‘There’s not really an incentive’ to bring in new recruits with current education requirements

Appearing on a recent episode of the ifa Show, Helen Baker said that the industry must “respect experience” and make changes due to the current requirement for existing advisers with no degree to have an approved qualification by 1 January 2026.

“There is so much opportunity. I think it's a great role. I love, love, love what I do with clients and seeing their lives the way they are and engaging with people. And I think most advisers do, which is why we do it,” Ms Baker said.

“But I think that 2026 is going to be another deadline.”

The number of advisers in Australia shrank below 19,000 late last year and is predicted to reach 13,000 by the end of 2023.

“And the big problem is we are letting a lot of people go, who have an enormous amount of experience, who can be great leaders and great mentors,” Ms Baker continued.

“But the way that it sits right now, there's not really an incentive to bring a brand new recruit on out of university and put them in your office. It's just too expensive and it's more time commitment.

“Yeah, there are a lot of problems, I think that still need to be addressed.”

The government recently closed submissions to its Education Standards for Financial Advisers policy paper which proposed a pathway coined the “experience pathway” that streamlines the minimum education requirements and recognises on-the-job experience for individuals with 10 or more years of full-time experience.

Listen to the full podcast with Ms Baker here.

Neil Griffiths

Neil is the Deputy Editor of the wealth titles, including ifa and InvestorDaily.

Neil is also the host of the ifa show podcast.