With just 10 days left of the financial year, adviser numbers have taken a notable hit with further losses expected as 30 June approaches.
In what is shaping up to be a month of four consecutive weekly losses, the latest Wealth Data analysis has reported a net loss of 41 advisers for the week ending 19 June.
This is the biggest drop for the calendar year so far and brings the total of advisers down to 15,544.
The largest loss of the financial year was 78 advisers, which occurred in the first week of the financial year on 4 July, although many of these losses would likely have occurred at the end of the previous financial year and taken time to be recorded on the Financial Advisers Register (FAR).
While June is notorious for significant losses as advisers drop off the FAR before the end of the financial year, the losses seem to be ramping early this year with the same period last year having just eight losses, compared to this year’s 41.
Compared with the prior corresponding period, this represents an increase of 412 per cent in departing advisers.
This is the third week of losses, with the preceding two weeks seeing losses of 10 and seven respectively.
This week’s hit has also knocked the net gains for 2025 below triple digits, down from gains of 107 to 68, and the financial year-to-date is now sitting at a net positive of 199.
Wealth Data founder Colin Williams noted that adviser numbers have slipped into the negative for the last 12 months – which would capture the last two weeks of the 2023–24 financial year (FY) – with a net loss of 52.
Speaking with Money Management, Williams explained that while the losses this week are significant, they are also to be expected close to the end of the financial year, pointing to losses of 248 during the last two weeks of June 2024 and 225 in the same period in 2023.
The final week of FY24 saw losses of 81, double those of this week.
“I think the next few weeks will be telling. I suspect there will be a ‘disproportional’ number of losses in licensees that don’t offer holistic advice, such as our accounting – limited advice model,” Williams said.
He added: “Buckle up for the next few weeks!”
Meanwhile, there were 102 advisers active in appointments and resignations this week, six new entrants and three ceased licensees with no new ones commencing.
Looking at licensee movements, 13 licensees had a net gain of one adviser each, including Morgans Group, PictureWealth and Politis. Notably, no licensees had growth of more than one adviser.
“Of interest, Australian Retirement Trust (ART Group) shuffled advisers between its licensees of QInvest and Sunsuper. For the week Sunsuper had a net gain of 25 advisers, but all the advisers are currently authorised at QInvest. Therefore, no net gain for the ART Group,” Williams said.
There was considerable action for licensees on the losses front, namely, Count Limited was down by nine advisers, all who exited Merit Wealth which focuses on limited advice.
GPS Wealth and Count Financial Limited both gained an adviser this week, with the latter picking up one of this week’s new entrants, though this was offset by two losses at GPS Wealth.
Vested Equities lost its four remaining advisers while Strategic Solutions Australia was down by two, with both licensees now left with zero advisers.
Bell Financial, Industry Super Holdings, and Newadvice all lost three advisers each; and Centrepoint, Investment Alternatives, and WT Financial Group were all down by two.
A tail of 27 licensees were down by net one adviser each, including Rhombus, Shaw and Partners, and Evans Dixon.
