Succession planning for financial planning firms: how better conversations build lasting legacies
In recent research carried out by Gunner & Co, 66% of business owners planning to retire in the next two years, will sell their business. I’d hazard a guess that a significant proportion of those would prefer an internal route to succession if time and preparation allowed.
Why? Because legacy matters. Most business owners in financial advisory businesses are also their founders. They’ve poured years of effort into building something from scratch and they care deeply about their clients and teams. They want to see that legacy continue, not just survive, but thrive in the hands of the next generation.
This message is borne out for me in all of the conversations I have with those at the helm of financial planning practices. There is passion for mentoring and growing the next generation of financial advisers and leaders, doing things in the right way and carrying the torch forwards.
The reasons founder-successor relationships become strained
The ideal then, is to harness the founder’s experience, expertise, and energy, and pass it on in a way that lets the next generation grow from it bringing their own unique style and experience to bear.
Too often, though, the reality gets complicated. Relationships become strained as founders approach their intended exit date without real progress. Successors get frustrated, feeling blocked from taking the reins. Communication can become tense, even combative, as both sides dig in.
What the financial planning sector stands to lose if succession isn’t handled well
With the FCA’s reveal earlier this year (based on their survey of Financial Advice firms 2025) that the average age of Financial Advisers is below 50 for the first time, the industry seems to finally be addressing its ageing population. But is it doing the same when it comes to leadership of the firms themselves?
When I spoke at the CATS conference in November 2025, around 80% of the room worked in firms owned and run by people over the age of 50. Around 60% said their owners were over 60. That means many exits of experienced heads in the coming decade. This isn’t just about ownership, it’s about losing the hard-won knowledge, entrepreneurial drive, and resilience that built all of these businesses in the first place.
What got you here won’t get you there – but don’t throw it all away
Founders are, by nature, confident, visionary, and resilient. They’re great at spotting opportunities and solving problems but as businesses grow, these same qualities can become stumbling blocks. Founders may resist processes (constraints!), struggle to relinquish control (my way works for me), and find it hard to say no (old habits die hard when you’ve started a business from scratch).
As Brett Davidson puts it: “You can do what you want, or you can get what you want.” The worst-case scenario is a successor chosen but not trusted, with both sides losing confidence in each other. The best case? Passing on the founder’s unique qualities and organisational memory, while equipping successors with the leadership and management skills they need.
That takes hard work and some discipline. What I’m going to talk about here is deceptively simple, but definitely not easy.
How to build a founder-successor relationship that works
The ideal is a relationship where the successor stands on the shoulders of what’s been built, honouring the past while reaching for their own new heights. Most founders would say this is what they want, but it’s much easier said than done.
So, how do you build this kind of relationship?
The answer is to deliberately build confidence – on both sides. Confidence that the successor can deliver on the financial settlement, look after clients, and protect and build on the legacy.
Confidence isn’t something that is bestowed, or even innate. Confidence is built, step-by-step over time.
Practical steps to build confidence and trust
Step 1: Get clear on your own thinking
Major transitions deserve dedicated thinking time and succession is no exception.
Most of us would benefit from deliberately sorting through the thoughts and feelings that come with significant change, rather than letting them spiral. The most successful succession partnerships I’ve seen have had both founder and successor prioritising and protecting time to think individually, and usually with a coach who can serve as an effective thinking partner. When it comes down to it, clear communication with each other starts with getting clear on what you each actually think and dedicated time with someone who is trained to support you in that really helps.
Step 2: Agree on how you’re going to meet and talk
The most important relationship in your succession plan deserves its own structure. Discuss and agree how you’re going to meet to keep this vital relationship strong. Ask yourselves:
When and for how long?
Where?
How will you agree your agendas?
What will you be aiming to accomplish each time you meet?
Planning for these conversations is well worth the investment. Most teams spend very little time thinking about how they meet and interact. When the stakes are so high, this is a dangerous trap to fall into. Ground rules set clear expectations and keep you in good patterns of communicating which stands you in good stead when challenges inevitably arise.
And once you’ve agreed it, protect that time fiercely.
Step 3: Know thyself!
Self-awareness isn’t a soft skill – it’s one of the strongest predictors of leadership success.
Research shows that self-aware leaders build better teams, make better decisions, and navigate complex relational challenges more effectively (here’s a useful Forbes article on this). In the context of succession, this all matters enormously.
Working with a coach can help you understand what makes you tick and crucially, which behaviours are likely to surface when pressure mounts. When you know this about yourself, you can put things in place to stay true to your values and long-term goals, and share that self-knowledge with your founder or successor counterpart.
