Webull Australia Upgrades Webull Connect to Tackle Wealth Adviser Capacity Crunch

Webull Australia has introduced a suite of AI-driven and automation tools to its Webull Connect platform, aiming to alleviate the administrative burden on the country’s shrinking pool of financial advisers. As licensed professional numbers drop while assets under advice climb past $1.2 trillion, the update targets operational efficiency through deeper integrations and institutional-grade trading interfaces.

What was announced

The update to Webull Connect focuses on solving the "capacity squeeze" in the Australian advice sector, where adviser numbers have fallen 42% since 2019 to just 15,413. Central to the rollout is Connect AI, an assistant designed to handle routine operational queries and generate portfolio insights. Advisers are currently allocated up to 5,000 queries per month at no cost, with automated client position summaries scheduled for early November.

Technical integrations form a significant part of the release. A collaboration with LAB Group enables bulk client registration, digital onboarding, and portfolio migration, with HIN transfers for multiple clients initiated and tracked in one place. Furthermore, a new integration with Iress Xplan allows for streamlined client portfolio management within existing adviser workflows. For execution, the platform now features a Bulk Trade entry point for building diversified portfolios across the ASX and international markets, alongside the Webull Trade Terminal which provides advanced real-time charting and hotkey routing.

Additionally, the firm launched the Webull Connect Mobile App, providing advised clients with the same interface used by retail traders to track portfolios and market insights. Looking forward, Webull Australia plans to broaden the platform further with access to Japanese markets, regulated cryptocurrency and digital assets, and US bond and fixed income products.

The companies involved

Webull Australia is a subsidiary of Webull Corporation, the NASDAQ-listed (BULL) owner of the global Webull trading platform. Since entering the Australian market, the firm has sought to bridge the gap between retail trading technology and professional wealth management. The company operates in a high-stakes environment; investment platforms in Australia held $1.22 trillion in funds under advice as of March 2026.

To bolster its ecosystem, Webull has partnered with established Australian fintech infrastructure providers. Iress, a major player in financial services technology, provides the Xplan software that is a staple for Australian advisers. Iress maintains a significant market presence, offering software for trading, wealth management, and mortgages. LAB Group, another key partner in this rollout, specialises in digital onboarding and multi-channel new account originations. These partnerships allow Webull to integrate its trading capabilities directly into the established software stacks used by the Australian advice profession, rather than attempting to replace them entirely.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has closely followed the evolution of the wealth and mortgage technology sectors, particularly regarding the integration of data and AI. We recently covered how Iress integrated mortgage sourcing data into the Access FS Elev8 platform, highlighting the company's ongoing strategy of embedding its data into third-party advisory tools. Additionally, the trend of applying AI to the advice sector was underscored by our report on how PlannerPal secured $6m to scale AI client intelligence for wealth sectors. While that focused on the UK market, it reflects a global push toward the "client intelligence layer" that Webull is now pursuing in the Australian market.

What this means

The Australian advice market is currently a paradox: it is wealthier than ever but facing a critical labor shortage. By introducing AI assistants and bulk migration tools, Webull is betting that the "retailization" of professional tools—giving advisers the same high-speed, high-visibility interfaces as retail day traders—will solve the efficiency gap. This move puts pressure on traditional, legacy wealth platforms that have historically been slow to innovate on user experience. The inclusion of regulated crypto and international bonds in future updates suggests a move toward a "single pane of glass" strategy, which could force competitors to either open their ecosystems or risk losing advisers to more agile, tech-first platforms.