The FMA has released its second annual report analysing the regulatory returns FAPs are required to submit.
It said it provided insight into the trends and themes of the sector, and where regulatory focus might be needed.
There were 1553 filings from FAPs in 2025, up 10 percent from the last report, in 2024.
That covered 9198 financial advisers and 11,019 nominated representatives as well as 1018 authorised bodies. Across the FAPs, they were serving 4.6 million retail clients and 52,942 wholesale clients.
Most FAPs engaged 19 or fewer advisers and the most common business structure was a single-adviser FAP. About half of all FAPs only had one adviser and 78 had none, which the FMA said could indicate they were operating as individuals giving advice or via digital advice.
Only three had more than 500 advisers.
The average age of financial advisers was 47 and 52 percent were aged between 31 and 50. Only 15 percent were over 60. It was most common for them to hold a level five certificate in financial services.
The report showed 30 percent of FAPs had more than $50 million in funds under advice.
Across the sector, 40,646 complaints were received in 2025, of which 593 were escalated to a dispute scheme and 49 were upheld.
The FMA said digital advice activity grew dramatically over the past year with the estimated number of clients receiving digital advice increasing by 90 percent, from around 86,500 in 2024 to more than 164,800 in 2025. The number of financial advice providers offering advice through digital facilities also increased by 21 percent, reflecting greater use of digital channels to reach and serve clients.
Clare Bolingford, FMA executive director licensing and supervision, said the data shows both an evolving market and emerging areas of focus.
“Regulatory returns are essential for the FMA, so we can focus our regulatory effort where the risks and opportunities are greatest. We also want financial advice providers to benefit from the summary of these returns, so they can drive improvement into their own business. The continued growth in adviser numbers, alongside the rapid increase in the uptake of digital advice, shows how the sector is evolving.”
There were fewer reported complaints to financial advice providers than the previous year. While more complaints were escalated to dispute resolution schemes, the number of complaints upheld fell significantly and almost all complaints were resolved within three months.
When compiling the report, the FMA identified issues with inaccurate and incomplete returns submissions from some advice providers.
“Accurate and timely regulatory returns are a regulatory requirement. We depend on high quality data from these returns to effectively oversee advisers, ensure they meet their obligations, and support fair outcomes for consumers,” Bolingford said.
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