The financial advice industry has undergone one of the most turbulent periods in its history. Regulatory reform, shifting business models, and declining advisor numbers have forced practices to rethink how they operate—and in many cases, whether they can continue at all.
Yet within this disruption lies a clear opportunity.
A recent conversation between Andrew Rocks and Keith Cullen, Founder and Managing Director of WT Financial Group, provides a compelling perspective on where the industry is heading—and what separates those who will grow from those who will stagnate.
At its core, the message is simple: the future of advice will be shaped by confidence, scale, and smart capital deployment.
The Royal Commission marked a turning point for financial advice. Business models that had relied on institutional support were forced to adapt almost overnight, shifting toward fee-for-service structures and sustainable revenue models.
While many saw this as a crisis, Cullen viewed it differently.
With advisor numbers declining and superannuation balances continuing to grow, the supply-demand imbalance became increasingly clear. There was, and still is, a structural shortage of advice relative to consumer need.
This imbalance creates a powerful tailwind for well-run practices—but only for those willing to adapt.
As Cullen explains, the strategy was not to avoid the disruption, but to lean into it—what he describes as “running into the burning building.”
One of the less visible, but more profound, impacts of the past decade has been psychological.
Years of regulatory pressure, media scrutiny, and structural change have eroded advisor confidence. Many practitioners, even those running successful businesses, have become cautious, risk-averse, and hesitant to grow.
Cullen identifies this as one of the biggest barriers facing the industry today.
“The word is confidence… people need to have confidence… I still see a lack of confidence out there.”
Rebuilding this confidence is not just about mindset—it requires structural support. Advisors need:
Without these foundations, confidence cannot return.
A major source of friction in traditional advice models has been compliance.
Historically, compliance operated as a retrospective process—annual file audits conducted long after advice had been delivered. This approach created tension, inefficiency, and, in many cases, unnecessary stress.
WT Financial Group has taken a fundamentally different approach through its peer review system.
Rather than reviewing advice after the fact, every piece of advice is reviewed upfront—within approximately 36 to 48 hours—before it is delivered to the client.
This shift changes the dynamic entirely:
Importantly, the system is not purely manual. AI is used to enhance the review process, improving both speed and accuracy while allowing human reviewers to focus on higher-level judgment.
The result is a compliance model that feels less like enforcement and more like collaboration.
A recurring theme throughout the discussion is the importance of scale.
Many financial advice practices remain small—often with one or two advisors managing all aspects of the business. While this model offers autonomy, it creates significant inefficiencies.
Every practice, regardless of size, must manage:
For smaller firms, this creates a heavy burden that limits growth.
Cullen argues that scale is the solution—not necessarily through large corporate structures, but through strategic partnerships and consolidation.
Larger, more integrated businesses allow advisors to:
In this model, advisors are encouraged to “be more like Beyoncé”—focusing on performance rather than operations.
Beyond operational efficiency, capital is becoming an increasingly important lever in the evolution of advice businesses.
Through its joint venture (HubCo), WT Financial Group is actively investing in advice practices—providing funding to support growth, acquisitions, and succession planning.
However, this is not traditional private equity.
Key differences include:
The objective is to enable practices to scale while maintaining their identity and leadership.
Cullen emphasises that the most important factor is not the business model, but the person leading it:
“The key attribute we’re looking for is to back an entrepreneur.”
As capital flows into the sector, a clearer picture is emerging of what defines a high-performing advice business.
Common characteristics include:
Equally important is what these businesses avoid.
Practices that struggle to grow often exhibit:
Cullen highlights pragmatism as a critical trait—particularly the ability to adopt better approaches quickly, even when it challenges long-held assumptions.
Despite strong demand, the industry faces a significant bottleneck in attracting new talent.
Recent data highlights the issue:
This reflects a deeper problem with how the profession is positioned and structured.
The current education requirements, particularly the rigid interpretation of “relevant degrees,” have created barriers to entry—limiting both graduate intake and career transition opportunities.
Until these pathways are reformed, growth will rely heavily on improving efficiency within existing teams.
Technology is also reshaping the structure of advice businesses.
Paraplanning, for example, is undergoing a fundamental shift. As AI increasingly automates document production, the role is moving up the value chain—toward strategy, modelling, and client engagement.
This evolution mirrors broader trends across professional services:
For advisors, this means more time spent on client relationships and less on administrative processes.
Despite the challenges, the direction of the industry is becoming clearer.
Growth will not come from incremental improvements—it will come from structural change.
The practices that succeed will be those that:
At the centre of all of this is a simple, but powerful idea.
Confidence.
Not just confidence in markets or products—but confidence in the profession itself, in business models, and in the ability to grow.
As Cullen puts it, after years of disruption, the opportunity is there. The question is whether advisors are ready to take it.