Succession Planning Lessons from Warren Buffett

By 2034, the industry could face a shortage of 90,000 to 110,000 advisors — roughly 30% to 37% of current headcount — at current productivity levels, according to McKinsey. McKinsey also estimates that the number of advised relationships will grow at least 28% over the next decade, from 53 million today to at least 67 million by 2034. Meanwhile, Cerulli Associates projects that $84.4 trillion in wealth will transfer across generations through 2045, with $72.6 trillion going directly to heirs. 

But the much-discussed advisor talent shortage isn’t a supply problem; plenty of capable, motivated people want to build careers in this industry. The gap is in development.

Experienced advisors aren’t building environments that foster next-gen talent, and that’s a missed opportunity.

The demand curve is steep and rising, while the curve heads in the opposite direction. The advisors best positioned to capitalize on the impending chasm are the ones preparing to exit. Many of them have 30 or 40 years of experience, strong books of business, and hard-won knowledge that took decades to accumulate. If that knowledge walks out the door with them, no amount of recruiting will make up for it.

Why Firms That Want to Win Can’t Wait

Most advisors hire reactively, waiting until they’re stretched thin and then searching for a unicorn employee who can contribute immediately. But as experienced advisors continue to exit, waiting is no longer a viable option. 

Younger advisors need time to learn the work. They need to observe client conversations before they lead them and make mistakes in low-stakes situations before they’re trusted with complex ones. The kind of growth required to excel in our profession doesn’t happen within a six-month runway. It builds over years, and only when a senior advisor makes an intentional commitment to teach.

Hiring early is also a retention strategy. Research consistently shows that client attrition spikes sharply when a practice changes hands without built-in continuity. A client who has met your junior advisor, worked with them on smaller matters, and trusts them is less likely to walk away when leadership eventually transitions. 

What to Look for in a Next-Gen Candidate

Resist the urge to hire a finished product. This goal is to find someone who can learn, not someone who already knows everything. 

The traits that characterize advisory success in this role are less technical than you might expect: curiosity, communication skills, coachability, work ethic, and comfort discussing difficult or sensitive matters with clients. 

Test for these things directly. Ask candidates to explain a financial concept to you as if you’re a first-time investor. Have them sit in on a client meeting and debrief afterward. Give them a real scenario, not a theoretical one, and see how they approach it. What you’re evaluating is more about judgment and the willingness to grow than knowledge parroted back from a course or textbook. 

Invest in Development

Even advisors with the best mentoring and career development intentions can get sidetracked by the week-to-week demands of running a practice. But that leaves a junior advisor adrift, uncertain, and more likely to leave the profession entirely.

Build mentorship into a structured schedule with dedicated weekly touchpoints, gradual client exposure marked by clear milestones, and a defined progression of responsibility, so the junior advisor always knows what they’re working toward. 

One advisor recently shared a set of leads he’d ignored for nearly a decade with a younger colleague on his team, who had the knowledge and confidence to start working them. Now the senior advisor is more engaged in his own business than he’s been in years, and referrals have started flowing again. The mentorship benefited the senior advisor, the junior colleague, the leads who are now being advised, and the firm itself.

The Business Impact of Cultivating the Next Generation

Nearly 38% of today’s advisors are expected to retire within the next decade. Advisors who invest in developing younger talent will be able to capture the demand from the impending exit wave while retaining existing clients. 

Hiring a junior advisor isn’t a favor to the industry; it’s a strategic decision that expands your capacity, deepens your client relationships, and increases the long-term value of what you’ve built. Every experienced advisor who commits to developing one person creates a multiplier effect that the industry desperately needs.