NextWealth Financial Advice Business Benchmarks Report 2025 - Report - Page 17
NextWealth Financial Advice Business Benchmarks Report / October 2025
Figure 18: Scale = support: large 昀椀nancial advice 昀椀rms run 1:9 adviser-to-support staff
No. of advisers
2-5
6-50
More than 50
Q Approximately how many individuals are employed at your 昀椀rm in each of the following roles?
Planning process
Preparing for an annual review takes 4.8 staff hours on
average across advisers, paraplanners and admin. Smaller
昀椀rms with 2–5 advisers report 3.9 hours, while the largest (50+
advisers) take 7.2 hours. The gap likely re昀氀ects leaner, more
agile work昀氀ows in smaller practices versus legacy systems
in larger 昀椀rms. As tech and automation mature, the goal is to
cut back-of昀椀ce effort and reinvest time in what only humans
can do: delivering insight, building trust and deepening client
understanding.
Figure 19: Annual review prep: 4.8 hours on average, but 50% longer at larger 昀椀rms
No. of advisers
Q Approximately, how many human hours are spent to prepare for an annual review
(including time spent by admin, paraplanner)?
17
