The 4000 missing financial advisers
There are more than 4,000 people who have passed the financial adviser exam who are not registered on the Financial Adviser Register.
As the Government seeks to address the affordability of financial advice via legislation around the Quality of Advice Review (QAR) recommendations, new analysis from WealthData has revealed that the total number of people who have actually passed the adviser exam is 19,835 while the number of advisers registered on the FAR stood at just 15,611.
Of course, among the 19,835 people who have passed the exam are people who have subsequently retired or changed careers or, who sat the exam whilst never intending to practice as financial advisers.
However, the data demonstrate that the scope for the profession to demonstrate regrowth in the right circumstances.
WealthData principal, Colin Williams not that the most recent financial adviser exam conducted by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) had the lowest number of candidates so far this year at just 231 and candidates passing at 143.
He also noted that the 62% pass rate was the lowest since November, 2022, when just 57% of candidates passed.
The analysis has come as the latest data from the FAR reveals a profession still struggling to regrow.
Key Adviser Movements Last Week:
- Net change of advisers 14
- Current number of advisers at 15,511
- Net Change Calendar 2024 YTD (-111)
- Net Change Financial YTD +170
- 35 Licensee Owners had net gains of 43 advisers
- 20 Licensee Owners had net losses for (-31) advisers
- 3 new licensees commenced and two ceased
- 17 New entrants
- Number of advisers active this week, appointed / resigned: 76
Growth Last Week – Licensee Owners
- Jordan Gitani (Smartmove Advice) up by six with all advisers switching across from NGAA (Next Generation Advice)
- Three licensee owners up by net two:
- WT Financial Group with one new entrant and one adviser from licensee John Raymond Whiting
- Australian Mortgage and Financial Advisers Pty Ltd with one adviser moving across from Matrix and another from Synchron
- A new licensee commenced one adviser moving from Leishman Financial Services and the other from Telstra Super
- A long tail of 31 licensee owners up by net one each including AMP Group appointing two and losing 1, Bell Financial, Morgans and the two remaining new licensees
Losses Last Week – Licensee Owners
- NGAA (Next Generation Advice) down by (-8). As mentioned above, six have joined Smartmove Advice
- Count down by four, all the advisers ceased from Merit Wealth which provides mostly limited services for accountants. None have been appointed elsewhere to date
- O & Z Pty Ltd (Havana Financial Services) down by two advisers, both moving across to Finchley and Kent.
- Only 17 licensee owners down by net one each including Unisuper, Infocus and Macquarie Group. The two licensees that ceased also lost the one adviser each.
Would have nothing to do with 20 years of ever increasing BS Govt Red Tape and ideological persecution of Advisers ?
FFS Canberra are off their heads
There are more than 4,000 people who have passed the financial adviser exam who are not registered on the Financial Adviser Register.
Anecdotally this has been known for some time, now confirmed. While some can be written off as staff, Parra planners, management etc., the sad truth is the vast majority are probably people who have realized this profession is not for them and have left. I’m one who wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have to.
Why is this surprising Too many of my colleagues have walked away just too exhausted and stressed by the threat of complaints and liability we hold even if we do everything right. ASIC lurking in the shadows to threaten good people and not chase the real criminals.
I’d like to add that there are probably another 4,000 actually on the FAR that don’t provide any frontline advice services. The numbers are completely off.
There’s probably 14,000 on the FAR that don’t provide insurance advice anymore.
Four Point Plan to bring the 4,000 back:
1. Cure their PTSD
2. Repair the damage done to their families finances and mental health
3. Convince them that overzealous compliance departments are acting reasonably and are no longer being encouraged by ASIC to take far fetched interpretations of the requirement to act honestly, fairly and efficiently.
4. Convince them that things have changed in Canberra, with sensible, red-tape reducing legislation on the way without interference from ASIC, treasury, Choice, industry funds, life insurers and other miscellaneous self-intetested parties who want financial advisers to be swept aside.
One of those memory wipers from MIB should do the trick
If asked, I will often say that any freshly minted adviser, fully informed after proper due diligence, would be insane to consider financial advice as a career