Succession Planning for Financial Advisors
David Grau Sr., JD & the FP Transitions Team • Wiley Finance • 2014
Being an independent financial services professional necessarily implies a commitment to a profession that surpasses a single career; the element of "planning" implies that you're starting something that will not and should not end with your own career. Yet that is exactly what is going to happen to 99% of the financial services practices in this country. Now is the time to address the question of what will happen to your practice and your clients after you "exit the building."
For many independent advisors, succession planning is quickly becoming the cornerstone to a strategic growth strategy designed to perpetuate their business and income streams beyond their own lifetime. This makes succession planning one of the most, if not the most, important practice management tools in this industry today.
There are three simple reasons why you need a succession plan and why you need to start on it now: It is the best way to realize the value of what you've built; it is the best way to recruit next-generation talent to grow your business; and it is the best way to preserve and protect your business, your team, and your clients.