AMP continues to bleed advisers

New figures from Wealth Data have confirmed that in the three-month period since 1 November, there was a net loss of 36 advisers alongside the creation of 31 new licensees, and 15 closures of existing licensees.

Describing the period as “interesting”, Wealth Data director Colin Williams said: “The final losses from the FASEA exam had washed through in October and the time period covers Christmas and new year which is typically quite volatile.”

As for those licensees suffering the “least growth”, AMP Group topped the list by some margin having suffered a loss of 32 advisers, followed by MCA Financial Planners with the loss of 19, and Insignia with the exodus of 17.

Mr Williams explained that outside of the 10 “least growth” licensees, the remaining licensee owners saw an influx of 90 advisers.

“While it is still early days, it is an indication that the market has levelled out a fair bit. Some of the larger groups still represent the largest losses but not by the margins we have seen over recent times,” Mr Williams said.

He reported “disappointing” data for the week to 2 February during which 26 adviser losses were reported taking the overall industry count to 15,841.

“The initial numbers are disappointing after a solid start to the year,” Mr Collins said.

However, he confirmed that a large portion of advisers “lost this week” have switched licensees and will reappear on the ASIC FAR soon.