Count reports net loss of five advisers
There was a net loss of 14 advisers last week with much of the movement seen at licensee Count.
According to research by Wealth Data for the week to 25 May, it was a quiet week for adviser numbers with much of the movement seen at Count.
The largest losses were seen at Count which reported a net loss of five. Count as a licensee lost net three, losing four and picking up one new entrant. Affinia (which was now part of Count) lost three and gained one, including some losses from management roles.
At the start of May, Count had grown by three advisers as two joined Affinia from Morgans and Infocus respectively.
The remaining adviser joined Count after a few years away from advice. Another adviser then joined later in the month.
Earlier this month, the firm rebranded from CountPlus to Count with 99 per cent shareholder approval as way to streamline its branding.
Five licensee owners lost two each including Findex, Steinhardt (Infocus) and Insignia while 12 licensee owners were down by one.
Growth was seen at United Super (Cbus), Spark Partnership, Sequoia and Centrepoint which all grew by one advisers.
Colin Williams, founder of Wealth Data, said: “A net loss of 14 advisers this week in what has been a quiet week in terms of the number of advisers either resigning or appointed at only 45.
“Some of the advisers who moved off the FAR this week may well re-join soon. However, over the last few weeks we have seen the calendar YTD number drop and is now at +29 after being at +64 on 1 March 2023.”
He added new entrant growth was still positive and there had been 144 new entrants since the start of the year, compared to 92 for the same period in the last year.
This was led by AMP Group who took on 14 new entrants followed by Diverger, Perpetual, Insignia, FSSSP (Aware Super) and APT Wealth Holdings.
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
Recommended for you
ASIC has released the results of its first adviser exam to be held in 2025, with 241 candidates attempting the test.
Quarterly Wealth Data analysis has uncovered positive improvements in financial adviser numbers compared with losses in the prior corresponding period.
Holding portfolios that are too complex or personalised can be a detractor for acquirers of financial advice firms as they require too much effort to maintain post-acquisition.
As the financial advice profession continues to wait on further DBFO legislation, industry commentators have encouraged advisers to act now in driving practice efficiency.
