Raymond James Launches Advisors' Succession Program

Tom Burroughes

12 March 2020

Florida-based wealth management group Raymond James has launched a succession offering for advisors thinking of retiring, highlighting how the industry is wrestling with finding ways for people to exit their businesses amidst major intergenerational asset transfer.

Raymond James is rolling out Advisor Emeritus, which it calls a “structured succession offering for qualified, tenured advisors who are considering retirement.”

The program allows the retiring advisor to work with a successor as a consultant for up to two years prior to their retirement date, with up to five years of payment post-retirement, the firm said in a statement yesterday.

“All firms face an oncoming wave of advisor retirements. In addition to ensuring continuity of service for clients, we remain focused on assisting our experienced advisors as they transition into retirement,” Robert Goff, vice president of succession and acquisition planning at Raymond James, said. “Often, experienced financial advisors have spent decades building their business and serving their loyal clients, and the thought of retirement can be daunting administratively, financially and even emotionally.”

There has been brisk M&A activity in the registered investment advisor sector over recent years, as tracked by groups such as advisory firm ECHELON Partners, for example. Industry practitioners tell Family Wealth Report that one driver of these takeovers is RIA owners looking to retire. According to research and analytics firm Cerulli Partners, the average age of advisors is rising. A report in 2015 from Cerulli showed that 32 per cent of active financial advisors planned to retire over the following 10 years.

Raymond James’ Goff said the program offered a measured way for advisors to work out how to step down.

“This new program offers advisors who qualify a structured pathway to help transition their clients and business responsibilities to a successor, which helps them carry out a smooth succession strategy for themselves, their business and most importantly, their clients,” he said.

The Advisor Emeritus program is currently offered to employee advisors within Raymond James & Associates and its Alex Brown division. Due to the employment structure of independent practices, the Advisor Emeritus framework can serve as a template for independent branch owners, with the Succession & Acquisition Planning team as a consultative resource for interested independent advisors, Raymond James said.

The program will be available for up to two years for recognition club level advisors and one year for other qualifying advisors. Both the retiring advisor and successor must agree to certain responsibilities to ensure a smooth transition, including scheduling client introductions, integrating staff and processes, and more, it said.