According to a survey of 52 advisers across 31 firms with collective assets under management of £1.53bn, 75% said the best outcome for both them and their clients would come from securing an appropriate successor.
This compared to 8% who said they would prefer to sell to a consolidator, 7% who favoured a book buyout, and 2% who said they would rather run down their book.
“Helping clients with financial planning is just a small part of what advisers do. Building a business that is efficient, sustainable and profitable, and has longevity after they themselves retire, is vital for the livelihood of advisers and the prospects of the clients they look after,” said Nick French head of UK wealth management at Russell Investments.
He added: “The advisers we talk to are passionate about their clients and it was our intuition that they aren’t looking for the easy out. The first priority is their client.”
But, he said: “There are a number of strategies to deal with such succession planning that have all met with mixed success over the years. If the prime motivator for advisers is to find a good successor, as an industry, we need to get creative about how we can help in this process.”
