Where are advice licensees looking to in FY26?

With reporting season concluded for another financial year, Money Management rounds up the results of Australia’s listed advice licensees. 

The past 12 months have seen the integration of acquisitions, joint ventures with US players, and a focus on managed accounts and platforms. 

Looking ahead into the next 12 months, the licensees continue their focus on M&A activity as well as growing the revenues of their existing advisers.

Count

At Count, which completed the Diverger integration this year, revenue rose by 28 per cent to $143.6 million, up from $111.8 million in FY24, which reflected strong growth across all three of its operating segments – wealth, equity partnerships, and services.

VIEW ALL

View all

Funds under advice grew by 10 per cent to $37.8 billion and funds under management were $3.9 billion, thanks to net inflows and strong investment performance. 

Not seeking to rest on its laurels post-Diverger, chief executive Hugh Humphrey said the licensee is still open to more “transformative” acquisitions in the future which would be large enough to cause a stepchange in its operating mode.

“We are very interested in doing more transformations and have the capacity and track record to do so very well and have built some compelling capabilities in the past. We are interested in the right sort of opportunity and right quality of business.”

Insignia Financial 

Insignia returned to profit in FY25 after a $185 million loss in the previous year, while its advice division grew their revenue to $854,000 per adviser. Average funds under management and administration (FUMA) were $323 billion, a 7 per cent increase from $301 billion. 

In the advice division, net revenue increased by 7.1 per cent to $160 million as a result of strong new client growth and higher asset-based fee income in Shadforth, partially offset by lower insurance commissions. The number of advisers fell slightly from 200 to 188 which it said occurred in its Bridges division.

Clients per adviser grew from 90 to 96 which was driven by strong new client growth and improved adviser efficiency, while revenue per adviser grew from $750,000 to $854,000, thanks to a focus on higher value clients and higher asset-based fee income. Insignia has set a bold 2030 strategy and is optimistic of increasing the number of clients per adviser at its salaried advice arm to 140 as well as the revenue to $1.1–1.3 million per adviser. 

FY26 will also see the expected completion of its acquisition by CC Capital, which entered into a scheme implementation deed in July, following a bidding war between three private equity players in the second half of FY25. 

WT Financial 

WT Financial reported a statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) of $4.6 million, up by 20.5 per cent from $3.9 million in the previous year. 

During the year, it announced a joint venture with Merchant Wealth Partners to establish Hubcos and has completed two since then – Titan Financial Planning, Darwin Financial & Retirement Services, and Wealth Connect Financial Services, and a second between Select Advice Group and Newleaf Tailored Financial Solutions. 

Each dedicated Hubco will then become a “launchpad” for further acquisitions and operational efficiencies, managing director Keith Cullen described.

“The strength of our model is in partnering with ambitious advice practices, providing them with patient capital in partnership with Merchant Wealth, and supporting them to grow and corporatise without sacrificing their entrepreneurial character. We have a very powerful combination that we believe will deliver exceptional long-term value creation – for both the practices we partner with and WT Financial shareholders alike.”

Centrepoint Alliance 

The licensee said its NPAT was $5.1 million, down 33 per cent from $7.7 million a year ago. Net revenue (gross profit) was $40.9 million, an increase of 13 per cent. Revenue from advice fees stood at $27.1 million, up from $24 million in the previous financial year, while revenue from salaried advice grew from $6.2 million to $8.5 million.

In managed accounts, FUM grew 40 per cent from $303 million to $423 million, and it noted it is building out the managed account offering on its new IconiQ Superannuation and Investment platform.

Chief executive John Shuttleworth said FY26 will see the firm grow its licensed, self-licensed and salaried advisers via organic growth, as well as acquisitions to maintain scale in the space. Regarding salaried advisers, it would like to acquire “corporatised firms” to improve margins. 

Sequoia Financial Group

Sequoia announced that FY25 saw its total funds under advice reach $18 billion driven by advisers moving from a transactional revenue model to annual service fees based on their assets under management. Revenue hit $124 million for the 2024–25 financial year, $114.3 million of which was attributed to its licensee services division.

It stated it is “working closely with regulators” who are investigating Shield Master and First Guardian funds which has impacted its InterPrac division. 

In the future, Sequoia chief executive Garry Crole said the licensee is looking to FUA growth from its self-employed and salaried advisers with a focus on building high-margin recurring revenue streams.