supported. Independence shouldn’t mean doing everything yourself.”
At the same time, Gord Ross and Gord Appel were building Indi Mortgage around a different but complementary principle: that independent brokers should never have to choose between autonomy and a properly resourced business.
When the three leaders finally sat down together, the conversations were practical and familiar: training, compliance across provinces, underwriting support, technology, and all the ways brokers lose time each week chasing paperwork instead of building their business.
“It’s about professionalizing what brokers should expect from the platform they align with – support when you’re new, infrastructure when you scale, and a real runway when you’re ready to step back”
Gordon Appel,
Indi Mortgage
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Published March 9, 2026
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SUBSCRIBE
Mortgage Broker Software Reviews
White papers
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CMP talk
Premium content
RESOURCES
TV
Reverse
Investment
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Broker insights
Alternative lending
BEST IN MORTGAGE
Market updates
Industry trends
Industry news
Industry moves
Guides
Business growth
MORTGAGE INDUSTRY
BROKER INTEL
News
Broker Intel
News
Companies
People
Glossary
Newsletter
About us
Authors
Privacy Policy
Cookie Policy
Conditions of Use
Terms & Conditions
Contact Us
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Copyright © 1996-2026 KM Business Information Canada Ltd.
US
CA
AU
NZ
UK
SUBSCRIBE
Mortgage Broker Software Reviews
White papers
Events
E-mag
CMP talk
Premium content
RESOURCES
TV
Reverse
Investment
Commercial
Broker insights
Alternative lending
BEST IN MORTGAGE
Market updates
Industry trends
Industry news
Industry moves
Guides
Business growth
MORTGAGE INDUSTRY
BROKER INTEL
News
Broker Intel
News
Companies
People
Glossary
Newsletter
About us
Authors
Privacy Policy
Cookie Policy
Conditions of Use
Terms & Conditions
Contact Us
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Copyright © 1996-2026 KM Business Information Canada Ltd.
Swyft Mortgage, an in-house alternative lender exclusive to OIM brokers
Broker Pension & Savings Plan, funded by the platform and externally managed
Central underwriting hub, designed to support deals nationally and improve funding outcomes
US market access, enabling cross-border mortgage referrals
Unified training and onboarding, bringing together both firms’ operating playbooks
IMN (Independent Mortgage Network), a third brand for brokers who want to keep their identity while using full platform infrastructure
What brokers actually get inside The OIM Group
Compliance expectations are heavier than they used to be
Lenders want efficient volume, not just volume
Virtual work has increased isolation and weakened peer support
Brokers want real coaching, not a logo and a portal
Deal complexity is rising; product needs are broader
Why brokers are moving now
“The more we talked, the more obvious it became that we were aligned,” Ross says. “We weren’t trying to change each other’s businesses. We were seeing the same pressures and solving them in compatible ways.”
“It wasn’t that there was anything broken at Indi or at Orbis,” Appel adds. “What each of us had built were different parts of the same picture.”
That alignment became The OIM Group.
The OIM Group is a platform, not a network In a crowded industry, terminology matters. Leadership at The OIM Group is deliberate in calling it a “platform” rather than a network.
Traditional networks often aggregate brokerages while leaving critical responsibilities decentralized. Each brokerage remains responsible for its own compliance structure, payroll systems, underwriting workflows, and technology decisions.
In a country where regulatory expectations vary by province and scrutiny continues to increase, that fragmentation can introduce risk, inconsistency, and cost just as brokerages are trying to scale.
Kyres sees the issue as structural rather than intentional.
“Often brokerages are doing about 50 percent of things extremely well,” he says. “But there’s another 50 percent that gets missed, not because people don’t care but because they simply don’t have the capacity.”
The OIM Group’s premise is that those responsibilities can be absorbed centrally, without stripping brokers of their identity or control.
“The OIM Group is a multi-brand mortgage platform that supports the brands underneath it,” Kyres explains. “We handle payroll, compliance, centralized national underwriting, training, and we manage the technology internally.”
That infrastructure includes Veritas (VTS), Orbis’ proprietary deal management system. While described as AI-powered, the operational goal is straightforward: reduce administrative drag across deal management, compliance, payroll, and CRM so brokers can focus on client advice.
Ross points to another reality the platform model addresses.
“A lot of high-producing brokers are effectively running a brokerage on the side,” he says. “Their intentions are good, but their time is spread thin. They don’t always have the resources to manage everything the way the business now requires.”
Centralization, Kyres adds, allows The OIM Group to invest in support without shifting the cost burden onto brokers.
“We’re not charging brokers for support,” he says. “Training is free to every single agent. That’s non-negotiable for us.”
