The candidates
An advisor still in the growth phase looking to join up with a broker closer to retirement
The problem
The current firm wouldn’t facilitate a union that would benefit both.
The solution
A firm with the flexibility to merge the pair’s practice and foster growth
Jonathan Acquisition was looking for a new source of growth for his practice, then grossing $750,000 on $125 million AUM. One path to growth: Joining forces with an older advisor, Henry O’Gray, who was preparing a succession plan. Mr. Gray was grossing $300,000 on assets of $30 million. The pair was friendly but couldn’t work out a mutually beneficial way to merge at the current firm.
A new firm agreed to allow the pair to merge their businesses and paid them a recruiting bonus based on the joint production number. The younger advisor then used part of his recruiting bonus to structure a deal to acquire the book of the older advisor book within three years. Further, the new branch also had a number of older advisors whom the younger advisor could approach to strike succession deals, further helping his growth.