If a client's portfolio manager dies or abruptly retires,
who will be in charge of the client's money, and what will
happen to the practice the client has relied on? Will there be a
hurried merger with another firm? Alternatively, will there be
others in the firm who can step up?
Advisory firms have wrestled with succession planning for years.
According to industry sources, more than one in three investment
firm owners are planning to exit the business by
2025.[1] Although succession planning has become more
common within advisory firms in recent years, industry sources
suggest that only 40 percent of firms either have a succession plan
in place or are prepared to implement a plan.[2]
However, forward-thinking investment advisers have been planning
for succession and adopting tailored succession plans. A recent
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposal attempts to make
this trend toward forward thinking a requirement for all
SEC-registered investment advisers
