Iress has renewed its partnership with Striver, extending a program focused on supporting entry pathways into the financial advice profession.
The agreement builds on a partnership established in 2024 and comes as the industry continues to face a gap between adviser supply and client demand.
Acting CEO of wealth APAC at Iress, Sam Wall, said the sector needs to reconsider how it approaches attracting new entrants.
“Demand for quality financial advice continues to outpace supply, and the industry must think differently about how we attract and prepare new talent,” he said.
The partnership includes Iress’ involvement in Striver’s Brimstone event series, which connects students, graduates and career changers with industry participants.
Striver founder and chief executive Alisdair Barr said interest in advice careers remains, despite broader workforce pressures.
“Over the past year, we’ve seen strong engagement from students, graduates and career changers who are looking for meaningful, long-term careers,” he said.
“As adviser numbers decline and demand for advice increases, it is important to provide accessible pathways into the industry.”
As part of the agreement, Iress will update training materials linked to its Xplan platform, which are used in Striver’s education programs. The modules are intended to provide exposure to advice processes and technology used in practice.
The development comes amid ongoing industry efforts to rebuild adviser numbers following a period of decline, with firms and professional bodies continuing to focus on education, recruitment and early-career support.
Iress is also involved in the Financial Advice Association Australia Advice Academy, which supports new entrants and professional year candidates entering the sector.
This comes after Iress announced through the ASX in February that it would “consider any bona fide proposal” for acquisition.
Iress also saw a change of leadership late last year with Andrew Russell from Bravura taking over as group chief executive and managing director from November after Marcus Price stepped down in September. Iress’ CEO of global trading and market data Geoff Rogers served as acting CEO for the interim period.
After streamlining the business model, it now focuses on its two core divisions – global trading and market data, and wealth – and is contemplating a sale.
At the start of the year, it was reported the firm was in discussions with alternative asset manager and private equity house Blackstone but the party indicated it needed further time to assess the business.
In its results, it stated: “Over the past year, Iress has engaged constructively with third parties to assess whether a change-of-control transaction could deliver compelling and certain value for shareholders. No such offer has been received.”
