Financial advice firms taking on more clients while switching off ongoing fees

Financial advice firms are taking on more clients and staff, while creating deeper relationships with existing clients, new research from NextWealth shows.

At the same time, many are switching off ongoing fees for some clients, as growth ambition runs alongside a closer look at sustainable growth and economies of scale.

The survey of 318 financial advice professionals finds that 64% work at firms planning to grow by taking on new clients, with 53% looking at growing assets from existing clients. Organic growth from new or existing clients is currently a major driver of change within the firm for 47% of those surveyed.

Just under half (49%) say they are personally serving more clients than a year ago. This is the highest share since 2021 and up from 47% in 2025. That expansion is taking place alongside proactive changes to client books, as financial advice firms look to make more deliberate decisions. These include which clients need a full ongoing advice service or which can be served differently, and where digital, simplified or target support might provide another route.

In the past 12 months more than two in five (44%) advisers surveyed work at firms that have switched off ongoing advice fees for clients who no longer fit the core service or pricing model. The report also finds a growing trend of moving clients to new propositions, such as those offered by more junior advisers, a different fee model or a hybrid offering.

Adviser confidence is up year-on-year across eight of the nine metrics covered. The upward shift was greatest on fairness of fees, the ability to generate asset growth and stability of the economy. Confidence is strongest where firms have the most control, such as understanding client needs. Confidence falls when the focus moves to the wider environment around the firm: technology, markets and regulation.

Adviser capacity

Underpinning growth ambitions is the question of capacity. Seven in 10 (70%) expect their firm’s adviser headcount to rise over the next year, with nearly half (47%) expecting the number of paraplanners to increase.

But capacity is not just about adviser numbers. On average, onboarding a client takes 32 hours of staff time and 62 hours a year to support.

AI is becoming part of the advice relationship and is moving into the mainstream, although current use remains focused on practical tasks such as meeting notes, summaries and follow up. However, with clients also using AI to test questions and recommendations between meetings, the adviser’s role includes explaining where it might fall short and helping the client decide what to trust.

Emma Napier, consulting director at NextWealth, commented: “The question running through this year’s benchmarks is what kind of growth financial advice firms are creating.

“Most firms want more clients. They are adding tech and tools while also hiring people to support that growth. Financial advisers are personally serving more relationships than at any point since 2021.

“These firms are also making deliberate decisions about which clients fit their ongoing service model. They are delivering sustainable growth while meeting client needs. For some, this means turning off ongoing fees for some clients, moving others to different propositions and charging models.

“This means a firm can be expanding one area of the business and tightening in another at the same time. Those decisions increasingly come from an explicit examination of what different clients cost to serve.

“The number of clients an adviser can support is a function of the whole delivery team. Paraplanners, researchers, client services and compliance account for most of the hours involved in bringing a client on and supporting them through the year. Firms are investing in people and technology together and AI is changing how the work gets done.”