The Financial Markets Authority is consulting on its options paper for the Financial Advisers Act review and is holding workshops early next month with stakeholders.

One of the proposals that has caused the most early consternation relates to entity licensing - regulating advice businesses rather than the individual advisers themselves.

Wayne Smith, chief executive of the TripleA Advisers Association, said it could be hard on some and might force some practitioners out of the industry.

"About 70% of our members are sole operators with a further 23% in adviser firms of between two and 10 advisers. Around 60% are AFAs with two-thirds over 50 years of age. Entity licensing will create quite significant costs that will likely advantage large organisations such as banks etc over small adviser firms," he said.

"The result may well be a solid reduction of genuinely independent advisers in the market place over the coming years and that wouldn't be in the best interest of the consumer."

Smith said the demographic make-up of the industry was such that many advisers were nearing retirement.

Depending on what the regulatory review decided, some could be forced out, he said. "I'm not sure there's much of a pipeline of recruitment into the industry like there was, the industry is on watch anyway from a TripleA perspective. We'll have to watch and see what the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment does."

He said that, 10 years ago, many firms brought younger people in to the industry and provided training. "I'm not sure that's happening to the same extent."

He said there could be an opportunity for professional bodies and training organisations to provide training or financial advisers. It would help to have a clearer career path for people interested in the industry, he said.