What if the answer isn't selling your practice, it's making one last move?
Frank LaRosa is literally getting a text about this exact scenario as the episode is being recorded.
Frank walks through a real client, an advisor in his mid to late sixties who has spent a year and a half weighing a full sale against a transition. The multiples sound incredible on paper, ten, twelve, even fourteen times EBITDA, but once junior partners, payout structures and sell and stay scenarios enter the picture, the math gets a lot more complicated than the headline number.
Stacey brings in the psychology side that most advisors never plan for. She explains why so many advisors get stuck at the altar right before retirement, not because the numbers don't work, but because their identity and purpose are wrapped up in the business and they are not ready to lose that.
That is where Frank's trademarked concept, dual monetization, comes in. Instead of selling outright, an advisor can transition to a new firm today to unlock a major payout, then set up a succession plan or sale into that same firm years later. Stacey adds real context here too, pointing out that transition deals sitting at twenty to sixty percent of trailing twelve just a few years ago are now regularly exceeding one hundred percent.
Frank also breaks down how this same strategy applies to advisors who want to pass their practice to a son, daughter, or longtime junior partner without forcing them to come up with cash out of pocket and shares a blunt piece of advice about not letting attachment to a specific custodian cost you millions of dollars.
The episode closes with a story that stays with you, a friend of Frank's who left ten million dollars on the table because his junior partners were not willing to do the work required to make one last move. Stacey wraps with the point that the hardest part of any transition is rarely the mechanics, it is figuring out who will actually take over your clients the way you have for your entire career.
Questions answered in this episode include:
What is a one last move for a financial advisor nearing retirement?
What is dual monetization and how does it apply to a transition instead of a sale?
Why do many financial advisors struggle to actually retire?
How much have financial advisor transition deals grown in the last few years?
Can a financial advisor pass their practice to a child or junior partner without a traditional loan?
Should switching custodians affect a financial advisor's decision to move firms?
What is the biggest hurdle for financial advisors thinking about succession?
Key Highlights:
00:00 Introduction: The One Last Move
01:33 What Is the One Last Move
03:39 Redefining Retirement and Purpose
05:37 Introducing Dual Monetization
11:33 Passing the Business to the Next Generation
19:16 Think Before You Sign
20:19 The Ten Million Dollar Lesson
25:20 How to Reach Frank and Stacey
Learn more about Elite and our resources:
Elite Consulting Partners | Financial Advisor Transitions: https://www.eliteconsultingpartners.com
Elite Marketing Concepts | Marketing Services for Financial Advisors: https://elitemarketingconcepts.com
Elite Advisor Successions | Advisor Mergers and Acquisitions: https://eliteadvisorsuccessions.com
JEDI Database Solutions | Technology Solutions for Advisors: https://jedidatabasesolutions.com
Download the full Wealth Management Insights Report: https://eliteconsultingpartners.com/insight-report/
Listen to more Advisor Talk episodes: https://eliteconsultingpartners.com/podcasts/
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Advisor Talk is a podcast by Elite Consulting Partners focused on financial advisor transitions, recruiting and long-term growth strategy.
