
The Sell and Stay® approach to selling a financial services business was developed by the professionals at FP Transitions to fulfill the preference of many sellers to gradually exit the business by giving up their ownership obligations while continuing to service clients and earn an income. This arrangement can be customized in a hundred different ways, but often entails an owner selling the majority–or all–of their ownership to a third-party buyer and remaining as an employee of the business for a set number of years (typically 3-5) before fully exiting.
Buyers who are open to this type of transaction not only access a larger acquisition pool, but can enjoy other unique advantages as well. You, of course, enjoy all the benefits of a traditional acquisition: immediate growth, available financing options, expansion into different areas and niches, and economies of scale. In addition, the acquisition can help you tackle some other areas of your long-term growth strategy through:
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- Client Continuity and Retention
- Turn-key Practice / Office
- Talent Acquisition
- Reduced Training Costs
- New Competencies and Service Offerings
- Institutional Knowledge
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Topics:
Acquisition,
Deal Structure,
Buying & Selling,
Sell and Stay™

Today’s Independent financial advisors face an endless array of challenges and opportunities. Identifying challenges before they arise is key for finding solutions and developing strategies for tackling the issues that present the greatest opportunities for improvement and growth.
The four biggest opportunities are:
- Balancing Growth and Profitability
- Recruiting and Retaining Talent
- Creating Business Sustainability
- Growth Through Mergers and Acquisitions
Balancing Growth and Profitability
Growth and profitability are inextricably linked and balancing the two within a single practice is the difference between building a one-generational practice and a multi-generational, sustainable enterprise.
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Topics:
Compensation,
Succession Planning,
Acquisition,
Business Growth,
Mergers,
Talent Recruitment,
Sustainability,
Enterprise

Equity-based compensation provides an excellent solution for practice owners who need a reward system that goes beyond the traditional salary/bonus structure and shares the economic value of equity, but not equity itself.
A critical element in the success of any small business is its ability to recruit, reward, and retain talented advisors and support staff. To this end, equity compensation is often used to achieve these goals. Synthetic equity is a tool set that can provide ownership-level benefits without buying or selling actual stock in an advisory business.
To be clear, the process of transforming a single-owner practice into a sustainable business generally relies on equity. Equity, or stock, is what next-generation advisors invest in, and over time and with hard work benefit from, above and beyond what compensation alone can provide. Equity is the shareholder value created in a business managed from a bottom-line up perspective with a focus on earnings or profits as the ultimate financial goal. Equity is a powerful building and motivational tool, but with the opportunities come obligations. Because of these obligations, buying or selling equity isn’t the only way to offer key employees ownership-like benefits, nor is it always the best option.
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Topics:
Succession Planning,
Equity,
Multi-Generational Ownership,
Business Growth,
Talent Recruitment
Even with market volatility over the past few months, the marketplace for financial advisory businesses has remained strong. FP Transitions is pleased to announce the recent sales of financial services businesses in the following areas :
- Palm Beach, FL | $6,000,000
- Houston,TX | undisclosed
- North Carolina | undisclosed
- Rhode Island | $1,500,000
- San Francisco Area, CA | undisclosed
- South Carolina | $3,600,000
- Sacramento Area California | undisclosed
- Atlanta Area, GA | undisclosed
- Miami Area, FL | $350,000
- Lafayette Parish, LA | undisclosed
- Rhode Island | $700,000
- Houston, TX | $1,100,000
- Chicago Area, IL | $120,000
- Northwestern, TX | $450,000
- Boston Area, MA | undisclosed
- Florida Panhandle | undisclosed
- Tampa Area, FL | $750,000
- North Carolina | $450,000
- Michigan | $1,200,000
VIEW CURRENT LISTINGS HERE
LIST YOUR PRACTICE WITH FP TRANSITIONS
![State of the Market: Outlook for Advisory Firm Valuations [Webinar Replay]](https://www.fptransitions.com/hs-fs/hubfs/CTAs/state-of-the-market-replay-cta.jpg?width=631&name=state-of-the-market-replay-cta.jpg)
Sold announcements include all closed third-party transactions facilitated by FP Transitions, including private listings, pre-arranged matches, and those listed on the open market.
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Topics:
Selling Your Practice,
Acquisition,
Buying & Selling,
SOLD

The last thing any business owner and professional needs is to deal with more ambiguity and uncertainty than the global situation has already dealt us. In our highly regulated industry, many advisors are asking questions about how to keep their teams safe and do their part to "flatten the curve" while remaining compliant in operations and client communication. Many industry experts and institutions are weighing in on how to maintain business continuity, protect your clients, and remain compliant during the COVID-19 pandemic. Below are some of the resources we found most valuable on these subjects:
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Topics:
Industry News,
Continuity,
Compliance,
Leadership

Many things are up in the air right now, and we’re all experiencing major changes to the way we live our lives. It’s no wonder that investors—and advisors—are wondering the best course of action as markets fluctuate and many businesses can’t operate as usual. Many industry leaders (including our own experts) are sharing their advice on how to mitigate uncertainty and provide valuable guidance to investors. Below you'll find some of the articles we've found most impactful:
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Topics:
Industry News,
Leadership

Things have been changing for years, more and more people work from home and do so productively. Gone are the days, for many industries, where being in an office is a requirement. As technology continues to improve and online communications have become a daily occurrence, full-time employees around the country have had more freedom and flexibility, often able to work from any location.
Businesses around the world are asking employees to work from home in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. This is an excellent policy for public health, but how do you work from home without sacrificing productivity and client satisfaction? We've culled the internet and found helpful advice from people who know how to do it right.
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Topics:
Business Growth,
Industry News,
Leadership
As industry leaders in designing and facilitating internal succession plans for financial advisory firms, the leadership team at FP Transitions has its own talented, multigenerational ownership team in place. Our next-generation leaders have unique strengths and perspectives that keep our business constantly innovating and growing.
“If you could give one piece of advice to prospective G2 candidates what would it be?”
“Build up your skillset.”
Being an owner is about more than just advising clients and producing revenue. You need to look at–and contribute to–the broader picture. Know where your knowledge gaps are and spend time understanding these areas to expand your contributions to the business. Owners may focus their expertise in one or two areas, but to be successful they need to have a solid understanding in every aspect of running a business.
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Topics:
Succession Planning,
Multi-Generational Ownership,
Next Generation
Building a sustainable business requires reaching across the generation gap and tapping into the energy and talent of younger professionals.
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Topics:
Business Growth,
Culture,
Next Generation,
Talent Recruitment
As we jump into 2020–a new decade!–we are proud to look back and see so much success in growth and transitions for our clients. In 2019, FP Transitions facilitated a variety of business growth goals for our community of advisors through strategies that Included internal succession, enterprise structuring, sustainable business growth, mergers, and external sales.
We'll soon be releasing our M&A data and observations from 2019, so stay tuned!
Over the last year helped facilitate external and internal transitions all over the country, including in :
We're also pleased to announce that we closed out the year with sales of financial services businesses in the following areas!
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Topics:
Selling Your Practice,
Acquisition,
Buying & Selling,
SOLD