Adviser confidence remains buoyant in 2025, despite persistent vulnerabilities created by factors outside of firms’ control and the rise of AI. That’s what our annual deep dive into the driving forces shaping the advice profession in 2025 revealed.
In the NextWealth Financial Advice Business Benchmarks report, which plays back insights from 260 financial advice professionals on the five key areas that influence how their businesses deliver and how they develop, the profession scores confidence in its people and capacity 4.2 out of 5.
This is outranked only by firms’ confidence in how they are servicing, retaining and attracting clients, which scores 4.3 out of 5.
The much-feared tech effect – the decimation of people-filled roles – has not materialised with the introduction of AI-assisted solutions. The much-heralded efficiency gains of AI, on the other hand, are starting to.
Our findings show that firms aren’t replacing people with AI. Instead, firms tell us they are simply re-evaluating backfills when someone leaves, and asking whether automation and AI tools now remove, or reshape, the role.
It also seems that reports of the death of the paraplanner have been greatly exaggerated – 13% of those who are hiring are looking for qualified paraplanners.
That being said, hiring intentions have softened in 2025. Just over one in four firms (27%) plans to grow by adding to their human resource base, a sharp fall from the 40% who said they would be adding to their staff last year.
However, that is perhaps less about shrinking ambition and more about recalibrating in a tech-driven environment.
When it comes to confidence in personal career prospects, we see a marked increase on last year, with the number of advice professionals jumping from 2024’s 48% to 60% in 2025. I point to two likely reasons: regulation and AI.
The biggest disruptive force on financial advice hasn’t been tech or consumer behaviour, but regulation. However, the regulator seems to be cooling its heels after a flurry of major changes. This slowdown gives breathing room to financial advisers who can focus on the job of giving advice.
AI is starting to take the drudgery out of the job for the half of advisers that are using it.
AI tools are being used by half of advisers for meeting notes and many are also now using them to draft suitability reports. Less time on admin and compliance makes the job more rewarding.
Roles in advice firms
Firms with 50 or more advisers operate with roughly one client-facing adviser for every nine colleagues in operations, support, paraplanning and tech, compared with approximately one to four in firms with 2–5 advisers. But the vacancy mix is shifting.
Last year’s demand centred on client-facing advisers and client service roles. This year, financial planning firms are looking to hire support and operations staff, with a small but increasing cohort hiring data specialists – a trend we would expect to see grow.
Across the 260 advice professionals in our sample, IT and data management remain tiny slices of the overall headcount at their firms; 3% and 1% respectively – though both are far more common in larger firms.
And yet, our analysis shows a clear link between satisfaction with data use and commercial confidence.
Respondents who rate their firm’s data practices more highly are also more confident in generating client asset growth, attracting new clients, and in the quality of the tech and tools supporting advice.
Poor data quality is a persistent sticking point for realising the admin efficiencies that tech and AI can offer
In short, better data underpins better growth. That feels like a compelling business case for continued investment in data management – including headcount.
Not every firm wants to be bigger. Though with the reality of ageing client banks firms tell us they need to bring on new clients just to stand still. Others aim to serve the same number of clients, better and more efficiently.
Yet poor data quality is a persistent sticking point for realising the admin efficiencies that tech and AI can offer.
In our report, we describe the advice process as an engine. Poor data quality is to efficiencies what driving with the handbrake on is to fuel economy.
It’s not an issue that is going to go away – it’s a tech issue that needs human intervention, and investment, to fix.
Our research shows that the message is getting through, as data is now firmly on the leadership agenda.
Heather Hopkins is managing director and founder of NextWealth
