How 20,754 potential advisers won’t compute
New analysis has reinforced that while 20,754 people have passed the financial adviser exam and that while only 15,420 are currently listed on the Financial Adviser Register, the pool of available advisers will be substantially less after 1 January, next year.
The analysis, conducted by Padua’s WealthData has pointed to the looming impact of the education requirements as making uncertain precisely how many people would actually be ready to rejoin the advice profession.
WealthData principal, Colin Williams commented that while there is a variance of the 5,334 between 20,754 candidates who have passed the exam and those on the FAR, no clear-cut outcomes can be predicted.
“While the potential pool looks large, and after January 2026 it will bigger, it may not have the potential it once had,” he said. “From January1, 2026 all advisers will need both the financial adviser exam and meet the qualification requirements (or Experienced Pathway) that come into effect from January 1.”
Key Adviser Movements For This Period
- Net change of advisers +5
- Current number of advisers 15,432
- Net Change Calendar 2025 YTD (-41)
- Net change 2025 YTD of +127 when excluding licensees that provide mostly limited SMSF advice
- Net Change Financial YTD (2025/26) +260
- Net change Financial YTD +290 when excluding licensees that provide mostly limited SMSF advice
- 45 Licensee Owners had net gains of 55 advisers
- 30 Licensee Owners had net losses for (-46) advisers
- 4 new licensees (2 recommenced), and 2 ceased
- 14 new entrants
- 103 advisers affected by appointments / resignations
Growth – Licensee Owners
- Bentleys Financial Services (NSW) up by three, all three advisers are currently also authorised as First Financial Pty Ltd owned by Janus Financial Pty Ltd
- Eight licensee owners up by net two which included two new licensees:
- Stonehouse Partners with both advisers switching from Hillross, owned by Entireti & Akumin Group
- Solomons Wealth, both advisers being new entrants
- Pitcher Partners, both advisers being new entrants
- Gary Hasler, both advisers being new entrants
- Banister Consulting (Sira Group), both switching from Banyan Securities
- Australian Financial Planning Group, both switching from Century Advisory Services
- New licensee with advisers leaving Interprac owned by Sequoia
- New licensee – This licensee recommenced after ceasing in 2022 and the same advisers have returned.
- A long tail of 36 licensee owners up by net one each including Morgans Group, Evans Dixonand the two remaining new licensees.
Losses – Licensee Owners
- NTAA (SMSF Advisers Network) down by seven, none appointed elsewhere
- Three licensee owners down by three:
- Century Advisory Services down by three and down to zero advisers. Two advisers moving to Australian Financial Planning Group (noted above) and the other is yet to be appointed elsewhere
- Count Limited down by three, losing five advisers, three at Count Financial and one each at Paragem and GPS Wealth. Appointing one adviser each at Count Financial and GPS Wealth, both advisers coming back into advice after a break.
- Entireti and Akumin Group also down by three, as mentioned above, losing two at Hillross to Stonehouse Partners, one adviser ceased at Akumin who has not been appointed elsewhere
- Four licensee owners down by two:
- Maura McCabe (Banyan Securities), both joining Bannister Consulting (Sira Group),
- Rawlings Bolton (Bentleys (QLD) Advisory Pty), both advisers not appointed elsewhere
- Sequoia Group, as mentioned above, both advisers commencing their own licensee
- WT Financial Group, one switching to Beryllium Advisers and the other is is yet to be appointed elsewhere.
- A tail of 22 licensee owners down by net one each including Centrepoint Group, Lifespan and FMD Financial.
When, oh when, are you going to do an analysis of “wholesale only” advisers who are NOT on the FAR ?
I fear you are missing thousands of such individuals, such as myself, who after 30 years in (retail & wholesale) financial advice, is no longer able to advise retail investors because I chose not to sit the Adviser exam & therefore am NOT on the FAR. However, I am still practising in the industry, focussed on 20 HNW families who all qualify as Sophisticated or wholesale.