Limited advice sector ‘dead in the water’ after EOFY losses
Financial year losses of limited advice advisers could mean the sector is “dead in the water” going forward after a continued decline.
For the week to 3 July, there were losses of 190 advisers which brought the net losses for June to 350 advisers.
However, over a third of these losses came from the accounting-limited advice space, with 71 advisers leaving this sector during the week.
For the calendar year 2025, some 132 limited advice advisers have left the space which represents 74.5 per cent of the total year-to-date net losses.
Licensees sitting in this space saw the largest losses during the week, with NTAA (SMSF Advisers Network) down by 59 advisers and Count down by 19, 10 of whom came from Merit Wealth which mostly provides SMSF advice.
Wealth Data founder, Colin Williams, said the sector has already been losing advisers for several years, and the low digits remaining mean the sector could be “dead in the water” now.
“There was a boom of this type of adviser, many starting their own AFSL or joining AFSLs, the most popular one being run by the NTAA called SMSF Advisers Network.
“Like most things in the advice network, the peak was December 2018, and since then it has all fallen apart for this sector. Initially, the FASEA exam was a hindrance and then the reality of keeping up with required qualifications, compliance etc, has made it all a bit too difficult for them to keep going.”
As well as the fall in the number of advisers, the number of licensees which have closed is “massive”, he said, and none had commenced to replace them. This compared to a boom seen in the number of licensees commencing in the traditional financial advice sector.
Similar research by Adviser Ratings in its quarterly Musical Chairs Report found there are 97 licensees offering limited advice, down from 113 in 2022. Of these AFSLs, 68 have only one adviser and 28 have two to five advisers, indicating they are operating at a far smaller capacity than holistic financial advice firms.
Of the licensees who ceased during the first quarter of 2025, 86 per cent of those were either small or limited licensees.
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
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