Large licensees v boutique firms: Who has the most advisers?

Compared to four years ago when the divide between boutique and large licensees were largely equal, adviser movements have seen this trend shift in light of new licensees commencing. 

Looking back almost four years, Padua Wealth Data revealed that licensees with more than 150 advisers accounted for 5,648 (34 per cent) of the 16,206 registered financial advisers on 1 January 2022, making it the largest sector in the industry at the time.

However, boutique model practices with less than 20 advisers were not far behind, representing some 5,084 (31 per cent) advisers across 1,525 licensees. Unlike large licensees, where only five ceased during the period, some 280 boutique firms have ceased since 2022.

Jumping to the present day, the profession has seen a reduction in numbers in the intervening years with 15,458 individuals on the financial adviser register (FAR) for the week ending 6 November.  

But boutique practices have since overtaken large licensees as the largest sector in the profession, capturing some 5,419 (35 per cent) advisers across 1,658 licensees. Some 414 new boutique licensees were established during the period, representing 25 per cent of all licensees in the sector currently.

Meanwhile, the number of advisers under a large licensee dropped down from 5,648 to 4,697, representing less than a third of all registered advisers (30 per cent).

Notably, Padua Wealth Data founder Colin Williams noted that this divide could flip again as the adviser landscape prepares for another shift.

"Large licensee owners have shown strong growth over recent months, while the number of new licensees has slowed. It will be interesting to see if the tide has changed and to revisit the data as we kick off 2026, post the new educational requirements commencing,” Williams said.

Weekly movement

Looking to the weekly movements, the week ending 6 November saw six new entrants to the profession, however, exits this week led to a net decrease of three advisers.  

This brings the total change for the 2025 calendar year-to-date to a net loss of 15. Though, Williams added that, when excluding limited SMSF licensees which have accounted for the most losses this year, there is actually a net gain of 138 advisers.

Meanwhile, no new licensees commenced this week, one licensee ceased, and some 60 advisers were active in appointments and resignations.

In advisers shifts, some 24 licensees had a net gain of 31 advisers, with WT Financial Group continuing its growth with a net gain of three, picking up one new entrant, and one adviser each from Advice Evolution and Count Financial.

Canaccord Group was also up by net three, all of which switched from Morgans Group.

Three licensees were up by net two advisers each, including Merchant Wealth Partners who gained two from ASVW Financial Services and Lifespan after nabbing one new entrant and another from Akumin Financial Planning.  

Sherrin Partners also saw a net gain of two adviser, snagged Rubiconem’s final two advisers as the licensee ceased operations.

A tail of 20 licensees were up by net one adviser each, including Rhombus, Centrepoint and Bombora.

At the other end of the spectrum, Count Limited appointed one adviser but lost five for a net loss of four, with two exiting Count Financial and one each leaving GPS Wealth, Merit Wealth and Paragem.

FSSP Financial Services saw a net a loss of two, both of which are yet to be appointed elsewhere, and a tail of 25 licensee were down by one adviser each including Industry Super Holdings, SMSF Adviser Network and AvalonFS.