Nearly 40% of financial advisors plan to retire within the next decade, representing 38% of industry headcount and 42% of assets. Yet 26% of these advisors have no clear succession plan.
Only about 6% of independent financial advisors (specifically those planning to retire within the next 10 years) reported having a fully documented succession plan in place
Some older industry surveys paint a somewhat different picture if the definition of “succession plan” is broader (e.g., includes informal planning). For example: A 2018 Financial Planning Association report found that around 27% of financial advisors reported having a formal documented plan. Other surveys indicate higher percentages when including any documented planning, not just comprehensive succession documentation; however, methodologies and populations differ widely.
The 6% figure is most often cited in current industry reporting when discussing fully documented succession plans among independent financial professionals approaching retirement — suggesting that only a small minority of advisors are truly fully prepared for orderly business transition.
We believe that this poses a tremendous risk. The real issue that the majority of these professionals also do not have a documented business continuity plan. If Culture and fit are the primary drivers to a successful succession and only 6% have a documented plan, then professionals must start taking this more seriously.
Most practices today operate as beautifully fragile businesses that generate strong revenue but depend entirely on one person’s presence. Remove that person, and the entire enterprise faces serious risk.
We’ve found that five foundational decisions determine whether you’re building a personal business or a practice that evolves beyond you and thrives through industry change:
1. People: Build Leaders, Not Just Employees
The talent shortage in financial services gets worse every year. Advisors retire faster than new ones replace them, and the rookie failure rate hovers around 72% within the first five years.
Most practices hire for current needs, bringing on support staff to handle paperwork, process applications, and manage client service tasks. The work gets done, but nobody develops into a future leader.
Firms built to last invest differently. They identify potential early, create clear career paths, and provide mentorship that develops next-generation advisors. They share ownership when it makes sense and give emerging talent real responsibility in client relationships.
When your top operational person leaves, can your practice continue without missing a beat? When you take a vacation, does everything keep running smoothly? If the answer is no, you have staff but not a team. You certainly don’t have future leaders.
2. Process: Systematize What You Do Best
Your expertise lives in your head. Your workflows exist because you know how things work, and client experience depends on you remembering what needs to happen next.
None of that scales or survives disruption.
Repeatable processes transform personal expertise into enterprise value, enabling other people to deliver the same quality you would yourself, ensuring consistency across client relationships, and making growth possible without sacrificing service.
Identify your core workflows and building systems that anyone can follow. Which forms do carriers require? What analysis does compliance need before submission? How do you structure client meetings?
Document, automate, and train others to execute without you.
3. Planning: Design the Future Before It Finds You
Most advisors treat business planning as something to address later, with succession planning pushed to the final few years before retirement and continuity planning barely registering as a priority.
But that approach creates massive risk.
Business continuity planning protects your practice from the disruptions you can’t predict, including health issues, key staff departures, technology problems, and client transitions.
Succession planning builds on that foundation, creating the roadmap for intentional transition that preserves relationships, maximizes value, and gives you control over the process.
Firms that plan early make better decisions, adapt faster when change comes, and build more valuable businesses..
Think of continuity and succession planning as tools for growth, valuation, and client trust that you can use from day one.
4. Purpose: Know Why You Exist Beyond Revenue
Revenue measures performance. But purpose drives longevity.
The practices that last generations have a clear mission that transcends making money. They know why they exist, what they stand for, and what makes them different, operating from a clarity that creates cultural cohesion.
Clients stay because they connect with your values, not just your performance. Team members stay because they believe in the mission, not just the paycheck.
When your purpose is clear, all of your decisions become easier. Hiring becomes more selective. Client selection becomes more deliberate. Growth becomes more sustainable.
Can you articulate why your firm exists in one clear sentence? Can your team?
5. Positioning: Stand for Something in the Marketplace
Generic positioning creates forgettable firms. Distinctive positioning creates lasting ones.
The practices that endure for generations are ultra clear about how they’re different, who they serve best, and what experience their clients can expect. They build authentic stories that resonate with the right people.
You don’t need a tiny niche, but you do need a point of view. Stand for something specific and create an identity worth remembering.
Strong positioning is strategic differentiation that makes your practice defensible against competition and valuable to the clients who need exactly what you offer.
The Silver Oak Perspective
At Silver Oak, we champion supported independence because we believe advisors should have the freedom to make these five decisions and the resources to sustain them.
You became independent to build something meaningful. You need the operational support, technology infrastructure, and strategic guidance to create a practice that lasts beyond you.
Pairing autonomy with infrastructure lets you focus on relationships and growth while building systems that endure. You’re not alone in managing complexity; you have direct access to specialists who understand your business and technology that scales with you.
The firms that last a century make intentional choices about people, process, planning, purpose, and positioning. They build with the end in mind from the beginning.
Start making those decisions today, and you’ll build a practice that endures.