Sometimes Advisers Need a Plan, Too

According to Geoffrey A. Frazier, president and relationship director of Global Financial, more than two-thirds of advisers lack a business continuity plan. Advisers cite reasons ranging from insufficient time to develop a program, to difficulty finding the right successor, to inability to meet the cost of insurance or create an agreement, Frazier says.

The right business continuity plan can help protect the value of an advisory business. Adviser to Adviser Continuity helps advisers locate either an internal or external successor from the Global Financial network. Once a successor is found, they create a continuity agreement through turnkey support provided by Global Financial’s partner firms.

The Legacy Lock program frees advisers from the need to find a successor and create an agreement. Instead, a backstop program protects the business. When an adviser is unable to identify an appropriate successor, Global Financial enters into a revocable buy/sell agreement with the adviser. Frazier tells PLANADVISER it is similar to an acquisition. Global Financial’s integration team helps with the transition, and the firm becomes the natural successor. “Advisers can lock in their most valuable asset,” Frazier says, “and it’s as seamless as possible a transition.”

Both programs include custom services for the sale and transition of advisers’ businesses. Global Financial will help select a likeminded adviser in their network who is interested in purchasing an adviser’s business, at which point they—along with Adviser Growth Strategies and MarketCounsel—will provide turnkey support in developing a mutually accepted transaction.

The programs, developed with Adviser Growth Strategies and MarketCounsel, help advisers receive fair market value for their business, Frazier states. Advisers can feel secure that their clients will continue to receive continuity of service, and making informed decisions will help protect the adviser’s clients, employees and families.

Global Financial Private Capital, in Sarasota, Florida, is an independently owned investment adviser with more than $3 billion in assets under management.

Adviser Growth Strategies LLC is a practice management consulting firm for the wealth management industry.

MarketCounsel is a business and regulatory compliance consultancy to independent investment advisers.