More than 12,000 financial advisers have retired or handed back their registration since the financial services royal commission, which levelled widespread allegations of misconduct against the sector in 2018. The exits represent a 43 per cent decline in the size of the workforce in just five years., unwilling or unable to cope with the mountainous red tape ushered in by the damning inquiry, much of it duplicating existing paperwork.
“We have hit the bottom, and we are beginning to see a small increase in the number of advisers,” says Colin Williams, a researcher at Wealth Data. “The market was perhaps over-saturated prior to the royal commission, whereas the market today seem about right when you look at assets per adviser,” he says. “It’s not inconsistent any more with what you’ve seen in other markets.”
Between January 2019 and December last year, AMP lost 1514 advisers, leaving it with a footprint of just 921 and relinquishing its longstanding mantle as the sector’s biggest player. Despite broad declines across the sector, some organisations are in positive territory. The privately owned Fortnum Financial Group almost doubled to 223 advisers over the past five years, while Melbourne boutique Viridian – which picked up a number of Westpac’s advisers after the bank retreated from the market – grew threefold to 137.
The question is are these new “Financial Advisors” professionals or crooks
Financial sales people. Fixed it for you
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How are the taxi drivers’ tips going?