Financial adviser numbers are still far below their previous highs, but the reduction in competition – as well as increased cost of operation – has led to a 67 per cent increase in fees over the past five years.
According to Adviser Ratings’ 2025 Financial Advice Landscape Report, the jump in advice fees has been most prominent in 2025, with the median advice fee increasing 18 per cent to $4,668.
“This pricing evolution reflects both the increased cost of delivering compliant advice and the shifting value proposition as advisers focus on more complex client needs and higher-value services,” the report said.
It’s not just adviser fees that have jumped dramatically this year – client funds under advice have increased 11 per cent to $758,362, while the national average funds under advice per adviser has increased by 21 per cent over the last three years to $99 million.
“This increase reflects a maturing profession that has found equilibrium after years of disruption through implementing the royal commission, professional standards, and COVID-19 from 2018 to 2020,” according to the report.
It added: “Despite stagnation in previous years, client portfolios have grown by 18 per cent since 2019, reflecting the combined effects of generally positive market performance and the increasing tendency for advisers to focus on higher-value client relationships.
“This client value concentration strategy has been a direct response to rising advice delivery costs and ongoing regulatory requirements that make serving lower-value clients increasingly challenging.”
The way that adviser-client relationships are evolving are also “encouraging”, Adviser Ratings said, with one-off engagements constituting 23 per cent of client interactions in 2025, a slight decrease from 25 per cent in 2024.
“This modest but meaningful shift toward recurring relationships suggests advisers are developing more effective methods for demonstrating their long-term value proposition,” it added.
Adviser Ratings also found that the average adviser now manages 101 clients a year (up 3.8 per cent from 97 in 2024), while 77 per cent of clients entering into ongoing advice relationships indicates both “selective client acquisition and improved retention strategies”.
“The client engagement model has evolved to match the changing advice dynamics, with the typical adviser now serving over 100 clients annually, a figure that has increased steadily since 2020,” the report found.
“Most advisers (55 per cent) meet with clients annually, with only 5 per cent maintaining quarterly engagements, reflecting the profession’s shift toward more efficient service models.”
