Monday 2nd March 2026
Capacity planning: how many clients can your practice really serve well?
The future of advice will involve solving capacity constraints through smarter systems and better use of technology.
As the leaders of any financial advisory firm knows, understanding the limits of client capacity has become a strategic imperative. Adviser numbers have stabilised around 15,000 and demand for advice continues to grow. Practices must therefore carefully balance growth ambitions against the reality of what they can deliver with excellence.
The numbers behind capacity
Recent industry research provides valuable benchmarks for practices assessing their capacity. According to the 2025 Advice Practice Profitability Report from Colonial First State and Empower Business Advisory, the average financial adviser currently serves 112 ongoing clients, up marginally from 110 in 2024. These advisers aspire to serve 152 clients on average, provided they can overcome their business hurdles.
The gap between current capacity and growth ambitions is significant. Only 18 per cent of advisers report being at their ideal number of clients or seeking to reduce relationships. Among the rest, the desire to add an average of 51 additional clients highlights the scale of unrealised potential within the profession.
Data from the Advisely Index Report, a benchmarking tool developed by Iress and Business Health, reveals what high-performing practices achieve. The top 10 per cent of practices service 186.9 clients per adviser, compared to 133.6 for the remaining majority of businesses. This 40 per cent difference demonstrates that capacity constraints are often operational rather than inherent to the advice model itself.
Why capacity constraints are intensifying
The CFS report found that capacity constraints have increased from 35 per cent to 42 per cent of advisers citing this as a key hurdle to growth between 2024 and 2025. This trend reflects several converging pressures on practices.
Inefficiencies in providing financial advice remain among the most commonly cited obstacles to serving more clients, particularly the time required to generate Statements of Advice (SOAs) and Records of Advice (ROAs). An increasing share of advisers find themselves or their client service teams operating at full capacity.
The 2024 Australian Financial Advice Landscape Report from Adviser Ratings notes that while adviser numbers have stabilised, the proportion planning to leave the industry has fallen to seven per cent, from 10 per cent in 2022. Those remaining are expanding their client bases, utilising technology and outsourcing to handle increased workloads more effectively.
What top performers do differently
The Advisely Index findings reveal that high-performing practices achieve superior capacity through operational discipline rather than simply working longer hours. Top-performing advice businesses conduct 6.9 client meetings per adviser each week, versus 5.8 for the overall average.
These practices also maintain impressive profitability. Top advice practices achieve an average pre-tax profitability of 47 per cent, while the industry overall sits at 38 per cent. Adviser Ratings data confirms that the most optimal firms report profit margins of 40 per cent or higher, typically requiring revenue above $1 million to achieve such profitability.
Efficiency in document production distinguishes the best from the rest. Top performers are 45 per cent quicker at producing basic SOAs, 48 per cent quicker at producing complex SOAs, and 58 per cent quicker at producing review documents.
Strategic approaches to building capacity
For practices seeking to serve more clients sustainably, several strategic priorities have emerged as essential.
Streamlining back-office operations and improving integration of systems have become key strategic priorities for advisers in 2025. The CFS research found that platforms play a critical role in helping increase capacity. Advisers are ready to reinvest efficiency gains into their clients and businesses, with many saying they would expand their client base, enhance their business model and strengthen their value proposition.
Technology adoption has accelerated dramatically. According to Adviser Ratings, 45 per cent of practices are using or planning to use AI, while 64 per cent have implemented digital applications for efficiency gains. Notably, tech-savvy practices now operate with 55 per cent fewer staff while maintaining high service standards.
The shift toward managed accounts has gained significant traction, helping advisers scale without proportionally increasing administrative burden. Client onboarding represents another opportunity, with some platforms now enabling advisers to save more than 30 per cent of the time required to onboard individual client accounts.
Finding your optimal capacity
There is no universal answer to how many clients a firm can serve well. The optimal number depends on service model complexity, client demographics, technology utilisation and team structure. A practice specialising in pre-retirees with straightforward needs will have different capacity than one focused on complex SMSF strategies for high-net-worth families.
What the data makes clear is that most practices have significant room to grow their capacity without compromising service quality. The gap between current client numbers and stated aspirations suggests that addressing operational inefficiencies could unlock substantial value for both advisers and the Australians seeking their guidance.
As the profession continues its evolution, practices that invest deliberately in systems, technology and processes will be best-positioned to serve more Australians while maintaining the personalised service that defines quality financial advice.
Jamie Nemtsas is founder of advice firm Wattle Partners and the executive chair of The Inside Network.
