The boutique middle held while the big end halved - Story 3 of 5
Five to nine adviser licenses are the only ones growing since 2018. Story 3 of 5 from The Australian Financial Adviser Market 2026.
Since the 2018 peak the licensee population has fallen 13.6%, from 2,172 licences to 1,877, and the losses are concentrated at the top. The 200-plus adviser band has more than halved, from 24 licences to just 11, and the 100 to 199 band is down a third. Against that, licences with five to nine advisers are the only band to grow, up 4% to 263, with the three to four band the next best performer, down only (-6%). The three to nine adviser boutique now accounts for a third of every license on the register.
Number of licences by size band, 2018 vs 2026 (log scale). The Australian Financial Adviser Market 2026, Padua Solutions.
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.
The Experience Paradox
Experience runs the opposite way to scale at the small end. Advisers in one and two-adviser licences average 19.7 years, ahead of even the largest institutions at 17.7, while the trough sits mid-market at 14.4 years. That leaves 88% of the register operating with nine advisers or fewer, holding much of the market's deepest experience and carrying obligations institutions once absorbed.
Average current adviser experience by licensee size. The Australian Financial Adviser Market 2026, Padua Solutions.
Building institutional-grade compliance in-house is not realistic at this scale. The alternative is to access it from outside, which is exactly what Padua's dual-layer QA, Australian-trained paraplanners and audit-ready documentation are built for.
Next in the series. Story 4 Retention Turnaround
Read the full report, The Australian Financial Adviser Market 2026
Explore the data behind the report at wealthdata.com.au, including the free Adviser Movement Dashboards.
If you have any questions about the content of the report contact Lavon.Koopelian@paduasolutions.com
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