FAAA members make up half the profession

According to Wealth Data figures, there are 7,851 current advisers that are members of the Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA), with the association having submitted its records to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

This number is around 1,000 advisers short of Wealth Data’s original projection from earlier this year, which was calculated based on advisers that indicated they were members of the FPA or AFA prior to the two bodies merging.

“Since then, quite a few of those advisers have ceased and a few may well still be in the process of joining FAAA. For example, we found another 95 advisers who are still showing as members of the FPA/AFA,” said Wealth Data founder Colin Williams.

“The 95 advisers may well be finalising their memberships. However, licensees should be monitoring their advisers to ensure their details are up-to-date, as fines may apply. Secondly, it can be misleading to the public, which never fares well for anyone connected to financial advice.”

In a statement in July, the FAAA said, in total, it had already achieved over 8,700 membership renewals.

At the time, the FAAA also noted that there were 9,693 FPA members in total eligible to renew, with 6,377 practitioners and another 761 non-practitioners said to have already renewed, for a total of 7,138.

It also revealed that AFA heritage members numbered 2,489 at the start of the renewal process across all categories. In total, 1,563 had transferred to FAAA as at the end of June, with 146 advising that they don’t plan to transfer.

Adviser movements this week

For the week ended 24 August, Wealth Data reported a net loss of one adviser, with seven new entrants joining the FAR.

The total number of advisers now sits at 15,712, while the net change for the year to date is a loss of 88 advisers.

Overall, 68 advisers were affected by appointments and resignations, while two licensees started up and another ceased.

There were seven licensees that gained two advisers each, including Findex, Bluewater Financial Advisors, and AIA.

Shaw and Partners, Canaccord Group, and Beryllium Advisers, which is now up by nine advisers for the year, are among the 18 licensee owners that were up by one adviser each.

Insignia and AMP saw the largest losses for the week, with both seeing net losses of three advisers while Fitzpatricks, which has lost 16 advisers for the calendar year, and WT Financial Group, were among the three licensees that lost two advisers each.

Count Group and FSSSP (Aware Super) are among the 21 licensee owners that were down by one adviser each.