Adviser movement continues to disrupt profession as industry looks to grow

Data released in the Adviser Ratings Q2 2025 Adviser Musical Chairs report shows it is clear that the issue of a shrinking adviser pool is not looking like it will reverse anytime soon. With a net decrease of 324 advisers, only 103 new joining and 587 exiting the profession, Adviser Ratings labelled the end of the Q2 2025 as “disappointing”.

However, this particularly large decrease is not unusual at this time of year, as highlighted in the report:

“This isn’t unexpected as the end of the financial year often sees a large decrease in adviser numbers, given the ASIC census date, which determines the amount of ASIC levy licensees are required to pay the next financial year.”

Though the 103 new entrants to the profession is a continuation of a healthy trend of increasing numbers of new advisers, it is struggling to keep up with those leaving. The 587 cessations mark the highest number since 2023 and continues a trend of historically high exit rates in Q2, leaving the profession “in negative territory for the seventh consecutive financial year”.

Grappling with this disruption, Adviser Ratings drew attention with two of the largest advising organisations, the newly formed Entireti and industry veteran Insignia.

According to Adviser Ratings: “Entireti is going all in on the power of scale, consolidating several legacy licensees into a single, massive and focused group.”

Entireti was formed after Fortnum Private Wealth and Australian Unity’s personal Financial Services merged, with Entireti subsequently acquiring a majority stake in AMP’s licensee businesses.

Adviser Ratings observed that “this structure appears designed to centralise the almost crippling costs of compliance, tech and governance under one roof”, sharing a quote from Entireti Group CEO Neil Younger: “Scale is not nice to have, it’s a need to have.”

This reaction to falling adviser numbers has one clear thesis: that a large, focused adviser community is the “recipe for success”, and that by bringing in functions such as licensing and back end support under one roof, Entireti will be shielded from any instability.

However, Entireti’s Akumin (formerly AMP Financial Planning) was not immune to adviser exits, with the post-acquisition churn seeing 17 advisers depart.

Contrastingly, boutique licensee Templestone Financial Services successfully recruited five advisers from major networks, including from Akumin and Insignia-owned Bridges, highlighting the appeal smaller operators still have in the market, despite the presence of growing giants such as Entireti.

Insignia Financial is also offered as another model for protecting against falling adviser numbers.

After acquiring ANZ’s dealer groups and MLC Wealth, Insignia is now embarking on a restructuring journey. Opposed to Entireti, which is scaling and consolidating into one brand, Insignia is trying to nurture an advising ecosystem that still allows for independence. Adviser Ratings highlighted their strategy in four parts:

1. Consolidate and clean up, such as actively closing or merging licences that are no longer effective.
2. Defining their brands, clarifying the purpose and function of their remaining services, for example, Bridges now being a fully salaried network, while Shadforth focuses on high-net-worth clients.
3. Partnering up and leaning into the profession’s shift towards independence, keeping connections with their revenue streams while “offloading the direct operational and compliance headaches”.
4. Becoming a service provider, with Insignia pivoting away from directly owning or directly supporting adviser-owned practices to “a clear strategy of product distribution through partnerships”.

Through valuing independence and acting as a partner, Insignia is trying to reduce operational complexity and risk, Adviser Ratings said.

These two contrasting models present solutions for protecting advice firms against falling numbers. However, for Adviser Ratings, it’s also a clear sign the middle ground between the two is disappearing.

“Both strategies suggest that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to survive as a mid-sized, institutionally owned licensee that lacks massive scale or a unique specialty, where a practice’s owner can choose to move licensees at any time.”