The firm polled 550 advisers and found that they earned an average of £81,500 (€95,423, $101,022) last year, up from £74,000 in 2015 and £62,800 in 2012 ahead of the RDR.
“The advice sector is enjoying sustained client demand which, with a slow build up of adviser supply, has the effect of increasing the incomes of advisers on aggregate.
“In 2016 employed financial advisers earned an average of £81,505. This is a significant rise on 2015 and represents a clear all-time high,” said the latest BWD Census report.
Self-employed advisers earnt even more than their employed counterparts, averaging pay packets of £86,000 in 2016, an increase of 3% on the previous year.
Larger bonuses
Some of the increase in salaries is down to bigger bonuses, showed the BWD research, with average bonuses rising from £17,600 to £20,800 among employed advisers.
Meanwhile, chartered advisers can expect a 7% increase in earnings compared to their level 4 qualified counterparts.
The average age of an adviser is at 45, with 7% of advisers now under 30.
This is a big turnaround, according to the firm as prior to 2014, BWD said it has “almost no evidence” of advisers under the age of 30.
“That is now changing with the growth of graduate intakes, adviser academies and paraplanners converting to adviser or planner status,” said the report.
Gender pay gap
Though the proportion of male advisers fell from 85.2% to 77.5%, they still dominate the industry.
Male advisers earnt significantly more – around 43% – compared to their female counterparts, with the average female adviser reaching £56,935 in 2016.
“Within the adviser market there are two important recurring themes. The low numbers of females, and the low numbers of new entrants. The former issue abides, as does the large income differential, in favour of men,” said BWD.
“The low figure for female advisers is a continued concern, but this year’s figures do show a material increase. Yet it still appears that the sector is not making itself attractive enough to the whole potential workforce.”
Paraplanners
Paraplanners also earnt significantly lower salaries than their adviser colleagues, with total earnings growing 8% in 2016 to an average of £36,200. However, around 60% of paraplanners surveyed expect their income to rise in 2017.
“At the moment there are no plans to make qualifications mandatory for paraplanners but it does seem that in many firms the standing of the paraplanner is on the rise, reflected in a material increase in the earnings of the average paraplanner – now over £36,000.
“We do feel, however, that paraplanner packages have some way to go before they reflect the emergence of this important group of qualified technically-competent individuals,” noted the recruitment firm.
