With the end of the first quarter of 2021, the second week of April saw 66 new appointments and 33 resignations in the total number of adviser roles, according to HFS Consulting’s weekly analysis of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) Financial Adviser Register (FAR).
The firm’s director, Colin Williams, stressed that a number of advisers who had left last week reappeared this week, as according to data in the FAR, a move which he described as not uncommon at the beginning of the new quarter.
“What we saw in this week’s reporting follows a familiar story as one natural quarter closes and another starts. Last week we saw 104 adviser roles lost, however many of those advisers commenced in new role this quarter,” he said.
Although the total number of adviser roles stood firmly at 20,657, and represented only a small net loss of three adviser roles compared to the last week, 40 licensees reported net adviser losses for the week for a total of (-70) adviser roles, with SMSF Advisers Network being down by seven roles and overtaking AMP Financial Planning which saw a departure of five roles this week.
Following this, AMP-owned Hillross Financial Services and Morgans lost four roles each.
At the same time, 33 licensees made net adviser role gains of 67 for the week, with the largest gainer being ‘Quadrant First Pty Ltd’ with 12 advisers, a business which now comes under the merged super funds of MTAA and Tasplan to be known as Spirit Super.
Williams stressed that all these 12 advisers were previously licensed under Link Advice, which was reflected in the losses shown in last week’s report.
Additionally, a new licensee in Western Australia Interwest Financial commenced operations with four advisers, all of whom were ex-AMP Financial Planning, while Infocus gained four new advisers including two long standing GWM (MLC) advisers in Western Australia.
Synchron also gained four roles which included three being new provisional advisers.
