Local Guide Wanted: Navigating the New Advisor Transition Landscape
Change is constant, and in the area of financial advisor transitions, it’s accelerating–and I don’t think advisors actually grasp how fast.
Most of the advisors I talk to know the space is changing, but they just don’t realize how much it has. They talk to a friend who made a move last year. They remember something a recruiter said two and a half years ago. Maybe they’ve read a press release or skimmed a LinkedIn announcement.
It’s not their fault. Advisors are busy running businesses, serving clients, and building legacy. They don’t have time to track every change in pricing structures, every shift in firm ownership, or every new platform that quietly enters the space. The industry is evolving too fast, and the headlines are quite literally just the tip of the iceberg.
So, when it comes time to evaluate options, most advisors are working off a half-baked map. Better yet, I picture those early America maps where they had a general idea of where things were, but if you actually needed it to get somewhere, the lack of accuracy could prove problematic. And in this business, that lack of clarity can cost 6-7 figures incredibly easily.
The solution isn’t more Google searches or conversations with friends who moved firms in 2021. It’s not asking your current BD to re-pitch you on why you’re already in the right place. The solution is to have someone sitting on the same side of the table with you who lives and breathes the transition marketplace. (more fiduciary recruiters, anyone?)
I don’t pretend to be a financial advisor. I wouldn’t walk into your office and try to run your portfolios, but I do this work the same way you do yours. Trust the ones who are putting in the reps: full-time, head down, obsessively focused on details that other people would find painfully boring. I build models. I analyze platforms. I follow compliance updates on weekends. I talk with other independent recruiters and M&A consultants around the country to sharpen my understanding of what’s really happening in real time.
Why? Because the reality is this: every month, something changes.
A firm that was offering 50 basis points in transition assistance last quarter is now offering 75. An OSJ that said they’d never sell just sold a minority stake. A platform that seemed cutting-edge two years ago is now struggling to retain talent. As a result, the advisor who thinks he has a handle on the landscape is making decisions based on assumptions that are already outdated.
I’m not saying you need to make a move. I’m saying you deserve to have the full picture before deciding whether to stay or go. In this moment of consolidation, noise, and new capital, there’s a real difference between hearing something through the grapevine and actually knowing your options.
If you're going to make a decision this big—don’t rely on a secondhand map. Get someone who knows the terrain.