Bounce back week for adviser numbers as 7 new licensees open

The financial advice sector has benefited from a net rise of 11 advisers this week, according to Wealth Data.

In the week ending 7 November, overall adviser numbers neared the 15,500 mark yet again at 15,496.

The week’s net growth of 11 was due to many advisers completing their move to new licensees, Wealth Data observed. In the previous week, there was a net drop of 27 advisers driven by losses at two licensees in particular – LRM Wealth Management and O+Z Pty Ltd (Havana Financial Services).

“We expect that most of the advisers associated with the two licensees will resurface as they transition to their new licensees,” Colin Williams, founder and director of Wealth Data, said at the time.

A notable seven new licensees commenced this week, one ceased, and 12 new entrants joined. More than 130 advisers were active with appointments or resignations.

Looking at the declines for the week, 29 Australian Financial Services licensees (AFSLs) had net losses of 51 advisers in total.

AMP Group reported the largest number of losses at 10 advisers. This was due to two new AFSLs commencing with former AMP Financial Planning (AMPFP) advisers.

One licensee commenced with seven advisers moving from AMPFP, while another AFSL also opened separately with four advisers from AMPFP.

However, AMP also hired two new entrants during the week and welcomed two advisers from Alliance Wealth, owned by Centrepoint Alliance.

O & Z Pty Ltd lost six advisers, following a loss of eight advisers last week. Four of these advisers joined Finchley & Kent, and two others moved to separate licensees.

Centrepoint Alliance fell by four advisers after two moved to AMP, and two are yet to be reappointed, while Infocus was down by three advisers due to two commencing their own AFSL and one yet to be reappointed.

Count, Sequoia Financial Group and Bell Financial Group all lost two advisers each, while a tail of 22 AFSLs fell by one adviser each, such as Fortnum and Lifespan.

In terms of adviser growth, Arthur J Gallagher led the way with gains of 10 advisers after all moved from Via Financial Group.

A new licensee opened its doors with eight advisers who joined from Havana Financial Services. Moreover, six licensee owners grew by two advisers each, including Macquarie Group and Finchley & Kent, and another 20 licensee owners welcomed one adviser each.