The lack of governance and oversight of the self-licensed advice sector could pave the way for the next industry failure.

CoreData Research global CEO Andrew Inwood said the overwhelming majority of self-licensed firms were “exceptional businesses” but there is a sizeable cohort that could cause issues.

“I would argue the next failure is in the individually licensed practices,” Inwood said at the Professional Planner Licensee Summit.

“Let’s say seven out of 10 are great and then two out of 10 it’s a bit hard to see, and one out of 10 they probably shouldn’t be in business. Those numbers are pretty rubbery to be honest, but the capacity for those [few] to destroy value for Australians is relatively significant. I’m not sure how the regulator is going to deal with that.”