The Overlooked Step in Advisor Succession Planning

Financial advisors spend their careers guiding clients into retirement, helping them plan, prepare, and ultimately celebrate the next chapter of life. But when it comes time to do the same for themselves, many advisors find the transition far more difficult than expected.

In my work as a business consultant to financial advisors, I’ve supported countless succession and continuity plans. And yet, I’ve seen even the most well-structured plans falter at the final step: execution. Whether it’s selling the business or stepping back to empower the next generation, the emotional and psychological transition out of the advisor role often proves to be the greatest challenge.

It’s time we stop treating succession as just a business transaction and start recognizing it as a deeply personal shift that deserves just as much attention and planning.

Retire on Purpose – Why Your Own Retirement Needs Coaching

Even the most financially prepared retirees struggle with the transition. Clients who once felt confident can experience a loss of identity, diminished purpose, and unexpected isolation once they step away from their careers. It turns out the biggest retirement risk isn’t always market volatility, it’s meaninglessness.

Advisors are no different. In fact, they may be more susceptible, with professional identity often tied to service, success, and constant engagement.

MIT AgeLab found that up to one-third of retirees experience a loss of purpose or identity soon after stepping away from work, a phenomenon known as the “Honeymoon Hangover.”

When you’ve built your life around helping others find meaning, the idea of walking away from that role can feel disorienting.

The Overlooked Step in Succession Planning

Too often, advisor succession planning focuses on the logistics: equity transitions, partner agreements, and continuity of service, all important items on the succession planning checklist.  What’s missing? The advisor’s own transition.

Take a moment and ask yourself:

• What does retirement look like for me?
• How will I stay connected to purpose without clients and my team relying on me?
• What routines or relationships will fill that gap?

If you’re helping clients build fulfilling post-career lives, shouldn’t your own transition get the same attention?

Use Summer to Revisit Your “Why”

Summer tends to be a slower season, meetings ease, clients travel. Take advantage of the quiet to pause and reflect.

Start by reconnecting with your purpose:

• Why did I build this firm?
• What impact have I made and what do I still want to do?
• What does fulfillment look like after I exit?

These are the same reflective questions we encourage clients to answer. Advisors can benefit from the same coaching frameworks we use with others. In fact, applying a structured, purpose-driven approach to your own retirement might be the most important planning conversation you’ve ever had.

A Practical First Step

Consider drafting your Retirement Purpose Statement. This is not a financial plan, but a life blueprint. What roles will you play? How will you engage your mind, your community, or your family? Who will you be when you’re not the advisor anymore?

Then, build support around it. Talk to peers who’ve transitioned. Talk to your partner and your family. Consider a retirement coach or therapist. Just as your clients need support beyond spreadsheets, so do you.

If you’d like to explore this topic further, I recommend the May 2025 article on Michael Kitces’ website titled: “ReFire” Instead Of ‘Just’ Retire: A Framework To Help Clients Plan For Purpose In Retirement. While the resources are designed for advisors coaching clients, they offer a valuable starting point for reflecting on your own retirement and crafting a personal purpose statement.

Final Thought

Legacy is more than business continuity. It’s about leaving on purpose and with purpose. As advisors, you help others retire well, you deserve to do the same.

Further Resources

For deeper insights into retirement coaching, explore Beacon’s Practice Management Blog from April 2025.

You can also request a recording of April’s Beacon Insights webinar, where I hosted Robert Laura alongside Chris Kramer, a financial advisor who has successfully integrated Robert’s techniques to elevate his client experience.

Reach out to your Beacon Representative to access the recording.

 

FOR ADVISOR USE ONLY. NOT INTENDED FOR CONSUMER SOLICITATION PURPOSES.

Beacon Capital Management, Inc. is an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additional information about Beacon Capital Management is also available on the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov under CRD number 120641. Beacon Capital Management only transacts business in states where it is properly registered or excluded or exempted from registration requirements.

Information presented is for educational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments or investment strategies.

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including Beacon Capital Management^SM. 

NJS – 06252025