Why There is No One-Size-Fits-All Financial Advisor Succession Plan

When you start to think about your upcoming retirement and how to make a financial advisor succession plan that works for you, your clients, and your staff, you are likely to start looking for examples of what other advisors have done in the past. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Doing this kind of research can give you some ideas about what your succession plan needs to include and the companies who can help you with your succession planning. What you can’t do, though, is take one advisor’s plan and expect it to work for you. That’s because when it comes to a financial advisor succession plan, each plan needs to be tailored to your particular situation.

Why Every RIA Needs a Tailored Succession Plan

Not everyone wants to retire at the same time.

Some financial advisors are ready to retire at age 65 or even sooner. Others plan on working to some extent until they die or are physically unable to do so. There is no right or wrong age to retire; this is a personal choice that you’ll want to make with your family. It will, however, affect your succession plan and how you execute it. If you know what age you want to retire, you can start implementing your succession plan five or even ten years ahead of time. If you want to work until you are no longer able to do so, you’ll want to develop a succession plan that offloads some areas and prepares your team to take over when they need to do so.

There are business factors to consider.

No two financial advisory businesses are alike. They vary depending on:

• The number of clients they have in their book.
• The average size of their account.
• How many staff members they have.
• Where they are located.
• Their assets.

These along with many other factors will come into play when creating a succession plan. You’ll need to determine what to do with your business, whether you are selling it, closing it down, or merging it with another business, and then take steps to ensure the transition is a smooth one for everyone who is involved.

Your clients are used to a personalized experience.

Clients have a unique relationship with their financial advisor. Most advisors have a personal relationship with their clients that extends beyond some numbers on a screen. Because of that, you’ll want to make sure your financial advisor succession plan takes into account your clients’ needs and makes sure that they are able to access their funds when they need to throughout the transition. You’ll also want to make sure they know their new advisor and are comfortable with them. How and when you do this is going to depend on your personal style and the needs of your clients, both of which are unlikely to be like some other RIAs.

We Can Help You Personalize Your Plan

If you are ready to personalize your succession plan, advisorRETIRE™ can help. Get in touch with our team today and let’s talk about when and how you’d like to retire and make a plan that helps make it happen.