For a retiring IFA, there comes a moment – not marked on any calendar – when you simply know your IFA firm won’t be yours forever. It’s not a dramatic revelation, just a quiet, persistent feeling that keeps resurfacing, no matter how much you try to push it aside.
That moment doesn’t come because the business is struggling, or because you’ve lost your passion. It’s because you’ve achieved what you set out to do. You are beginning to think seriously about what comes next – even if that next chapter feels a little daunting… does it maybe feel a little scary?
If that’s you, then this is a salute, a mirror and a challenge.
An IFA business sale, when done right, is about identity, legacy, and letting go of the thing you built with your own name, hands, guts, and grit and trusting that it will still matter once you’re no longer in the room.
Thankfully, this isn’t just another article about “succession planning” or “exit multiples”, as selling your IFA business isn’t about valuation spreadsheets and assets under management!
For anyone with an IFA business for sale, then welcome to the goodbye business. This is the safe space where a retiring IFA gets to hand across his client relationships with grace, trust and, most importantly, client continuation.
You’ve probably had the “are you thinking of retiring?” conversation so many times it now feels like code for “we’d like your clients, please”. Let’s skip the brochure advice. You already know the market’s hot. You know buyers are queuing.
However, underneath all of it, beneath the headlines, the offers, the due diligence, there’s a feeling… a question that whispers louder every time another offer lands in your inbox…
You don’t need a spreadsheet to answer that. You need to get honest about what you’re actually selling.
Let’s not kid ourselves: no client ever said, “I’m here because your EBITDA margin is really tidy.” They stayed because you showed up, year in, year out. Market shocks, regulatory shifts, pandemics you have been there for them… listening… reassuring… present… and calm.
What you’ve built is more than financial planning, its emotional security wrapped in spreadsheets, it’s trust at scale. That’s what you’re selling and that’s what makes selling your IFA business so hard.
For clients that trust is still tied, in their minds and probably in yours, to you.
So how do you pass this on?
The corporate line is always: “We’ll look after your clients.” They show you logos, slides and onboarding plans – but clients aren’t looking to be “onboarded.”
Clients are wondering:
That’s not integration, it’s about client continuation, and they’re not the same thing.
An IFA buyer who gets that, who sees your clients not just as line items but as relationships, is rare, but they do exist.
Here’s a wild idea: your legacy doesn’t begin after the IFA sale; it begins with it.
A good exit isn’t just a transaction, it’s a transformation – for you, for your clients, and for the person or IFA firm that picks up the baton.
Ask yourself:
If the answer is yes, you’ve done something most founders never get to do, you’ve designed your departure with the same care with which you built your arrival.
We talk about financial intelligence all the time, but what about emotional intelligence?
Emotional intelligence is:
It’s knowing that your clients’ financial wellbeing is still emotional terrain and that handing them over well is a deeply human responsibility.
The emotionally intelligent exit doesn’t just tick boxes. It feels like closure, and a great new chapter for everyone.
Let’s get honest: freedom is a tricky word.
You’re told that the post-IFA sale life is one of golf days, sun holidays, maybe some NED work if you fancy keeping your brain switched on. That might be true… but is it enough?
Selling your IFA business isn’t the end of your usefulness, it’s just the end of this form of it.
What will next look like for you?
The truth is, your second act might just be your most powerful and exciting one, if you let it.
Our role? To protect what matters for you and your clients who you’ve carried through recessions, retirements, and rows over long-term care and financial planning.
At Truestar Talent, we’re the supportive ones in the middle, the calm, experienced voice helping sellers and buyers navigate the moments that matter most. To find out more how we can help, check out this link: https://www.truestartalent.co.uk/specialisms/retiring-ifa/
Let’s be honest, selling your IFA business isn’t just a transaction, it’s a very personal, emotional and complex thing.
How we can really help you is that we’ve seen what works, and what doesn’t. We know the personalities, the pitfalls, the promises that actually hold weight. We’re here to make sure the process feels not just smooth… but right.
With integrity as our default setting, we take the time to understand what matters most to you, then connect you with the people who’ll treat that legacy with the same care. We have won awards for our ethics in business. To find out more: https://www.truestartalent.co.uk/awards/
If you want to move forward with grace and prosperity, we can ensure that you create the ending to this chapter of your story that makes your beginning worth it. However, if you are only here for the money and not for your clients ongoing wellbeing, then we will not be for you.
Have an informal first chat with us, soft facts before the fact find, if you will, and we can get to know each other. We’ll actively listen to you and then find the best ways, options and recommendations to truly support your and your clients’ needs.
One final question, no spreadsheets, no numbers… just this:
If your answer includes the words “you made the right choice,” then that’s what you’re really selling for.
Selling your IFA business with grace, trust and continuation means that this is not just freedom, not just a payday… but true peace of mind.
Peace of mind that you did right by them, by your team, by yourself.
Now that’s a legacy worth letting go for!
This article is written for IFAs who know what it really takes to build trust and what it really means to let it go with honour.
Contact us today and carve a bit of space in your diary, for someone that will truly have your best interests at heart, who will listen to you and help you navigate your way through to a happy home for your clients and financial freedom for yourself. Contact us here: https://www.truestartalent.co.uk/contact/
Some other articles that you really might find interesting on subject of selling your IFA business:
Selling your IFA business, what do your clients really want to know? Protecting your Clients During IFA Business Transition: https://www.truestartalent.co.uk/selling-your-ifa-business-protect-your-clients/
Selling Your IFA Business: The Questions That Keep You Up at Night (Answered!). After years and, let’s face it, more likely decades, of dedication to your clients, selling your IFA business is a huge decision for retiring IFAs, or IFAs who are looking to derisk their IFA firm or client bank and sell and stay on without the paperwork… https://www.truestartalent.co.uk/selling-your-ifa-firm/
When selling your IFA business as an IFA acquisition, one of the key things to consider is whether the culture and charging structure of the buyer matches the needs of your clients. You have spent a lot of time building the relationships and trust with your clients and you want to ensure that they have a great long-term home, as well as you being well renumerated for your hard work and time sacrificed in building your IFA business over many years. We can help: IFA Acquisition
Many IFAs worry that their clients will feel that they have sold their IFA firm or client bank, but not looked after the clients themselves. Choosing the right home when selling your IFA business is key, you want your clients to feel like it is a home from home and that the transition feels seamless. To do that, you really need to speak to one of our team, we know the good guys and the bad guys in the IFA world, after working within Wealth Management and Financial Services for on average 35+ years.
Many IFAs would like to sell their IFA business as a way to retire. Retirement can feel daunting after so many hours spent developing your IFA business. They ponder whether they can leave their clients in a safe pair of hands and if they can truly be remunerated in a way that will give the retiring IFA peace of mind for the future. We can help, click here to find out more: IFA Acquisition
