The adviser exodus means existing advisers are seeing pay rises as high as $50k to stay at their current firms while others are being swayed with title changes and extra responsibilities.
There was a shrinking pool of advisers, expected to fall to as low as 14,000, and Kaizen Recruitment said firms were now “going to great lengths” to keep advisers from leaving.
The recruitment challenge was further exacerbated by other problems such as experience gaps, business mergers, book purchases, compliance burden and licensee costs.
Advisers who had more than 15 years’ experience, were adequately educated under the current guidelines, had a strong, blemish-free track record and client book were most in demand.
Senior advisers with 5-10 years’ experience were receiving salaries around $140,000-$180,000 while younger ones with 2-5 years’ experience could expect around $110,000-$140,000 per year.
“Unfortunately, this pool is shrinking and advisers with 15+ years now make up a small portion of the industry. Wealth management firms are aware and are going to great lengths to keep advisers that are considering a move,” Kaizen said.
“We’ve noticed salary increases, not just CPI or the odd $5,000 here and there, significant increases across all levels of financial advice.
“Counteroffers at the extreme end have seen a $50,000 bump in salary, with most being between $20,000-$30,000.
“It doesn’t stop at monetary counteroffers though, we have seen responsibility changes, title changes and other added benefits.”
This was leaving advisers in a difficult position where they felt they had to stay, particularly if they had been with a firm for several years and the benefits of leaving did not outweigh what their existing firm was offering.
Looking at support staff, a senior paraplanner could earn between $90,000-$110,000 while a paraplanner could earn $70,000-$90,000. A client services manager could earn $70,000-$80,000, rising to $80,000-$95,000 for a client services officer (CSO).
“Paraplanners are still in short supply and high demand, especially those with significant experience or who are career paraplanners. Xplan experience continues to be the forefront of requirements for client services and paraplanner positions.
“Client services salaries have been increasing due to compliance increases and it is being seen as a niche and specialised admin role. Most businesses are time short and are unable to pour resources into training an incoming CSO on their preferred platform or chosen customer relationship management to manage their client’s profiles.”
