For the first time, female financial planners have reported higher total earnings than their male counterparts in a “historic shift”, research from Paul Harper Search has revealed.
The research, Financial Planning: Fascinating Facts and Figures 2023, reported that female planners’ total earnings reached £109,569 in 2023, an increase on the £96,250 recorded in 2022.
This was £7,000 more than male planners who reported average total earnings of £102,421.
However, while female planners’ total earnings eclipsed that of males this was not the case for average basic salaries.
Basic salaries for women reached £75,750 in 2023 which, while this was an increase on the £72,955 reported in 2022, was lower than that for men at £79,946.
Average salaries
Additionally, Paul Harper’s research reported the average basic salary for a financial planner has increased by 7 per cent over 2023, increasing from £74,577 in 2022 to £79,591.
This continued the consistent upward trend in salaries that has been seen since the retail distribution review in 2012.
A similar trend was observed for firms’ average total salaries which increased to £102,356 in 2023 from £97,962 in 2022.
It was also reported that over half (52 per cent) of advisers received total earnings over £100,000, a “significant” increase on the 30 per cent recorded in 2022.
An increase in basic salaries was also discovered across all quartiles, with the lowest quartile increasing from £62,000 in 2022 to £66,950 in 2023, a 7 per cent increase.
Similar increases were reported for the next highest quartiles, increasing from £70,000 to £75,000, and from £83,125 to £92,390 (a 7 and 12 per cent increase respectively).
The highest quartile experienced an 8 per cent increase, rising from £130,000 in 2022 to £140,000 in 2023.
A regional disparity was also found between the average basic salaries with London remaining the area with the highest salary at £91,250.
This was in contrast to the area with the lowest average salary, the north, which recorded an average of £74,625.
While this was lower than London’s average, it remained similar to the midlands and the south of the UK which reported average salaries of £75,600 and £77,087 respectively.
Market size
The number of advice firms operating in the market continued to fall, with 5,062 firms in 2022 compared to 5,118 in 2021.
Inversely, the number of adviser staff has continued to grow, increasing from 27,839 in 2021 to 28,227 in 2022.
The number of independent advice firms was also found to be continuing its recovery after a fall over 2020.
The research showed the number of independent firms fell over 2020, falling from 4,553 in 2019 to reach 4,455.
Since then, the number of such firms has steadily increased with 4,463 being reported in 2021 and 4,475 in 2022.
Plans for the future
When looking at plans advice firms have for the future, the research found 36 per cent firms are planning to hire over the next 12 months, a fall on the 40 and 59 per cent of firms who indicated a hiring tendency in 2022 and 2021 respectively.
It was also revealed that 14 per cent of respondents plan to sell their firm over the next 18 months, up from 10 per cent in 2022 and 4 per cent in 2021.
Similarly, 14 per cent suggested they plan to exit the market over the time period, a figure that, while down slightly on the 15 per cent in 2022, represents an increase on the 9 per cent in 2021.
The most popular plan for firms was to grow by taking on new clients, which was identified by 50 per cent of respondents.
This was just ahead of “grow by increasing client assets under management” which was identified by 45 per cent of respondents.
When looking into the perceived impact of the consumer duty, 38 per cent of advisers stated it would have no impact on their business.
Meanwhile 13 per cent are concerned that consumer duty rules will have a negative impact.
tom.dunstan@ft.com
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