Exceeded only by the 189 new entrants seen in Q3 of 2024, Adviser Ratings’ latest Musical Chairs Report has revealed that 125 new advisers hit the Financial Advisers Register (FAR) in Q1 2025, marking a significant rebound from the single digit growth seen in 2019.
The number is also considerably higher than the usual levels seen for Q1, with 78 new entrants recorded for the same period in 2024 and 85 the year before.
This was somewhat offset by 246 advisers dropping off the FAR during the quarter; however, the report noted that like-for-like quarters have shown a decrease in advisers ceasing.
Recognising both of these as positive signs for the profession, Adviser Ratings said that advisers re-registering on the FAR in the new year brought the total number just out of the red to 15,575, a slim 0.63 per cent increase for the quarter.
This sentiment is backed up by Wealth Data’s findings over the start of year with minor but steady growth, seeing adviser numbers finally hitting 15,600 in early April, bolstered by the 6 March exam session, while the latest update has it sitting at 15,607 for the week ending 8 May after suffering the second week of losses for the year-to-date.
Previous Adviser Ratings reports have highlighted an ongoing trend for advisers moving heavily towards privately owned licensees, something that has continued into Q1 as diversified licensees continue to slowly bleed advisers, with just 630 now operating under a diversified licensee.
This has been likewise reflected in the practice distribution by licensee, with the number of diversified practices dropping from 67 in 2024 to 40 as of the end of Q1, now making up just 0.7 per cent of the 6,092 current practices.
Notably, privately owned licensees with 100 or more advisers saw a slight increase from the previous quarter, with small (1 to 10 advisers) and medium (11 to 100 advisers) also seeing a bit of a bump in Q1.
The number of advisers switching licensees has remained relatively stable over the start of the year with 476, in line with the average of 477 quarterly switches, which Adviser Ratings said indicated a period of stability from the 1,218 peak in Q3 2019.
Looking at specific licensees, Partners Wealth Group Financial Advice saw the biggest increase in advisers for the quarter with 30, followed by Alliance Wealth with 19 and Gallagher Benefit Services with 15.
On the opposite end of the scale, Charter Financial Planning took the biggest hit with a net loss of 19 advisers, offsetting its 13-adviser gain in the previous quarter, followed by Count Financial (-15) and Mont Partners (-14).
Finally, Q1 saw 14 licensees cease and 27 new ones registered, 13 of which were single adviser licensees, bringing the net total for the year so far to 13.
