SEC · FINRA · BROKERCHECK

For advisors considering a transition to a better solution.

Discover how normal it is to transition, and whether a transition is right for you.

Are you considering a transition?

Yes Not yet

About 30 seconds. Nothing hits your firm. No recruiter ever calls.

01 · WHY ADVISORS TRANSITION

Why experienced advisors start considering a transition.

It is rarely one event. More often, the business model stops supporting the practice they have built or the one they want to build next.

The payout grid changes again. The firm is acquired and the culture changes. Support declines as the practice grows. The platform limits how clients can be served. Deferred compensation starts to feel like a lock. The advisor built a valuable book they may not fully own. Succession options are unclear. The next generation has no path to equity. Technology decisions are made without the advisor. Growth creates more administration, not more freedom. Clients need more than the current firm can support. The recruiting package looks better than the long-term model. The payout grid changes again. The firm is acquired and the culture changes. Support declines as the practice grows. The platform limits how clients can be served. Deferred compensation starts to feel like a lock. The advisor built a valuable book they may not fully own. Succession options are unclear. The next generation has no path to equity. Technology decisions are made without the advisor. Growth creates more administration, not more freedom. Clients need more than the current firm can support. The recruiting package looks better than the long-term model.
The decision starts here
01Current stage
02Goals
03Business model
04Growth levers
05Evidence
02 · WHAT TO CONSIDER

A transition has to work for more than the recruiting package.

Compensation and firm culture were nearly tied among the reasons advisors considered a move in Fidelity's 2023 study, 51% versus 50%. Before you move, you need a clear view of the business model, what can transfer, what the first year may cost, how clients will be affected, and what the change means for the long-term value of your practice.

01

Am I aligned with the business model?

The right model should fit how you serve clients, run your team, make decisions, and want to grow. If that alignment is missing, the economics will not fix it.

02

What's the real math beyond the recruiting package?

Transition checks, clawbacks, payout shape, and what the first year can quietly cost if the headline number leads the decision.

03

Who can I even ask without tipping my hand?

A protected first step for advisors who need the truth before the market, their manager, or a recruiter gets involved.

04

What am I actually building here?

The practical difference between another grid, a salable asset, and independence that does not mean doing it alone.

05

What is my book of business worth?

A realistic view of recurring revenue, client concentration, growth, portability, and what a buyer or successor would actually be acquiring.

06

Can I eventually exit the business I am building?

Ownership, succession, and transferability determine whether the practice can become an asset you can sell or pass on.

07

Which of the six stages of growth am I in?

Your current stage determines which constraints matter now, which investments come next, and which business models can support the next stage.

08

What would make staying the right decision?

A serious evaluation should make the case for staying just as clearly as it makes the case for moving.

03 · ADVISOR MOVEMENT

What our advisor movement data shows.

Thousands of experienced advisors change firms every year. Many more consider it and decide to stay. Reviewing your options is common. The right decision still depends on your business, your clients, and your goals.

2025 MOVEMENT
11,172

experienced advisors changed firms in 2025, a 16.2% increase from 2024.

CONSIDERED A MOVE
56% / 1 in 4

of advisors considered changing firms over five years; roughly one in four actually moved.

CHOSE INDEPENDENCE
64%

of advisors who moved chose an RIA or independent broker-dealer model.

PROJECTED THROUGH 2028
−1.9% / +4%

projected annual advisor headcount change for wirehouses versus independent RIAs.

AFTER THE MOVE
94% / 85%

of advisors who moved were happy with the decision; 85% said they had more control over their future.

From the Lab

Read the thinking, or press play and listen to it.

Three field guides on the decisions that shape a transition — the clawback math behind forgivable notes, retention offers after an acquisition, and how to know you’re actually ready to move.

Each guide has a full audio edition. Press play right here, or open the article for the numbers, the checklists, and the transcript.

Every guide is also a podcast episode with a full transcript on the episode page.

Browse all resources →
04 · THE MISTAKES

The expensive mistakes happen before resignation day.

Can you relate to any of these?

01

Staying too long

Waiting for certainty that never comes while your leverage quietly erodes.

02

Jumping too early

Moving on the trigger emotion instead of the contract math.

03

Chasing the headline number

Reading the transition check as income instead of a loan against clawback and time.

04

Picking economics over fit

The grid pencils; the platform, culture, and support don't — and that's what you live in daily.

05

Assuming your clients feel what you feel

Loyalty is real. So is repapering friction. Portability is a fact, not a feeling.

06

Winning this move by losing the next one

Signing terms that trap you where a second move is worse than staying.

07

Only asking people who win if you leave

Every recruiter's math ends the same way. Conflict-free counsel doesn't.

08

Skipping the read entirely

Deciding by drift. No move is a decision too — it deserves the same diligence.

05 · OLD WAY VS. NEW WAY

Old way: fit your practice into the firm. New way: choose a model that fits your practice.

Old way: the firm defines the model

×Build under the firm's brand.
×Work within a payout grid that can change.
×Accept the firm's platform and product limits.
×Compare opportunities by the recruiting package.
×Rely on support priorities you do not control.
×Be expected to drive growth without a modern marketing engine.
×Build value that may be difficult to own or sell.

New way: the model fits the practice

✓Build a practice under your own brand.
✓Choose an affiliation model that fits how you serve clients.
✓See the full economics, including transition costs and long-term value.
✓Use enterprise-level operations without running the back office yourself.
✓Choose a firm that supports growth through digital marketing, content, and lead generation.
✓Keep more control over technology, service, and growth.
✓Build a salable asset with a clear succession path.

The goal is not independence for its own sake. It is finding the business model that best supports your clients, your team, and the practice you want to build.

06 · START HERE

Start with what is making you consider a change.

Answer six short questions about your practice, your timing, and what you want next. Your final answer determines what happens next.

Private. Nothing is sent to your firm. 6 questions About 30 seconds
Question 1 of 6

Advisor Growth Lab is paid by partner firms when an introduction becomes a placement. You never pay us. We will tell you when that relationship is relevant.

THE ADVISOR INTELLIGENCE LAB

Daily intelligence for advisors evaluating their next move.

A short daily podcast and written briefing on advisor movement, firm changes, transition economics, and practice growth. Each episode includes a full transcript and the underlying sources.

The clawback math nobody walks you through before the 7-year note

Read the brief

Your firm just got bought. How to read the retention offer before you sign anything

Read the brief

How to know if you're actually ready to leave your firm — before anyone knows you're asking

Read the brief
Browse all daily briefings
CLOSE

Know before you move. Know if you shouldn't.

Waiting doesn't lower the risk. It just moves the timeline into someone else's hands.

Get Answers About My Transition