Licensee with largest 2023 adviser gains continues growth in January

The number of advisers who have joined since the start of the year has risen to 24, according to Wealth Data.

In the week to 18 January, there was a net gain of three advisers but the addition of advisers who resigned in 2023 and were appointed in 2024 brings the year-to-date number up from 15 last week to 24.

During the week, 30 licensees had gains of 41 advisers and 25 licensee owners had losses of 40 advisers. There were three new licensees and five new entrants.

The largest gains were seen at Shaw and Partners which was up by four, picking up two advisers each from Ord Minnett and Morgan Stanley. 

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Fortnum, which was identified as the licensee that saw the largest adviser gains in 2023 after gaining 157 advisers thanks to its acquisition of Australian Unity, grew by three advisers and lost one, and Castleguard Trust (Lifespan) also gained three.

Some 23 licensee owners had net gains of one, including Morgans, Macquarie and Centrepoint.

NTAA (SMSF Advisers) was down by six advisers, and Clime Group and Insignia were both down by four advisers. Four licensees were down by two, including Crown Wealth and Morgan Stanley, then there was a tail of 18 licensees that were down by one each.

Over the financial year to date, there has been a positive gain of 89 advisers. 

Last week, Wealth Data reported the number of adviser movements during 2023, revealing there was a net loss of 177 advisers, which was significantly smaller than the previous year.

Looking at subsectors, only the accounting-financial planning firms, which are owned by accounting groups and provide holistic advice, that saw a gain. This was driven by new licensees previously aligned with a larger licensee. 

While accounting-financial planning saw the biggest gain, accounting-limited advice saw the largest loss with a downturn of 8.6 per cent. 

This was followed by superannuation funds which reduced by 5.1 per cent, despite plans by Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones, for super funds to provide advice to their members under the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes regulation.