CFS 2025 Advice Practice Profitability Report shows advisers’ growth ambitions outpace capacity, but platform efficiency is closing the gap
Bryce Quirk
Australia’s financial advice practices want to serve more clients but are constrained by capacity and process inefficiencies, according to the 2025 Advice Practice Profitability Report, commissioned by Colonial First State (CFS) and conducted by Empower Business Advisory.
Drawing on insights from more than 500 advisers and support staff, the report delivers a comprehensive view of the operational realities, strategic priorities, and growth ambitions shaping Australia’s financial advice practices.
Despite ambitions to expand client relationships, advisers are falling short of growth targets and managing only marginally more clients. The average adviser now manages 112 ongoing clients, up from 110 in 2024, and aspires to serve 152. Fewer than one in five (18%) say they are at their ideal number of clients or looking to reduce them.
When asked about the barriers to serving more clients, an increasing proportion of advisers are finding themselves or their client service teams operating at full capacity, climbing from 35% in 2024 to 42% in 2025. Inefficiencies in providing advice, such as producing statements of advice, is the next most cited barrier at 27%.
Building more profitable practices is the top strategic priority for advisers over the next three years (54%), followed by increasing capacity to serve more clients (50%) and streamlining processes (44%).
“Advisers want to serve more clients and streamline operations, yet capacity constraints are rising. This highlights a critical dynamic – platform selection is a strategic enabler of growth,” said Bryce Quirk, Group Executive Distribution, Colonial First State.
“The 2025 Advice Practice Profitability Report shows that advisers using CFS FirstChoice serve 30% more ongoing clients than those on other platforms, while maintaining strong profitability. FirstChoice outperforms the industry average across each of the business impact metrics tracked in the study, with its strongest lead in adviser satisfaction for lowering the cost of serving clients, reducing business complexity, and supporting simpler advice strategies,” added Mr Quirk.
Platforms will play a key role in boosting advisers’ operational capacity, with more practices planning technology stack reviews (28%, up from 22% in 2024) and better system integration (32%, up from 23%).
Advisers using CFS’s FirstChoice as their primary platform reported serving an average of 139 clients compared to the 107 served by advisers using other platforms. This is achieved through operational efficiencies delivered by the platform, with features such as the client onboarding tool launched in 2024 saving an average of 31% of the time required to establish an individual account and 36% for a family with three or more accounts.
Advisers who use FirstChoice Managed Accounts extensively, defined as using managed accounts with at least 80% of their clients, report positive business outcomes that directly benefit clients. These include helping to keep advice fees low (85%), reducing business complexity (90%), and providing an effective solution for clients with simpler advice needs (92%).
“Building more streamlined and profitable practices is a key strategic priority for most advice firms, with the majority focused on simplifying operations and increasing revenue per client over the next three years,” said Recep Peker, Managing Director of Empower Business advisory. “Many see platforms playing an essential role in expanding their operational capacity, and want to partner with those offering robust, consistent processes that give them the confidence to scale sustainably and achieve their growth ambitions.”
“Advisers are also looking to reinvest their efficiency gains back into their businesses and clients. Beyond serving more clients, they say greater capacity would allow them to refine their business models and strengthen their value proposition to clients, while also achieving better work-life balance for themselves and their teams,” said Mr Peker.