Once you understand this, you can communicate it with your founder/successor counterpart. That feels scary, but imagine if someone came to you and said:
“I know I’m going to find it hard if markets drop and the financials are squeezed because I will feel like that’s a threat to my financial security. Things were really tight when we started out and it made me feel really guilty when it made things hard for the family. That’s left some scars. So, if that happens, you might see me start meddling in things I shouldn’t to feel more in control.
If that happens, please could you gently help me see that this dip isn’t going to derail things – just like we do for our clients?”
That’s a pretty powerful lesson to teach an up-and-coming leader in humility, self-awareness and asking for help.
Or what if you heard:
“Sometimes when something goes badly and I feel like I’m to blame I can withdraw. I’ll be really self critical in those times. If you notice me withdrawing, or trying to cancel meetings with you after a setback, don’t let me. Ask me how I’m feeling, and maybe share something hard you’ve bounced back from too so it reminds me that we all make mistakes and that I’ll come out the other side.”
When asked what behaviours build trust most quickly in a working relationship, Brene Brown’s research showed asking for help at number one.
Step 4: Own your strengths and weaknesses
Founders and successors each bring something the other needs and the key is knowing what that is.
Founders; acknowledge what you’re good at (big-picture thinking, vision, being a great advocate, networking and relentless energy) and where you struggle (perhaps detailed planning, clear communication, sticking to process). Successors, recognise you may need to ask different questions to draw out the vision and then take responsibility for planning and execution.
Asking questions like:
- Tell me more about how you see that?
- Could you paint me a picture of what this looks like in 6 months’ time?
- What don’t you want to happen here?
…can help draw out the vision that you can tie your strategy and planning back to.
Successors can similarly work to recognise where you have gaps that the Founder can help you to develop, or ultimately, you might have to replace when they step out.
Apple’s succession from Tim Cook to John Ternus is a good example. The goal isn’t to clone Cook, but for him to mentor Ternus in the skills Apple needs for the future, while allowing him to lead in his own way. That’s the balance every founder and successor is reaching for. Learn more in this short podcast.
Step 5: Agree frameworks for decision making
Clear decision-making frameworks give successors a track to run on and founders the confidence to let go.
As Aaron Dignan suggests in “Brave New Work,” having clear waterlines for decision making (who gets to decide what) that can evolve over time as competence and confidence grows can be really helpful.
So, having a clear framework for decision making to make sure all the important elements are covered means the successor has a track to run on, and the founder knows decision making is robust. Include your values in there, as well as an appropriate risk assessment too. There are lots of decision making frameworks and tools out there – find one that works for you, or create your own together!
Step 6: Adapt your approach as the relationship evolves
A succession relationship that never changes isn’t growing and neither are the people in it.
Early on, it’s about feeding the successor opportunities. As they develop, the stakes get higher, and mistakes can feel riskier. If you’ve done the groundwork together, and have robust values and decision-making processes in place, sometimes you have to allow the other person room to stretch their wings and try, to learn from their mistakes. It can be hard to watch, but it will result in important learning.
Honestly, as a Founder – can you say you’ve never made a mistake?
What’s really behind unsuccessful succession conversations?
Another place that coaching can help is understanding what’s going on beneath the surface. For example, a founder may worry that: “Unless I do it, it won’t be done properly.”
Underneath though, there could be worries around loss of purpose, often a fear of irrelevance – “Who am I without this business?” – which can drive unhelpful behaviours, like undermining the successor or refusing to let go.
Successors, meanwhile, may feel they’re being tested or set up to fail. Understanding and then openly acknowledging these fears and discussing them can help both sides move forward.
Succession coaching for financial planning firms: the “In safe hands” programme
To support founders and successors through this process, I’m launching “In safe hands” – a tailored programme combining individual coaching for both parties and facilitated sessions with the wider leadership team. The aim is to build confidence, resilience, and self-awareness, and to create the space for the conversations that really matter to see succession done really well in your business.
The sooner you start building these relationships and skills, the more resilient your business will be. So if something unexpected happens, you’ll be less likely to be in that 80% who have to default to a forced sale.
An invitation to reflect and share
Succession is never easy, but it’s too important to leave to chance. What’s worked for you in building trust and confidence between founders and successors? What challenges have you faced? I’d love to hear your experiences – let’s keep the conversation going.
Ready to have the conversations that make a difference? Let’s talk.
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