Adviser numbers slide back below 15.5k

In the week ending 31 October, the advice industry saw a net loss of 27 advisers, Wealth Data has found. This caused total adviser numbers to fall under the 15,500 mark to 15,485.

Seven new entrants joined, two new licensees commenced, two licensees ceased, and 88 advisers were active with appointments or resignations.

In terms of adviser growth over the week, 21 AFSLs had net gains of 30 advisers in total.

Rhombus Advisory enjoyed a net rise of four advisers, with three having joined from different licensees alongside one new entrant, the largest growth of a licensee this week. This meant the AFSL now has 499 advisers, according to Wealth Data.

Rhombus formally separated from Insignia Financial on 1 July 2024, which includes the RI Advice and Consultum licensees, while Insignia retained Shadforth and Bridges. Rhombus is currently the fifth-largest AFSL in Australia behind WT Financial Group, Centrepoint Alliance, Count and AMP Group.

Insignia was previously the second largest licensee after AMP with more than 1,400 advisers in April 2023. As a result of the Rhombus divestment and adviser declines overall, Insignia now has 200 advisers, it stated in its Q1 2025 results.

Beyond Rhombus, six licensees gained two advisers each over the past week. This included Count after it welcomed one adviser back from a break and one new entrant, Lifespan Financial Planning, and a new licensee.

A tail of 14 licensee owners were up by one adviser each, such as Sequoia Financial Group, Fortnum and Centrepoint.

On the other end of the spectrum, 32 AFSLs reported net losses of 56 advisers, led by LRM Wealth Management, which declined by 12 advisers.

“However, it would appear that this firm is transitioning to Gallagher Group and we expect most/all advisers to reappear on the ASIC Financial Adviser Register (FAR) soon,” Wealth Data said.

O+Z (Havana Financial Services) lost eight advisers as it continued the process of commencing its own AFSL. It is expected that these advisers will reappear on the FAR next week.

WT Financial bid farewell to four advisers, Infocus was down by three, and Fifteenseven (Warnocks) lost two, meaning it is now at zero advisers.

A long tail of 27 AFSLs dropped by one adviser each, including ASVW Holdings, Canaccord Group, and Shaw and Partners.