Some 650 advisers switched licensee in Q3, the busiest quarter for over a year.
According to Adviser Ratings’ latest Musical Chairs report, the firm said the number of switches rose from 562 in Q2 to 650 in Q3.
This was the highest since the second quarter of Q2 when 898 advisers changed licensee. The overall peak was seen back in Q3 2019 when 1,218 advisers switched.
“Adviser musical chairs gathered some pace in Q3 with 650 advisers setting up somewhere new – the busiest quarter we’ve seen in more than a year. The switching was evenly spaced across the quarter for the most part, with slightly more action in July.
“With corporate activity still largely in retreat, many of the switches were at an individual level. As such, we saw advisers licensed under larger, diversified licensees splintering off into dozens of small to medium-sized private licensees.”
The firm also noted discontinuations, which had risen this quarter, were starting to outpace registrations which remained flat.
The largest licensee to close during the quarter was The SMSF Expert which saw its accountants lose interest in advising the self-managed superannuation fund space. The firm had been around for six years and was one of 12 limited licensees to close during the quarter.
All other closures were in the private, boutique segment of the market.
There was a 2.9% drop in the number of advisers, bringing the year-to-date reduction to 6% with 15,899 licensed financial advisers in the market.