Timing, pressure, and the modern broker experience Asked why this move is happening now, Kyres points to pressures that have been accumulating for years. “Every year there’s more,” he says. “FINTRAC, lender requirements, compliance, the progression of the business itself.”
The shift to virtual work accelerated another change. While flexibility improved, everyday peer support diminished.
“A lot of brokers feel isolated,” Kyres says. “You used to walk into an office and see people every day. That’s not how most brokers work anymore.”
From the perspective of The OIM Group, a modern platform must replace that missing layer of support – without forcing brokers back into outdated structures.
A benefit stack designed for the full broker life cycle Where The OIM Group draws a clear line between itself and traditional models is in how it approaches a broker’s career, not as a series of transactions but as a full life cycle.
Two elements stand out: an exclusive in-house alternative lending option and a broker pension and retirement pathway.
Swyft Mortgage, The OIM Group’s in-house alternative lender, is exclusive to brokers operating within the platform. Kyres describes its role in practical terms.
“It covers everything from alternative to MIC to private,” he says. “If a deal hits a wall, we have another solution.”
The second pillar is the Broker Pension & Savings Plan, paired with a structured retirement transition program.
Most brokers generate strong income during their peak years, but few brokerage models build long-term security automatically. Bank employees often accumulate pensions through steady employment. Brokers must manage that transition themselves.
The OIM Group’s pension plan is brokerage-funded and externally administered, designed to mirror the benefit structures brokers often compete against.
The retirement transition program extends that thinking further.
“Brokers are great at wealth acquisition,” Ross says. “They’re not always great at wealth retention or long-term planning.”
Historically, retirement often meant walking away from a book of business built over decades. Through The OIM Group’s transition process, typically nine to 12 months, a broker’s book can be adopted by the platform, with the retiring broker continuing to receive revenue.
“We pay them 50 percent of every file we close,” Ross says, “including referral business, for life.”
For Appel, the structure reflects a broader goal.
“It’s about professionalizing what brokers should expect from the platform they align with – support when you’re new, infrastructure when you scale, and a real runway when you’re ready to step back,” he says.
Culturally, The OIM Group emphasizes choice over constraint.
“We don’t rely on long contracts to keep brokers,” Ross says. “We want them to stay because it works. We’ll put flowers on the tables – not bars on the doors.”
A different wager on the future of brokerage At its core, The OIM Group is betting that brokers no longer want to choose between independence and support.
As Appel puts it, the industry has been missing “a truly national offering that gives brokers access to everything a large organization can provide while still keeping that small-company, community-driven heart.”
For Kyres, Ross, and Appel, The OIM Group isn’t about fixing what already works. It’s about strengthening it and making it sustainable for the long term.
The second pillar is the Broker Pension & Savings Plan, paired with a structured retirement transition program.
Most brokers generate strong income during their peak years, but few brokerage models build long-term security automatically. Bank employees often accumulate pensions through steady employment. Brokers must manage that transition themselves.
The OIM Group’s pension plan is brokerage-funded and externally administered, designed to mirror the benefit structures brokers often compete against.
The retirement transition program extends that thinking further.
“Brokers are great at wealth acquisition,” Ross says. “They’re not always great at wealth retention or long-term planning.”
Historically, retirement often meant walking away from a book of business built over decades. Through The OIM Group’s transition process, typically nine to 12 months, a broker’s book can be adopted by the platform, with the retiring broker continuing to receive revenue.
“We pay them 50 percent of every file we close,” Ross says, “including referral business, for life.”
For Appel, the structure reflects a broader goal.
“It’s about professionalizing what brokers should expect from the platform they align with – support when you’re new, infrastructure when you scale, and a real runway when you’re ready to step back,” he says.
Culturally, The OIM Group emphasizes choice over constraint.
“We don’t rely on long contracts to keep brokers,” Ross says. “We want them to stay because it works. We’ll put flowers on the tables – not bars on the doors.”
Swyft Mortgage, an in-house alternative lender exclusive to OIM brokers
Broker Pension & Savings Plan, funded by the platform and externally managed
Central underwriting hub, designed to support deals nationally and improve funding outcomes
US market access, enabling cross-border mortgage referrals
Unified training and onboarding, bringing together both firms’ operating playbooks
IMN (Independent Mortgage Network), a third brand for brokers who want to keep their identity while using full platform infrastructure
What brokers actually get inside The OIM Group
Swyft Mortgage, an in-house alternative lender exclusive to OIM brokers
Broker Pension & Savings Plan, funded by the platform and externally managed
Central underwriting hub, designed to support deals nationally and improve funding outcomes
US market access, enabling cross-border mortgage referrals
Unified training and onboarding, bringing together both firms’ operating playbooks
IMN (Independent Mortgage Network), a third brand for brokers who want to keep their identity while using full platform infrastructure
What brokers actually get inside The OIM Group