The start of February saw the effects of the FASEA exam deadline with over 300 advisers departing the industry in January.
“Numbers will still fall but those that fit into the holistic financial planning category [which is] the largest group, will stabilise quite well now,” Wealth Data founder Colin Williams said. “But accounting and limited advice is finished and as time goes on, will come to an end.”
Research from Business Health found the top 10 per cent of advice businesses have increased their revenue per client by 50 per cent over the last two years, despite the wider industry stagnating.
In 2019, the top 10 per cent of firms averaged $4046 of revenue per client, per year, but this figure increased to $6384 in 2021. The wider industry stayed largely unchanged at about $3500.
“What that’s showing is that the most profitable firms have either reviewed their pricing or been able to add additional services,” Business Health owner Rod Bertino said.
The much-awaited FSCP announced its full panel roster, after some nudging towards the government.
The Retirement Income Covenant bill passed which gave APRA-regulated trustees until the end of the financial year to develop a Retirement Income Strategy.
CFS announced it would launch a new wrap platform later in the year, which would ultimately be revealed as Edge.
The in and out crowd
After a disastrous end to 2022, Magellan founder Hamish Douglass took a leave of absence due to “intense pressure and focus” on his professional and personal life.
The Matthew Rowe era ended at Countplus with the chief executive departing and replaced by Hugh Humphrey.
Sarah Abood begun her tenure as FPA chief executive after Dante De Gori finished up at the end of last year.
Abood attributed her time as CEO of Profile Financial Services as her key experience that would set her up for her new job.
“That was a long and productive journey with Profile,” she said. “Going through the process of understanding what does it take to grow a firm that has a fiduciary duty to its clients as well as an obligation and a need to run a financially sustainable organisation.”
