Research confirms adviser exit fears

Asked how they planned to prepare for the introduction of new education standards, 75.6 per cent of the 3,536 respondents said they plan to leave the industry.

Respondents planning to upskill and obtain new qualifications accounted for 18.9 per cent of respondents, with a further 3.4 per cent saying they already have the necessary qualifications.

Just 2.1 per cent of respondents are at this stage undecided on their course of action.

The findings suggest a much larger percentage of the industry may opt for early retirement, vastly outnumbering the previous predictions reported by ifa.

In September 2017, Deakin University associate professor Adrian Raftery suggested that between 21 and 34 per cent of advisers may choose to leave the industry, based off anecdotal evidence of conversations with industry participants.

“Of course they are leaving the industry,” the academic said.

“Every conference I go to they say ‘my retirement date is 31 Dec 2023’.”

Dr Raftery’s prediction followed that of research house CoreData, which anticipated that fewer advisers may choose to leave.

The CoreData research found that 68.1 per cent of respondents intend to meet the requirements, while 16.5 per cent would rather change careers. At that time, 15.4 per cent of respondents said they were unsure.

The latest ifa poll results may suggest that appetite for further study has waned since late 2016 as FASEA’s approach to regulating the mandatory education regime has become clearer.