The number of actual advisers, which recorded another drop of 31 this week, brought the total number to below 21,000 (20,938) year-to-date, according to HFS Consulting’s analysis of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC’s) Financial Adviser Register (FAR).
Not surprisingly, the institutionally-aligned planning groups continued to show the biggest losses in adviser numbers, with AMP Financial Planning and NAB having lost 280 and 230 of adviser roles, respectively, since the start of the year.
Breaking down the advisers register into peer groups, HFS’ director Colin Williams said the data showed the smaller groups with less than 20 advisers had suffered the smallest loss at -2.26% and these were followed by super salaried and private client peer groups, which saw an adviser role loss of -3.67% and -5.34%, respectively.
“The self-employed peer group at -6.10% has held up pretty well given the losses suffered by AMP FP which are in this peer group,” Williams said.
The above numbers were indicative of only those licensees that currently had at least one adviser while, according to data, more than 1,000 adviser roles were lost to licensees that effectively closed to advice over the year.
Source: HFS Consulting
This week also saw the arrival of five new licensees while three other licensees came to a close, with adviser losses taking the licensees to zero advisers.
Once again AMP FP topped the table for the highest weekly losses of adviser roles, with a net loss of eight roles, and was followed by WA Local Government Superannuation which saw the roles reduced by five while both Charter Financial Planning and GWM (MLC) lost three roles each.
“As we come towards the end of the year, Lifespan remains as the front runner for the most growth by a licensee, currently sitting on a net growth of 60 adviser roles, followed by Interprac at 44 and Sentry at 33,” Williams said.
At the same time, he stressed that although GWM showed a net growth of 70 adviser roles, the company did actually receive 156 advisers transferred from co-owners NAB.
