Adviser numbers backtrack after strong growth
The financial advice profession has shrunk yet again with another 18 advisers exiting, following a week of positive growth, Wealth Data reveals.
The research house noted a growth of +31 advisers last week, contrasting the loss of 18 advisers this week ending 5 October which has brought the total number to 15,692.
Overall, there has been a net change of -106 advisers this calendar year and a net change of +131 for the financial year.
A notable 105 advisers were busy with appointments or resignations, while 14 new entrants joined the industry. Some four new licensees commenced while two ceased.
Out of the 28 licensee owners that had net gains of 44 in total, Sequoia Financial Group led the pack this week with a growth of six advisers including three new entrants.
The weekly rise has brought their total adviser numbers up to 27 for the calendar year.
Last month, the firm announced it had seen a 5 per cent increase in its adviser network for FY23 despite a 55.6 per cent drop in EBITDA to $5.5 million from $12.4 million in FY22.
A new licensee also commenced with four advisers, who all left from Godfrey Pembroke, owned by Insignia.
Two new licensee owners started with three advisers each, one with advisers leaving from Nextplan Financial and the other with advisers leaving from FYG Planners.
A smaller licensee saw a growth of three from Travectio Advisory, consequently doubling its adviser numbers to six.
Some 21 licensee owners were up by net one each, including Morgans, Clime Group and BYB Wealth Management.
In terms of losses, 30 licensees saw declines of -60 advisers in total, led by Insignia and AMP.
Insignia saw a loss of 10, which included Godfrey Pembroke losing six advisers.
Meanwhile, AMP were down by four, with none currently showing as being appointed elsewhere. Guideway also saw a loss of four, with no update on their new appointments.
Count Group decreased by three advisers; however, Colin Williams, Wealth Data founder, noted that a Count Financial licensee is up by +9 while its new licensee, Affinia, is down by -12.
Count announced the successful acquisition of Affinia from TAL in May 2023, welcoming around 100 advisers to its national community.
Nextplan was also down by three, with all moving to self-licensing. Additionally, five licensee owners were down by two each including Capstone, Fortnum and Shaw and Partners.
Finally, 17 licensee owners went down by one adviser each including Centrepoint, Steinhardt Holdings and Viridian Group.
AUTHOR
Jasmine Siljic
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