Financial advisers head for the doors

THE financial advice industry is set to close the year with 3500 fewer advisers as a wave of consolidation and a looming hurdle approaches.

An industry snapshot collated by Wealth Data finds the sector has seen a full net year loss of 2189 financial advisers.

Commonwealth Bank was the worst-hit licensee, with 74 advisers leaving the group in the past week.

This leaves just 37 financial advisers remaining at CBA.

CBA is rapidly exiting the advice space, with the prudential regulator approving its sale of its stake in Colonial First State in November.

Another 126 financial advisers left the sector last week.

In the past three years, almost 10,000 advisers have left the sector as a wave of consolidation and job losses sweeps the industry.

However, the full figure for the year may not be known until after the conclusion of the FASEA exam, which all advisers are required to complete by January 1.

Wealth Data said it expected to see another 1345 additional advisers exit the industry due to non-completion of the exam. This could take the full year net loss of financial advisers beyond 3500.

Financial Planning Association CEO Dante de Gori (pictured) said he had been concerned for some time about the decline in adviser numbers. “We can’t replace them as fast as they’re leaving,” he said.

Mr de Gori said the industry had been grappling with a rapidly changing regulatory and business environment in the past three years that had seen all four big banks exit the advice space and AMP winnow its adviser numbers.