According to a market commentary by Bell Potter analysts Lafitani Sotiriou and James Filius, seen by ifa, the rise of the IFA movement is not a cyclical trend but a long-term development in Australian financial services.
“The move away from the large incumbents (four major banks and AMP) continues, with these five players losing over 400 advisers in the last six months,” the analysts wrote.
“This trend to independence is a key theme in the sector and we believe it is set to continue.”
The big four banks and AMP have experienced a 1.8 per cent decline in market share over the past six months, with AMP losing 400 individual advisers, according to the document.
“This is a significant market share loss in a short-period of time and we expect this trend to continue, particularly as players like ANZ look to exit,” it states.
“The dynamic is fast shifting, with a trend towards self-licencing or moving to dealer groups that aren’t aligned to the big four or AMP.”
While there has been anecdotal evidence of the migration towards IFA channels for some time, the document indicates that supporting evidence is mounting and perhaps investor sentiment also.
The document also tips more consolidation in the mid-tier non-aligned licensee market, following the recent Easton-GPS Wealth and Beacon-Libertas deals.
The Bell Potter analysis comes as ifa unveils the agenda for Australia’s first ever IFA Convention. Please visit https://www.ifacon.com.au/ for details.
This analysis may be right but not for certain. Not so much as growth in the smaller AFSLs, a number of Advisers have departed their big AFSL, or are in the process of leaving the industry, due to the higher education benchmarks coming as well as the new and more onerous regulation requirements – which is not solved by moving.