The Art Newspaper addresses the epidemic growth of art advisors, especially in Asia:

Jehan Chu, a Hong Kong-based adviser, says that his work largely involves introducing buyers from Asia to the market, and providing them with a “collecting thesis”, in full expectation that they will then be able to shop independently. He says: “The more they feel confident to buy on their own, the more I feel I’ve done my job.”

While Chu, who built his career at Sotheby’s in New York and Hong Kong, has established a good reputation for his business, dealers are frustrated by the modus operandi of other intermediaries, particularly in Asia. “We don’t have any access to mainland China; everything there is done through art advisers. But we insist on knowing where the works are going eventually, which can be difficult,” says Thaddaeus Ropac, of Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac

The rise of the art adviser  (The Art Newspaper)