According to the latest Padua Wealth Data numbers, while there was a net loss of 223 advisers for the period between 18 December 2025 and 8 January 2026, there were just four licensees that saw double-digit losses.
NTAA (SMSF Advisers Network), Sequoia Group, Telstra Super and WT Financial Group were all down by a net of 11 advisers, with NTAA having lost more than 109 advisers since the start of 2025.
Next after the double-digit losses was Fiducian with seven over the period, while Count, NAB Bank, Morgan Stanley and Accru were down by five. Affinity Accountants, Argonaut Securities and Entireti & Akumin Group were all down by four each.
However, while few licensees saw any major impact of the exits, there was a long list of AFSLs that had minor losses, with 116 licensees down by one each, 26 AFSLs down by two advisers and four down by three advisers.
Overall, 161 licensee owners had net losses of 278 advisers and 26 licensees ceased operations.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, 36 licensee owners had net gains of 43 advisers and five new licensees commenced, two of which kicked off with three advisers each.
Three licensees increased by two advisers each including Partners Wealth Group, with advisers switching from MI Private Wealth, and a new licensee that gained advisers switching from Fortnum.
A total of 31 licensees were up by one each, including Finchley & Kent and ANZ Banking Group.
Importantly, many of these numbers may still change, as licensees have up to 30 days to update their records.
However, the final numbers are still likely to be far better than the estimates ahead of the 1 January 2026 education deadline.
At the start of December, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) delivered what it called a “final warning” for financial advisers that were yet to meet the education requirements.
In the update, the regulator said that, as of 20 November, there were 15,469 relevant providers on the FAR. Of these, AFS licensees have notified ASIC that 7,959 hold an approved degree or qualification, 4,212 are relying on the experienced provider pathway, and 972 are recorded as holding both an approved degree or qualification and relying on the experienced provider pathway
“The remaining 2,326 relevant providers have yet to meet the qualifications standard according to the information currently recorded on the Financial Advisers Register,” ASIC said.
“Of this cohort, 836 may be eligible for the experienced provider pathway, but their AFS licensees are yet to notify ASIC of this.”
