New figures from Wealth Data have painted a disappointing picture of the industry, with as many as 2,189 advisers said to have departed from the industry this year alone, a decrease of 10.61 per cent.
But Wealth Data believes the worst is yet to come as the number of those either failing or opting out of the FASEA exam rises.
“The losses for the year may end up close to 3,500,” Wealth Data’s Colin Williams said in a recent update.
“We still have a few weeks to go and I suspect there will be a fair bit of reporting in January that will be backdated into December. That said, below is how things are sitting right now,” he noted.
According to the data, the investment advice peer group suffered a loss of 102 advisers or 2.98 per cent, while the accounting – limited advice group contracted by 537 advisers or a whopping 27.12 per cent.
“We expect this peer group to suffer this greatest losses, at a proportional level, resulting from advisers not passing the FASEA exam,” Mr Williams said.
The largest peer group, financial planning, was down 1,303 or 10.18 per cent.
As for individual licensees, Wealth Data revealed that Insignia, formerly known as IOOF, and AMP suffered the largest number of losses.
As a whole, the industry is expected to kick off 2022 with 17,227 advisers, as more than 1,000 additional advisers are predicted to drop off the ASIC Financial Adviser Register (FAR) shortly.
According to Wealth Data’s calculations, the number of advisers will continue to decline in 2022 to between 15,000 and 16,000.
Realistically you wouldn’t stay a financial planner if you had an option. The light at the end of the tunnel is both getting further away and is looking like a train.
See you later and all the best to those advisers that remain and to those who join. I hope the
future landscape has less red tape for you than the mess that has been created. I did my best to lobby and explain to those who make the rules that many of the current regulations need to be changed or ceased to provide a clear pathway for advice to not only survive but to prosper and grow in the future. So many Australians need our help we all know that but some don’t seem to understand. So if you are reading this and think you are only one person and can’t help or perhaps think leaving the heavy lifting to others is ok (which it isn’t) then please do something about it and find your voice to help educate the rule makers just don’t remain silent! Get involved because it is a great profession to be a part of helping change peoples lives for the better and as long as you take care of your clients they in turn will take care of you…Over and out!