Australia's financial services industry, including the insurance and superannuation sectors, is likely to increase adviser numbers to meet expected demand for scaled advice, according to a report.
An IBISWorld financial planning and investment report, released last month, predicted up to 15 per cent of financial planners would provide scaled advice by 2016/17.
The report, "Planning for change: The industry's future holds serious structural upheavals", found only 2 per cent of Australia's around 17,000 advisers provided scaled advice.
"This is expected to rise to 10 per cent to 15 per cent by 2016/17," the report said.
The significant rise in scaled advice interest was "largely due" to the costs associated with holistic advice under the new fee-for-service remuneration regime, it said.
"Many individuals will not be able to afford a fee in the range of $2500 to sit with an [adviser] who is an expert on a wide range of financial products," it said.
"Financial institutions such as insurance or superannuation specialists are expected to expand adviser numbers to provide advice to clients pertaining to a specific area.
"Due to the relatively low cost of scaled advice, demand is expected to grow when the new fee structure is implemented."
The forecast increase in scaled advice is in line with the researcher's earlier prediction that revenues across the financial planning and investment sector would rise by 10 per cent in the next five years.
The report, released earlier this year, also predicted that profit across the industry would improve.
"[It will increase] from 37.7 per cent of revenue in 2011/12 to a forecast 44.5 per cent in 2016/17 as high demand for financial advice and a rebounding investment market bring about a period of prosperity for financial planners and investment advisers," IBISWorld industry analyst Tim Stephen said at the time.
The industry was entering a new era after it had "barely recovered" from the global financial crisis, Stephen said.
While elements of the sector had begun to turn around, industry revenue was expected to decline by 4 per cent a year in the half decade through 2011/12, he said.
As well as making comment on the sector's revenue, the report also predicted there would be about 17,300 financial advisers in the industry in 2011/12.
The figure is expected to grow by 1.3 per cent a year over the five years through 2011/12, despite industry revenue contracting.
