After decades of building a practice on your own terms, why would you let it end on someone else’s?
It’s a question many advisors are asking themselves. In today’s hot M&A market, the pressure to trade a lifetime of work for a lump sum can feel like the only path forward. But it often comes at the cost of your legacy—the unique culture and values that a wire transfer can’t measure.
Your succession plan isn’t a simple transaction; it’s a carefully planned transition that honors your unique vision for the legacy of your life’s work. Below are three common succession scenarios that the standard M&A model fails to accommodate.
- The Mentor*
An experienced advisor in her late 60s has spent the last decade mentoring a talented younger advisor to take over her practice. Her primary goal is to sell, but she also wants to ensure her life’s work continues under the leadership of someone she trusts. She believes in building genuine relationships, and that includes fostering the next generation.
Large acquirers, though, are only interested in her book of business, not her succession plan. Their models require absorbing her clients into their system, leaving her protégé with a diminished role. This advisor doesn’t need a buyer; she needs a strategic partner who can provide the technology, education, and personalized support to facilitate an internal succession. This type of partnership allows her to transition ownership and responsibilities over several years, ensuring a seamless experience for clients and a bright future for the firm.
- The Gradualist*
An advisor in his early 60s isn’t ready to stop working, but he wants to reduce his hours to travel and spend more time with family. He envisions a 5-to-7-year phased retirement, slowly handing off client relationships to ensure trust is maintained. For him, an abrupt exit feels like a betrayal of the promises he’s made to clients.
The M&A market, however, is built for clean, one-time sales. There is little appetite for multi-stage transitions that keep the founder involved long-term. His desired approach requires a partner with a different mindset, one who understands that client continuity is paramount and who is willing to create a custom, multi-stage buyout. This model, often found in privately owned firms that are not for sale, prioritizes the stability of the practice over the speed of the transaction.
- The Independent*
A successful advisor wants to de-risk and achieve partial liquidity by selling a portion of his practice. But he also wants to continue running the business with the same independent spirit and brand he has cultivated for decades. He needs flexibility, not a new boss or corporate sales quotas.
In the traditional M&A landscape, acquirers demand a controlling stake and full integration. The solution is a partner who values independence enough to provide a capital investment without demanding operational control, acting as a stable, supportive backer. In this scenario, the partner offers access to resources and scale while allowing the advisor’s practice to thrive under its own identity.
The Common Thread is Partnership, Not Purchase
The common thread in each story is that these advisors don’t fit the cookie-cutter mold of a simple acquisition.
The Mentor, The Gradualist, and The Independent each require a specific kind of structure. A privately owned, mid-size firm has the patience and long-term perspective to support a multi-year handover for the advisor planning a gradual transition. A culture built on genuine partnership and personalized support ensures the Mentor’s protégé is nurtured, not sidelined. And a deep-seated belief in flexibility and independence means the advisor seeking liquidity can get it without sacrificing the autonomy they worked a lifetime to build.
This is the model upon which Kovack Financial Network was built. In an industry increasingly dominated by large corporations, we are proud to be one of the last of our kind, a firm committed to providing the tools, support, and flexibility you need to achieve your succession goals.
Your succession plan should be as unique as the practice you built. Let’s start the conversation about your goals and how a true partnership can help you achieve them on your terms.
*This example is provided for illustrative and educational purposes only.
Kovack Financial Network is a registered DBA name of Kovack Financial, LLC. Securities offered through Kovack Securities, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC.
6451 North Federal Highway, Suite 1201, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308, (954) 782-4771. Investment advisory services offered through Kovack Advisors, Inc., an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Kovack Securities and Kovack Advisors are independent subsidiaries of Kovack Financial, LLC.
