Advisers exiting, licensees closing down

Although this week’s analysis has confirmed an ongoing exit of advisers from the industry, with 205 adviser roles lost year to date, it is happening at a slower pace compared with the last year as the number of adviser roles ceased during the first quarter of 2020 stood at 761, according to HFS Consulting’s analysis. 

At the same time, 19 licensees closed down, resulting in the loss of 49 adviser roles, while 31 new licensees commenced giving a net gain of 77 roles. 

HFS’ director, Colin Williams, said that the 77 roles for new licensees overlapped with the same number as the top eight licensees of growth. 

This week saw a drop in a number of actual advisers by 47 to 20,417, with 55 adviser roles being appointed and 95 roles slashed, but 22 licensees managed to make net adviser role gains and five existing licensees saw gains of two roles. 

However, 50 licensees saw net adviser losses for the week, with AMP Financial Planning and Apogee both losing a net nine roles each, Hillross was down six roles and was followed by QInvest and Financial Services Partners which were three roles down each. 

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Additionally, a total of five licensees effectively closed for a total of eight (-8) roles.  

“All licensees that closed were licensees attached to accounting firms. A common theme for quite a while now, is the closure of licensees attached to firms whereby financial advice is not the main priority,” Williams said.