
5 minute read
Beyond the Exit: Crafting a Powerful Succession Plan That Protects Your Clients and Practice
By Dr. Daralee Barbera
Have you ever had a client look you in the eye and ask, “What happens to me if something happens to you?” Or gently wonder aloud, “Are you ever going to retire?” These are questions that can take any advisor by surprise—but ones that underscore the heart of succession planning. Whether retirement is on the horizon or far off, the time to prepare is now.
Why Succession Planning Can’t Wait
The urgency is real. Over the next decade 37.5 percent of financial advisors plan to retire, representing 109,093 FAs, and 41.5 percent of total assets. A natural group of successors—Next Gen financial professionals—have a rookie failure rate around 72 percent.
Regardless of the reasons, the resulting low retention creates missed opportunities for long-term advisor continuity and lowers the pool of potential successors for retiring advisors. To ensure successful transitions, planning must start with a commitment to attracting, recruiting, building, and retaining the next generation of future successors.
Who Will Carry the Torch?
Finding the right successor is both a strategic and human decision. There must be a cultural fit, shared values, and inspired trust that your clients can count on. Consider these sources of potential successors:
Family and team members interested in getting licensed
Next Gen advisors within your team or network
Diverse candidates, such as rising women advisors
Acquiring advisors through firm-led succession platforms
Advisors aligned with your client philosophy
Women represent a growing and important talent pool of successors. Still underrepresented, just 23.9 percent of CFP® professionals are women. McKinsey & Company reported women are expected to control $30 trillion in U.S. assets by 2030, tripling the $10 trillion they already manage. Nearly 90 percent of women will, at some point in their lives, either manage money on their own, or share financial decision-making.
Yet, despite this growing influence, many women clients still report feeling underserved or misunderstood by the financial services industry. A 2020 New York Life Investments study found that empathy ranked highest among the traits women seek in a financial advisor. They want someone who listens, educates, and communicates clearly, not just someone who manages money.
Female advisors often excel in client retention and multigenerational planning. Advisors like Darci Kelley, Principal of Kelley Family Financial in Tustin, CA, are exemplifying the impact of women-led succession. Kelley’s team of multi-generational women creates a client experience rooted in empathy, continuity, and longterm trust. “Clients appreciate that we have a longevity plan,” Kelley says. “They interact with our entire team and feel confident knowing who will be there for their families in the years ahead.”
Planning with Precision: 5 Key Questions
Once a potential successor is identified, intentional planning is critical. Here are five questions to guide your transition strategy:
Who is the right choice to take over the practice? Evaluate beyond technical competence. Look at values, leadership style, and relational ability.
Why is the acquiring advisor in this profession? Ensure alignment on purpose. Shared mission and long-term vision help avoid costly mismatches.
What makes your practice unique in a competitive marketplace? Define your value, culture, and brand. This helps attract the right successor and retain clients through the transition.
When will clients and staff be introduced to the successor? Phased introductions build trust. Consider joint meetings, co-branded communications, and a clearly communicated transition timeline.
How will relationships be transferred and protected? Create systems for continuity, including a documented client service model, operational SOPs, and a clear hand-off structure.
Be prepared for the possibility that your first successor candidate may not be the right fit. Even when a match seems strong, a “trial period” is wise. Relationships, especially in the financial services profession, are nuanced and personal.
The Role of Mentoring and Coaching
One of the most overlooked components of succession planning is ongoing coaching and mentorship. Transitioning a practice is not just about compliance and contracts, it’s about transferring trust.
Senior advisors can support successors through shadowing opportunities, coaching conversations, and modeling how to navigate the interpersonal aspects of client service. Consider bringing in a certified business coach to help the successor refine leadership presence, communication skills, and client onboarding strategies. This coaching investment often accelerates confidence, fosters cultural integration, and enhances long-term retention.
Just as you’ve helped clients plan their futures, coaching helps the next generation plan, and succeed, in theirs.
A Living, Breathing Plan
Succession planning isn’t a “set it and forget it” task. Your vision, market conditions, and client expectations may evolve. Treat your plan as a living document and revisit it. Ask yourself: Is my successor still the right fit?
Are clients responding well to the transition? Do operational or financial details need adjustment? Is the valuation aligned with current market benchmarks?
It’s never too early, and never too late, to begin.
Legacy Beyond the Numbers
Ultimately, succession planning is not just about valuation or exit timing. It’s about the enduring impact of your work. The relationships you’ve nurtured. The lives you’ve changed. The trust you’ve earned over the years.
When you approach your succession with the same care, intentionality, and leadership that built your business, you do more than create an exit. You create a future that’s grounded in service, stewardship, and significance.
And that future is truly worth leading.

Dr. Daralee Barbera : EdD CFP® CMFC® CLF® ChFC® CEPA® CPBL® CPMBC® is a Certified Master Business Coach, international speaker, professor, author, and consultant,she has over three decades of financial servicesand leadership experience. She is President of DPC, Diversified Professional Coaching, LLC, serves as Program Director of Graduate Leadership at The American College of Financial Services, holds the Joseph-Liddy Chairin Practice Management & Leadership, and is Assistant Professor of Leadership. Dr. Barbera is the 70th recipient of the Will G. Farrell Award, presented by NAIFALA, and she is Past President of the GAMA International Board of Directors. daralee@divprocoach.com