San Diego-based Smartfi Home Loans, a top 15 U.S. reverse mortgage lender, recently made the decision to close its retail division and place an “exclusive focus” on its wholesale channel, the company confirmed Tuesday with HousingWire’s Reverse Mortgage Daily.
The move was officially announced Sept. 15 and ends a short stint for the company’s retail division, which was formed in mid-2024. At that time, Smartfi hired former Finance of America executive Paul Fiore as its president of retail sales.
“Effective immediately, Smartfi will cease activities on its retail origination channel and exclusively concentrate on its wholesale business,” a company press release stated. “This decision underscores Smartfi’s continual commitment to their wholesale partners. The reallocation of resources will provide enhanced value, operational excellence, and superior service to partners of Smartfi Home Loans.”
“We are excited to devote our complete attention to supporting our wholesale partners,” a Smartfi spokesperson said in the release. “Our wholesale network has long been the foundation of our organization, and by consolidating our focus, we can deliver even better products, services, and support to each and every partner.”
Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) data compiled by New View Advisors confirmed that the bulk of Smartfi’s business is in the wholesale channel.
During the year ending in August 2025, Smartfi endorsed 350 HECM loans, the 13th-largest total among all companies and good for a market share of 1.2%. New View noted that for the year ending in June 2025, the company’s wholesale channel did 307 loans.
While it wasn’t immediately clear how many employees were impacted by the decision, Fiore posted last week on LinkedIn that he was no longer with Smartfi.
“I have always lived my life with the belief that everything truly does happen for a reason. While today was a hard day for me, I truly appreciate and respect all of the people who came to work with me,” Fiore wrote.
“While our time together was shorter than I had hoped, we accomplished some great things as a team. I look forward to seeing all of those who I had the pleasure to work with, thrive in the future. … Moving forward with grace and gratitude for the road ahead.”
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