Ingenius acquires loan officer recruitment platform

Real estate and mortgage intelligence provider Ingenius announced an acquisition and integration of a new recruitment platform aimed at helping retail branch managers into its own data tools. 

The Pompano Beach, Florida-based technology firm welcomed the deal that combines SIMPL with Ingenius' data software. Built by longtime mortgage sales leaders Fobby Naghmi and John Perry, SIMPL stands for Strategic Intelligent Management of People and Leads. 

The addition of SIMPL will enhance managers' ability to organize the entire loan officer recruitment process, from initial conversations to final offer, saving hours each week, claimed Ingenius CEO Jeff Walton. "Users who spend just 20 minutes a day, three times a week, consistently hit their recruiting targets," Walton said in a press release. "SIMPL removes the guesswork, repetition and delays — and makes it easy to focus on results." 

With SIMPL, managers can efficiently track conversations and follow-ups, Ingenius said. The tool also includes scripts, email templates and suggested text outreach to help make initial contact.  

Initial plans to develop the tool was born out of frustration with how recruitment had never become easier for managers, with SIMPL first intended as a side stream for Naghmi and Perry. 

"So often, as a producing manager, I would be faced with a challenge: keep an appointment with a possible loan officer… or go take a loan application from a new referral partner," Naghmi wrote in a social media post celebrating the sale.

The sale of SIMPL came as an opportunity for the platform to broaden its reach and hit its full potential, he said. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"Ingenius already powers some of the most accurate and dynamic market intelligence in the mortgage space. Their team was open to understanding the recruiting journey as we saw it," Naghmi remarked. 

"When the opportunity came to fold SIMPL into the Ingenius platform, we didn't hesitate. It wasn't a sale — it was the natural next step in the evolution of a vision that had outgrown its original form."

Where software sits in 2025's M&A activity

Ingenius' deal is the latest in a series of mergers and acquisitions making mortgage-related headlines in 2025. While much of the attention has focused on mergers combining lenders with servicing or real estate platforms, technology is also figuring prominently in this year's activity. 

In January, national lender Lower purchased Neat Labs, folding its proprietary loan-origination system into its operations. More recently, Flyhomes offloaded its artificial intelligence-backed home search platform in a cost-cutting move to pivot its focus on wholesale lending of its products.  

The deal between Ingenius and SIMPL also comes as recruitment tactics take the spotlight, with loan officers in demand as company structures change amid elevated M&A. Some leading mortgage industry CEOs, though, have also publicly called out the toxicity coming from recruiters when trying to entice loan officers to join new firms.