Fewer but better-quality advisers a solid foundation for the future

After years of declining adviser numbers, from a peak of around 28,000 at the beginning of 2019 to around 15,000 today, there’s evidence from Padua WealthData’s analysis that the number has bottomed out. The volume of new advisers entering the profession in 2026 is more than last year, albeit still extremely modest in the overall scheme of things. 

“It’s definitely turned a corner. It’s flattened out, though the fact that it’s flattened out doesn’t mean it’s growing,” Padua WealthData’s Colin Williams tells Professional Planner.  

“It’s healthier now than it’s been for a number of years. It’s not booming, but it’s solid. It’s stable. I think the professionalism has improved. 

“The existing advisers we’ve got are more professional, and then we’ve got the new ones coming through, going through a proper structure now, which has been missing for quite some time. And that structure just adds to professionalism. We’re getting quality people coming through.” 

Consolidation has slowed and a solid foundation is now in place, but “we don’t think it’s going to grow tremendously over the next few years”, Williams says. 

“We just can’t see it, and it’s definitely not going to get back to 28,000. That’s just not an option.” 

Adviser numbers began to stabilise in about 2022. Padua data shows there were about 15,800 advisers then, and the number is about 15,200 today, as new entrants begin to balance out departures. 

A wave of advisers left at the end of 2025, when the last of the new education standards – a university degree or equivalent, or higher – came into effect, even though the impact was softened somewhat by the experience pathway for advisers with 10 years or more of service. 

But since then, “the overall numbers this year are up a little bit, better than the same time last year”, Williams says. 

“A lot of that’s got to do with the fact that we were in negative territory this time last year. We’re in positive territory this time round. It’s not a huge amount, but I think a lot of this has got to do with the fact that we’ve had less resignations, which is good.” 

Advisers returning  

Williams says some advisers who’d left the industry are now returning, but the reasons are not completely clear.  

“Each week I’m always amazed how many advisers are coming back after being out of the workforce for years,” he says. 

“Sometimes people maybe found themselves in a situation which was difficult, in the sense that they had to drop out of something that they really enjoyed, which is financial planning, for whatever reason. 

“[When] I was running courses on behalf of advisers, I used to find that a lot of the older advisers were pretty smart people, but they weren’t exam savvy. So, they got stressed out on the exam.  

“But I think a lot of them have finally worked their way through that, then as a result, got themselves back in. But we’re not talking thousands.” 

The advice landscape has also been characterised by a consolidation of the licensee market. Padua data shows that since January 2019 a total of 1234 licensees have closed, and 845 have opened.  

The biggest change has been in the limited-advice space generally populated by accountants, where 534 licensees have closed down and only one new licensee has opened. 

“Were they financial advisers? I would say no,” Williams says. “They were accountants first, who offered a bit of advice.” 

A total of 327 of what Padua describes as “financial planning licensees” have closed and 720 new ones have entered the field. At the same time, 78 “investment advice” licensees have ceased operating, and 45 have started up. 

Productivity is the key 

Williams says that in the absence of sudden and massive increases in adviser numbers, improving adviser productivity will be crucial to improving accessibility of advice. Potential gains through technology will substantially outstrip gains through growth in adviser numbers. 

“AI will be good for a lot of advisers, but it will change the landscape a bit as well, and we’re seeing that already,” he says. 

“AI will be good in the sense that productivity should improve. Even simple things from the file notes, doing the meetings, transcribing the meetings, recording the meetings, understanding meetings, giving clients really good summaries, really good updates. That will improve a lot for advisers. 

“But maybe the bigger question is how much time are they spending face to face? They might be face to face but it’s 10 hours a week. There’s 40 hours a week, where have the other 30 hours gone? It’s in the paperwork, but if you can get rid of that… and increase [client-facing] hours from 10 hours to 20 hours, or whatever it may be, that’s improving the productivity of the adviser.”