Financial Adviser Market Insights, August 13, 2026
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Adviser numbers rose by 8 for the week, moving from 15,122 to 15,130
A quieter week, but the run of growth continues a sixth consecutive weekly gain takes adviser numbers to 15,130. The calendar year position now sits at +75, compared with (-89) at the same point last year, a turnaround of 164 advisers. The new financial year remains strongly positive at +247.
Movement this week was thinly spread, with 33 licensee owners recording net gains against 27 with losses, and almost all of them by one either way. The most notable activity sat at Sequoia Group, where four advisers departed Interprac Financial Planning, most landing quickly at other licensees. Licensee formation also continued, with three new licensees commencing while two established licensees were reduced to zero advisers.
A total of 71 advisers were affected by appointments and/or resignations this week, including 14 new entrants to the register.
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Key Adviser Movements for the Week
15,130 current advisers
Net change of advisers: +8
New Entrants: 14
33 licensee owners had net gains
27 licensee owners had net losses
3 new licensees and 2 licensees reduced to zero advisers
Net Change Calendar 2026 YTD: +75
Net Change Financial Year 2026/27 YTD: +247
Net change last 12 months: (-253)
Growth - Licensee Owners
Centrepoint Group up by three to 598, all at Alliance Wealth: one adviser switching across from Securinvest Financial Planners, one from Sequoia Group's Interprac Financial Planning, and one new entrant.
Three licensee owners up by net two each: Bell Financial Group to 182, with two new entrants joining Bell Potter Securities; Lee Anthony Clarke (Archer Private Wealth) to 12, also with two new entrants; and the National Tax and Accountants' Association to 73, with two experienced advisers returning to the register at Advice Assist Australia after breaks, both previously authorised within the Association's licensees.
A tail of 29 licensee owners up by net one each, including Lifespan (302), which picked up one of the departing Interprac advisers, Infocus Group (188), whose incoming adviser returns after a short break, Viridian Advisory (130), where an adviser rejoins the register after an absence stretching back to 2018, Oreana Financial Services (109) with a new entrant, and the three new licensees below.
Losses - Licensee Owners
Sequoia Group down by four to 100, all at Interprac Financial Planning. One adviser ceased after more than 22 years on the register, while the other three resigned on the same day and have already reappeared elsewhere: one at Centrepoint's Alliance Wealth, one at Lifespan and one at Avana Financial Solutions.
Multiforte Group closed to zero, down three. Two long serving advisers, first registered in 2006 and 2007, ceased in late July, while the third had moved to Lorica Partners in October last year, with the resignation only now flowing through.
A tail of 25 licensee owners down by net one each, including Entireti & Akumin Group (1,095), a busy week beneath a small net move, with a new entrant and a switch in from Sinclair Wilson Investment Services offset by three cessations, WT Financial Group (526), NAB Bank (259), where the departing JBWere adviser was first registered in 2002, Canaccord Group (196), Findex Group (133), and Pinn Deavin Securities, which closed to zero with its adviser moving to PSK Group effective 1 July.
Where the New Entrants Are Landing
Across the register, 345 new entrants from 2026 are currently authorized, sitting with 188 licensee owners: roughly nine in ten owners have not added a single new entrant this year. Entireti & Akumin leads with 25, but relative to size the standouts are the investment advice houses, with Bell Financial and Fiducian recruiting at roughly six new entrants per 100 advisers against a market rate of just over two. And it is the mid-size licensees, those with 10 to 49 advisers, recruiting at the fastest rate of all.
There are currently 485 provisional advisers across 224 owners, and the top five recruiters are Entireti & Akumin (25), Count (14), Ord Minnett (12), Rhombus (12) and Bell Financial (11).
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The Australian Financial Adviser Market 2026 is Padua's data-driven read on the state of the profession. Drawing on the ASIC Financial Adviser Register and adviser exam data, it maps six forces behind a market that has stopped shrinking but is far from recovered: 15,012 advisers, ageing fast, against 3.6 million Australians who need advice. The conclusion is a shift in the question itself, from how to grow the workforce to how to get more from the one we have.

