Page 23 - Wealth Data News Today

The tripartite deal between Fortnum and AZ Next Generation Advisory, announced earlier this week, to acquire the financial advice arm of Australian Unity is a “reasonable fit”, according to Wealth Data.

Sequoia has announced plans to boost growth by acquiring sub-scale licensees, noting only 2 per cent of AFSLs have more than 100 advisers.

Six new financial advice licensees have begun operations in the past week and zero ceased, Wealth Data reveals, with more than 100 licensee owners commencing in 2023 alone.

An emerging debate has looked at whether self-licensed firms should be differentiated by virtue of their scale compared to institutional licensees and dealer groups when they carry the same regulatory obligations.

The number of advisers who have left the industry since the start of the year has reached triple figures, with 11 advisers leaving this week.

Membership of the FAAA declined by 11.7 per cent in the last financial year, according to its 2023 annual report, three times faster than the overall decline in adviser numbers over the period.

Sequoia Financial Group has welcomed an additional five financial advisers to its ranks, reporting positive adviser growth in three out of four weeks this month, according to Wealth Data.

Advice licensees are opening faster than they are closing, and licensees with less than 20 advisers have grown by over 200 since the start of the year, new figures from Wealth Data show.

With Insignia Financial chief executive Renato Mota announcing he will depart in February 2024, Money Management takes a look at his five years in the leading role.

The number of profitable practices channelling their time, capital and resources into self-licensed ventures is on the rise, a trend which larger licensees are observing closely.