Average annual comp for advisors up 4%

Measured in terms of qualifications, advisors who are licensed in property/casualty insurance earn on average the most at $162,500. The amount declines to $106,307 and $102,795, respectively, for advisors licensed in life and health/disability income insurance.

Financial professionals who have Series 6 and Series 7 securities licenses earn on average $111,722 and $114,068, respectively. Certified financial planners, by contrast, have a mean annual compensation of $103,923, while chartered financial consultants garner $160,300 on average.

Taking more vacation time does not translate to less pay for sole practitioners, the report adds. Those who take more than 30 days out of the year earn on average $109,244 annually. By comparison, advisors who take off 21-30 days, 15-20 days and 14 or fewer days earn on average $10,212, $89,940 and $99,935, respectively.

Most financial planning firms (96.9 percent) offer at last one type of benefit to their employees. Among those practices with 6-30 employees, life insurance, retirement plans (e.g., 401(k) or pension) and time off/paid leave/sick time are offered by 93.2%, 90.9 percent and 96.2 percent of firms, the report states.

Among firms with 31 or more employees, these benefits are universal. But in practices where there are from one to five employees, the percent of firms offering these benefits decline to 65.8 percent, 77.7 percent and 85.9 percent, respectively.