Despite the growing number of retirees, the total number of advisors is on the decline, says Cerulli Associates, in a report released early Tuesday.
"During the past year, advisor headcount has declined by 1.3% due to terminations, retirements and advisors exiting the industry by choice," said Tyler Cloherty, associate director of the Boston-based consulting group, in the report. "We anticipate advisor headcount will continue to decline through 2016."
The five-year compound annual growth rate for the independent channel, for instance, is -5%; when dually registered reps are included, the group's growth rate becomes -2.7%.
Wirehouse firms have a -2.4% growth rate.
Other channels, though, have a better story to tell.
The bank channel is expanding at a 1.5% clip. And the RIA channel, for instance, has a 4.7% five-year compound annual growth rate. When independent reps are included, that number jumps to 4.9%.
The dually registered channel is doing even better, with a 5.3% growth rate.
