We’ve all seen the headlines – it’s boom time for UK financial advisers. Adviser firms’ revenue is up 22% since 2016, and firms are looking to expand – especially in internal headcount.
Adviser firms are on the hunt for recruits, with 65% aiming to add to their staff within the next 12 months, according to our latest report, Adviser Market: Size and Structure. Nearly nine out of ten firms with over £250m AUA are hiring, making them the largest drivers of job creation in the adviser sector at present.
The biggest demand is for people to fill non-adviser roles – nearly half are just wanting to recruit for positions such as paraplanners, admin, business managers and compliance. Less than a quarter of firms are looking just for advisers, while 30% want to fill roles across the board.
Owners of large firms tell us that investing in business infrastructure is as much a priority as investing in advisers. And the ‘grow your own’ approach to tackling the shortage of advisers seems to be gaining ground, with many large adviser businesses launching academies and graduate schemes to attract the next generation. St. James’s Place has reported attracting as many as 95 candidates to their academy in H1 2018.
Another trend we are seeing is that over 60% of firms are offering employed adviser positions only, and that rises to 88% for larger adviser firms managing over £250m AUA.
We believe the employed model will increasingly dominate, as businesses are in better control of their culture, processes and policies. Business owners also tell us that younger advisers seem more comfortable with their employed status, especially those who have progressed through salaried administration or paraplanning roles.