WT Financial Group, which has acquired Australia’s largest independent dealer group Synchron, currently has 560 financial advisers registered on the Australian Securities Investment Commission (ASIC) Financial Adviser Register (FAR), according to Wealth Data.
The firm’s director, Colin Williams, said although WTL’s announcement mentioned the combined number stood at above 600 advisers, WTL had around 50 authorised representatives who were not authorised to provide personal/retail financial advice and therefore did not appear on the ASIC FAR.
But this had not affected the company’s overall position which, following the acquisition, made it the third-largest advice network in the country with 579 advisers, and right behind Insignia Group and AMP Group with 1,205 and 1,099 advisers, respectively.
The fourth place belonged to Centrepoint Group which collectively had 522 advisers on its books as per ASIC’s FAR across four groups: Alliance Wealth (249), Matrix Planning Solutions (134), Professional Investment Services (106) and ClearView Financial Advice (33).
Source: Wealth Data
The total number of advisers fell down by 41 this week to 17,208 and was driven by New Zealand-based servicing clients with a focus on direct shares, Craigs Investment Partners which was down by 28 advisers.
At the same time, five licensees closed with the loss of nine advisers and AMP Group down was down by three advisers and followed by five licensees which saw two departures each.
Another long tail with 23 licensee owners down by one advisers and this included PSK, Sequoia and Unisuper.
Comments
Watch the advisers numbers plummet to approx 12-13,000 max in the next 18 months to 2 years.
It may well go even lower than this based on the relentless persecution and legislative discrimination advisers have been exposed to over the last decade.
This has been an orchestrated, planned and ideologically based attack and culling programme through determined and misguided ideological views that has now resulted in a complete backfiring of what was essentially trying to be achieved.
A massive reduction in advisers with more to come, a complete loss of valuable experience
& knowledge, a significant and unsustainable cost structure to the provision of advice resulting in a massive cohort of Australians that need advice but can no longer afford it and an a complete mistrust of the political process and it’s vitriolic regulator.
It has been an abject failure and a lesson in how not listening to the people that know ends up destroying the fabric of an industry because those that don’t know, believe they do.
The Liberal Govt’s treatment of advisers and financial advice has been nothing short of abysmal.
They do not deserve one single vote from this business in the coming election.
Many many advisers would have been life long Liberal voters and will now be so disappointed with the lack of understanding, empathy and consideration over such an extended time frame they may well decide to abort their support simply to kick the Liberals hard, just like they have repeatedly kicked advisers for 8-10 years.
No forgiveness, no more chances.
Time to swallow the bitter pill of failure to support your constituents.
Maybe, maybe not.
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