Gap narrows between largest licensee ranking
When comparing the two halves of the year so far, the top five licensees are demonstrating a “strong recovery” from earlier losses.
In the first half of the year, four out of the top five licensees were reporting losses during the six-month period, with only Centrepoint reporting gains of 14. Entireti & Akumin lost 58, Count lost 89, WT Financial Group lost 17, and Rhombus Advisory lost 19.
However, four months into the second half of the year, all five licensees are now reporting gains, with WT Financial, in particular, having seen gains of 24 during the period.
Entireti & Akumin gained seven, Count gained 13, Centrepoint gained 11, and Rhombus gained 14.
The weekly gains mean the gap is closing between the groups, with third-place Centrepoint now just 11 advisers behind Count in second place with 584 and 595 advisers, respectively, although both remain significantly behind the leader in Entireti & Akumin, which has over 1,000.
Source: Padua Wealth Data, October 2025
Some of that was attributed to new entrants, which have seen consistent double-digit growth since the start of the second half, with three large licensees taking on 12 or more new entrants.
Compared to six licensees reporting losses in the first half, only one licensee out of the top 10 – Sequoia – is reporting losses in the second, with a loss of 10 advisers so far.
As well as the new entrants, Padua Wealth Data founder Colin Williams cited benefits for large players from fewer new licensees commencing and overall industry gains.
“Nine licensees started and 26 stopped this financial year so far, compared to 47 starting and 30 stopping last year. Usually, new licensees come from advisers leaving large groups, so this growth might be slowing,” Williams said.
“There has been a net increase of 289 advisers this financial year, up from 160 last year over the same period. The first half of the year was tough, with a loss of 301 advisers by June.”
Weekly numbers
On a weekly basis covering the period to 30 October, there was a net gain of one adviser, which brings the net change for the financial year to date to gains of 289. The net change for 2025 remains in negative territory, however, with losses of 12.
Some 20 licensee owners had net gains of 27 advisers, and 18 reported losses of 26 advisers. No new licensees commenced during the week, reflecting Williams’ earlier comments, and two ceased.
There were six new entrants, which makes it the first week of the financial year to not report double-digit growth. The next ASIC exam is due to be held in the first week of November, which will likely prompt a flurry of new entrants towards the end of the year when the results are received.
Centrepoint was up by five, four of whom moved over from Akumin Financial Planning and one from Euroz Hartleys, and Bombora Advice was up by three. All three Bombora advisers joined from Wealth Architects.
WT Financial was up by two, one being a new entrant and one returning after a 12-month break, and a tail of 17 licensees were up by a net of one adviser each.
Wealth Architects owner Envest Fin Co was down by four and now sits at zero advisers, and ASVW Holdings was down by three, as well as Viridian Group.
Count, Lifespan, and Sequoia were all down by one, as well as 11 other licensees.
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
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