How Do I Know it is Time to Step Aside?

Beverly Flaxington is a practice management consultant. She answers questions from advisors facing human resource issues. To submit yours, email us here.

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Dear Bev,

I am ready to merge my practice with another advisor who I have known for many years. He and I have served as one another’s confidants and backups. We know what the other’s working style is like and we know some of our respective clients. We worked out a financial arrangement a long time ago just as insurance in the event something happened to either one of us.

Legally and financially we seem to be set. Culturally and personally we align similarly. The issue is timing. How does an advisor know when the time is right to make an official move? What am I not thinking about that I should be?

M.S.

Dear M.S.,

The “when” question is a personal one. Are you ready to retire and hand your practice over to someone else? If you are, then ask yourself, why? Is it because from an age perspective it is simply time, or from a work perspective you are tired and ready for something new, or from a personal perspective your spouse or significant other says “it is time!”? It’s crucially important whenever we make a major life transition to consider the “why now?” question and the elements underneath that “why?” Be sure you are confident this is the right timing – for the right reasons – for you.

Unfortunately many times advisors (and others) make decisions to do something because it seems like it is the right thing to do. This is why in many cases people who retire when they aren’t ready become sick or depressed. While you might have the necessary savings, you might not have the right plan for the transition.