Financial Advisor Statistics for 2025

The Advisor Market: Growth & Trends

Across the world, there are 230,000 certified financial planners (CFPs) in 2025, representing a 3.1% increase since last year. (Source)
The largest growth has occurred in the US and Brazil, adding 4,218 and 1,255 CFP professionals to their sectors, respectively. (Source)
In Australia, the advisor market is valued at $6.1bn, representing 17,530 businesses. (Source)
The advisor market here has witnessed a 2.2% decline (CAGR) since 2020. (Source)
In the US, things look better. In 2025, the financial advice sector is projected to reach $134.87bn – an increase of $10.98bn since last year. (Source)
The US market is forecasted to grow even further, reaching $204.42bn by 2030 (8.70% CAGR). (Source)
In the UK, the advisor market is worth £7.1bn, comprising 27,000 advisors spread across 5,000 firms. (Source).
In 2024, the UK’s total retail investing market was valued at £2.4tr. Platforum estimates that 40% of this is managed by advisors. (Source)
In Singapore, there are approximately 5,000 financial advisors. This represents massive growth from the few hundred that existed in the early 2000s. (Source)
Another 15,000 advisors are employed at insurance firms in Singapore. Most of these operate on a commission-based model. (Source)

Advisor Demographics and Employment

In the US, around 400,000 advisors are estimated to be in employment, earning an average salary of $168,465 (more than flight pilots and engineers). (Source)
110,504 female advisors are employed full time, with women earning $113,974 on average. By contrast, there are 258,702 men in full-time employment with an average salary of $192,649 (Source)
Women comprise about one-third of the global advisor workforce. In the Asia-Pacific region, female representation is higher at 48%. (Source)
22% of Australian financial advisors are women. (Source)
Gender diversity is slowly improving amongst CFPs in the US, with a 13.9% rise over the last 3 years (surpassing the 11.5% overall growth rate for the sector). (Source)
In the UK, only 16% of advisors were female in 2023. Today, there has only been a 2% growth rate in female representation. (Source)
This is despite women holding 60% of the UK’s wealth in 2025. (Source)
Advisors are not known for their retention. At the 5-year mark, 85% will be out of business. 9 out of 10 advisors fail within 3 years. (Source).
LGBTQ+ individuals are still underrepresented in the UK’s advisory sector, but 60% who work in financial services say the industry is widely inclusive. (Source)
Many black and ethnic minority people still experience barriers to the UK’s financial advice profession, with only 1% occupying senior leadership positions. (Source).

Client Acquisition and Attitudes

Only 27% of Americans use a financial advisor, with men more likely to take professional advice (32% compared to 22% of women). (source)
Trustworthiness is cited as most valuable for clients when selecting an advisor (60%), with the figure rising to 68% for those on higher incomes. (source)
Approximately 25-35% of advisor clients make referrals to friends, family and colleagues. However, advisors only meet 3-5% of these. (Source)
Only 16% of Australian adults (3,200,000 people) use a financial advisor, with baby boomers the most amenable age group. (Source)
Singaporeans top the global charts for financial advisor usage, with 53% saying they prefer to engage a professional over bankers or taking a DIY approach. (Source)
81% of Singaporeans want to engage an advisor before making a major decision, and 51% say their investment outcomes might have been better over the last 5 years had they engaged a professional. (Source)
Only 8% of UK adults (4.1m people) have received financial advice. (Source)
Social media is increasingly important for client acquisition, with 41% of advisors reporting they generated clients from Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter last year. (Source)
The average marketing spend for US advisors was $17,433 in 2022, up from $16,090 in the previous year. (Source)
Clients are increasingly open to working remotely with a financial advisor, with 50% of Americans saying they would be happy with this in 2024. (Source)

Advisor Productivity and Time Management

Financial advisors typically spend only 20% of their time actually meeting with clients – the same amount spent on marketing and prospecting. (Source)
Only 50% of their time (26.7 hours per week) is spent on tasks directly related to clients. (Source)
The average client meeting lasts 39 minutes, with little correlation between client satisfaction and meeting duration. (Source)
In the US, most advisers meet with clients quarterly. This frequency shows a higher level of client satisfaction compared to annually, bi-annually or monthly. (Source)
The advisors with the highest quality-of-life scores took 29 days off each year, working 38 hours per week. (Source)
The least-happy advisors took 15 holiday days and worked 43 hours each week. (Source)

Client Onboarding and Service

It typically takes 3 months or more for an advisor to onboard an ultra-high net worth (UHNW) client. (Source)
Only 13% of firms have managed to achieve an onboarding process of under 1 week with UHNWs. For the affluent segment, 33% report a month-long onboarding process (Source)
96% of relationship managers are positive about using automation (e.g. AI tools) to streamline and simplify these processes. (Source)
Over two-thirds of UK advisors and WM professionals believe KYC (known your client) checks take too long. 63% of European respondents agreed. (Source)

Technology and Financial Advice

In Australia, 73% of advice firms with heavy tech adoption enjoy profits over 10%. For those with limited tech integration, this drops to 43%. (Source)
Robo-advisors are on the rise, projected to reach $33.38 billion in market cap by 2030 – up from $8.01 billion in 2024 (26.71% CAGR). (Source)
The most popular model is the hybrid robo-advisor, comprising 63.8% of the global revenue of robo-advisors. (Source)
In 2023, only 6% of advisors were using AI (artificial intelligence). Today, 34% are using it in their daily work. (Source)

Fee Structures and Compensation

In the US, the average fee to manage $1m in assets is 1.02%, with flat fees typically ranging between $2,000 and $7,500 (Source)
In the UK, costs vary in the range of £30 to £250 an hour, with the average hourly rate put at £196. (Source)
In 2025, rates for Australian advisors can range between $275 to $550. (Source)
Singaporean advisors can be pricier by global standards, with commission-based firms charging between 4-7%. (Source)

Investment Trends

Over the next 20 years, baby boomers are expected to pass $53tr to their children, in what has been called The Great Wealth Transfer. (Source)
This presents big opportunities for advisors, especially those engaged in estate planning. However, a lot of this will be eaten up by healthcare costs. 60% of lifetime health care spending occurs after an individual turns 65. (Source)
In 2025, 70% of Millennials and Gen Z are prioritising sustainability in their buying decisions. Advisors targeting these age groups should take note of increasing demand for ESG investor options. (Source)

Regulatory and Compliance

Stricter compliance and regulatory requirements in developed markets could push 20% of smaller advisory firms into mergers or exits by the end of 2025. (Source)
Compliance professionals are struggling to meet their regulatory obligations, with 37% of US professionals saying they cannot find enough time for RIA annual compliance review processes. (Source)
Half have turned to outside compliance consultants for help, and 58% are trying to use technology to help with annual reviews. (Source)

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Philip Teale

Philip Teale is a MCIM marketer with over 10 years’ experience working with financial advisors – helping them gain new revenue and clients using online channels and AI-powered workflows.

54 Global Financial Advisor Statistics for 2025

The Advisor Market: Growth & Trends

Advisor Demographics and Employment

Client Acquisition and Attitudes

Advisor Productivity and Time Management

Client Onboarding and Service

Technology and Financial Advice

Fee Structures and Compensation

Investment Trends

Regulatory and Compliance