Speaking in the Future Leaders theatre, Hegarty argued that the challenge is already being felt and that newer advisers have more responsibility for solving it than they might think.
“The future of mortgage advice won’t be decided by who retires,” he said. “It’ll be decided by who we invest in, who we develop and who we support next. Many of those people are probably in this room today.”
Hegarty chairs the New Talent Alliance, an industry body focused on attracting and retaining talent across the advice sector, and has used Freedom of Information requests to the FCA to scrutinise the data behind commonly cited workforce figures. FCA intermediary market data shows just over 34,000 advisers giving mortgage advice across approximately 4,500 firms. An age breakdown obtained through FOI requests reveals that advisers under 40 have fallen by double-digit percentages over the past three years, while those over 60 have increased by a similar margin. Almost exactly 40% are now over 50.
“Fewer than 2% of mortgage advisers are under the age of 25,” Hegarty noted. “Quite a shocking statistic.”
He cautioned that capacity loss will outpace formal retirements, as older advisers reduce hours and narrow their focus before they formally exit. “The overall market capacity reduces before formal retirement even occurs.”
Demand for advice is not falling, Hegarty noted. Outstanding residential mortgage lending reached approximately £1.7 trillion in early 2026, its highest ever level, and the complexity of that advice is increasing alongside it. Borrowers are older, terms are longer, and self-employed and non-standard cases are more frequent than ever. Later life lending is growing rapidly, bringing heightened suitability considerations that require genuine professional judgment.
“Product knowledge alone is not sufficient,” Hegarty said. “It reinforces why advice cannot be fully automated and why human judgment remains central.”
He warned that if the profession fails to manage the transition well, consumers will feel it – with research suggesting a significant proportion of clients disengage from advice entirely when their adviser retires, which in a mortgage context can mean navigating remortgaging, later life borrowing or financial difficulty without support.
Hegarty’s message to the room was clear: newer advisers are not passive observers of this problem, they are the solution, and the timeline is shorter than they expect.
He urged newer advisers to start thinking about mentoring long before they feel experienced enough for the role. “Mentoring doesn’t require decades of experience. It begins with the willingness to share knowledge. Culture and standards are passed peer to peer, not imposed by regulation.”
On technology, he said that AI and automation will handle more low-risk work, but accountability stays with the adviser, adding: “Professional judgment cannot be delegated to algorithms.”
He closed by encouraging advisers to consider the future of the industry as they progress in their own careers: “As you build your careers, make space to support others coming through behind you. Share learning early. Normalise mentoring. Confidence is built person to person. It’s not a recruitment problem – it’s a leadership responsibility.”
Mortgage Adviser Event London took place on 19th May at Magazine London, bringing together advisers, lenders and mortgage professionals from across the industry. The Future Leaders theatre offered dedicated content aimed at supporting the next generation of professionals entering the UK mortgage industry.
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