Licensees strengthen numbers as industry suffers another hit

Some 17 licensee owners had net gains of 28 advisers in total over the week ending 6 June.

In particular, Sequoia grew by three advisers with two joining from different licensees and one recommencing in advice after a short break.

Insignia welcomed three advisers, including two from Infocus and one new entrant, but lost one adviser who has not shown as being appointed elsewhere.

Centrepoint picked up two advisers from WT Financial-owned Millennium3.

Meanwhile, a new licensee commenced operations with six advisers over the week due to a practice leaving Lifespan Financial Planning and starting its own Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL).

A tail of 11 licensee owners gained one adviser each, including Nextplan Financial, Fortnum Private Wealth, and Lifestyle Asset Management.

However, the licensee growth was not enough to offset the overall decline of 16 advisers felt among the profession. This drove the calendar YTD figures to slip back into the negative with a loss of nine advisers currently.

This was the second week in a row of double-digit adviser losses. Last week saw another decline of 16 advisers, led by AMP Group, which fell by six advisers.

Looking at the declines over the past week, 28 licensee owners had net losses of 45 advisers in total.

Lifespan Financial Planning decreased by seven advisers after losing six to the new licensee and one who is not displaying as being reappointed elsewhere.

WT Financial Group bid farewell to two advisers after they joined Centrepoint. It lost another two which are yet to be reappointed and welcomed one adviser from Next Generation Advice.

Five licensee owners lost two advisers each. This included Count, who has now dipped below the 700-adviser mark.

A tail of 19 licensees were down by one adviser each, such as Canaccord, Morgan Stanley, and Viridian Group.

The total number of advisers in the industry now stands at 15,606. The past week also saw three new entrants join and 73 advisers who were active with appointments and resignations.

Two new licensees commenced operations while five ceased.