Key Takeaways:

• Establish a capable and independent team to ensure the firm can function smoothly without your direct involvement.
• Implement replicable and independent systems to maintain a high level of client service and operational efficiency.
• Prepare a trustworthy successor early, aligning them with your values and ensuring they are equipped to manage your clients and team.

Whether you’re two, five, or 10+ years out from retirement, you’ve likely put some thought into the future of your firm post-retirement. Everyone’s succession plan looks different, but many advisors face a common problem when preparing to enter retirement.

If your firm depends on the relationships you’ve built with your clients (and their kids, grandkids, coworkers, friends, etc.), how could it possibly survive and thrive without you? When you’re so intertwined with your firm’s reputation and operations, you become its beating heart—if you stop working, it does too.

This is, of course, not conducive to a successful transition strategy.

If you’re worried your firm can’t live on without you, now’s the time to make small, yet impactful, changes that can help you enjoy retirement (without losing sleep over the fate of your firm). Here are the four areas we recommend you focus on first.

Your Team

Depending on the size of your firm, you may already have a solid team of support in place. With that being said, consider how involved you currently are in the backend or day-to-day operations. If you were gone tomorrow, could your team continue running the firm without you? Or are you the “glue” that keeps things moving forward in the right direction?

The first step in making your firm more “transferable” in retirement is to encourage your team members to be more independently functional without you. This process will look different for everyone, but it may involve hiring more administrative staff, re-training existing staff to take on new responsibilities, or perhaps a bit of both.

Your Systems

Along the same lines, your staff needs rock-solid systems in place in order to deliver a standardized, high-level client experience.

The key here is that your systems need to be two things: easily replicable and able to exist without you.

If they don’t meet both requirements, your firm’s operations will not be able to carry on without you—even if you have a high-functioning team ready to take the lead.

You may find it difficult to remove yourself from certain processes or workflows, which is why having team members you can trust to maintain your standard of service and attention to detail is critical. This is also a great opportunity to reevaluate your tech stack and find opportunities to automate or standardize processes where possible.

Your Successors 

Of course, if you want your firm to carry on after retirement, you’ll need an advisor (or team of advisors) to take over your book of business. You may already have a person in mind—maybe a child or grandchild, a mentee, or a younger colleague from your professional network.

It’s never too early to start preparing your successor for your eventual transition into retirement, or even for an early death or incapacitation. Communicate your wishes, talk about your investment philosophy, and ensure they’re aligned with your values.

You must be able to trust this person with your clients, your team, and your firm’s reputation—meaning you can’t be too careful or too over-communicative. The more prepared you and your successor are, the smoother your transition to retirement will be.

Your Clients’ Trust

You can do all the preparation in the world with your staff, systems, and successor, but if you don’t have your client’s trust and confidence—your firm will likely suffer after you’re gone.

The key is to keep your clients in the loop on your succession plans and comfortable with the eventual reality of working with a different advisor. How you go about doing this will depend on a number of factors, but it may be as simple as introducing them to your team members and successor and giving them the opportunity to ask questions or address concerns.

To build trust across your book of business, you need to assure your clients that you have a well-thought-out plan and that their experience will not suffer as a result of your retirement.

Let’s Get Your Firm Retirement Ready

Financial advisors face some unique challenges when it comes to building a succession plan for their business. Because of the intimate relationships they develop with clients over the years, it can be difficult to walk away without watching the firm suffer as a result.

The good news is, you can take preventative measures to help your staff, successors, and your clients better adjust to your eventual departure. In my Elite Advisor Success System™, I provide the exact blueprint for implementing systems that ensure your firm thrives—even when you’re not in the office.

If you have questions about the Elite Advisor Program, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team today.