NextWealth Financial Advice Business Benchmarks Report 2025 - Report - Page 5
NextWealth Financial Advice Business Benchmarks Report / October 2025
The 2025 Advice Engine
How con昀椀dent are 昀椀rms in each part of the advice engine?
We asked 昀椀nancial advice professionals to rate their con昀椀dence across the 昀椀ve core components of the advice engine.
The dials below show where 昀椀rms feel strongest today and where they see room for improvement.
Con昀椀dence across the advice engine components
(1-5 scale; higher scores indicate greater con昀椀dence)
Overall
3.9
People & capacity
Clients
4.2
4.2
Business strategy & growth
Tech & ef昀椀ciency
Markets & regulation
4.0
3.6
3.5
Consistent score, new dynamics
Con昀椀dence across the 昀椀ve components paints a familiar
picture: overall at 3.9 out of 5, almost identical to last year.
The strongest scores sit with clients (4.3) and people & capacity
(4.2), re昀氀ecting faith in advisers’ ability to deliver value and
build a long-term career in 昀椀nancial advice. Con昀椀dence in
business strategy & growth is a solid 4.0, while technology (3.6)
and markets & regulation (3.5) remain weaker spots; both tied
to factors seen as beyond 昀椀rms’ direct control.
Taken together, the headline may be stability. But the real
story is in how the overall con昀椀dence score is composed, with
pockets of strength offset by persistent vulnerabilities.
Con昀椀dence in personal career prospects is the strongest
individual aspect this year: 60% are fully con昀椀dent, up from
48% last year. This may re昀氀ect the early rollout of AI tools;
initial fears about job displacement appear to be softening as
advisers start to see AI reduce their administrative load and
free up more time for the client work they value most.
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