Selling your IFA business is a brave choice. Congratulations on your decision! You might be a retiring IFA, or a Financial Planner in financial services that wants to derisk your IFA business. This is a new chapter for you and quite often a scary or unnerving time for your clients… What do they really want to know from you and might be afraid to ask?
As we know, the financial advice industry is built on a foundation of trust, integrity, and long-term relationships for delivering financial advice. For many clients, their Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) is more than just a professional, they’re a confidant, a sounding board, and a consistent presence through life’s financial twists and turns. Someone who supports them with all their wealth management needs. So when an IFA sells their business or begins to step back from day-to-day operations, it can feel like a major shift – not just for the IFA, but for the clients they’ve supported for years, often decades.
If you’re a client in this situation, it’s completely natural to feel concerned or uncertain. Questions arise quickly! What does this mean for my finances? Will my adviser still be involved? Can I trust the new firm?
This guide has been created to give you answers, clarity, and peace of mind, because protecting your financial future should always remain the top priority, no matter who is holding the reins.
The first question for many clients is whether their trusted adviser will still play a part after the business is sold. In most cases, the answer is yes – at least for a period of time. It’s common for outgoing IFAs to remain involved during a transition to ensure a smooth handover of client relationships, values, and knowledge.
Many acquirers, such as those working with Truestar Talent or Truestar Legacy, actively encourage this. Transitional support helps maintain consistency and allows clients to adjust at a comfortable pace.
What You Can Do: Speak to your Financial Planner directly. Ask if they’ll be staying on for a handover period, what that looks like, and what level of involvement you can expect moving forward.
Every financial journey is unique. Your goals, values, and personal circumstances are unlike anyone else’s, which is why you’ve built such a strong connection with your current adviser. Naturally, you want reassurance that the new firm will honour this legacy of personalised service.
Fortunately, firms involved in respectful acquisitions, particularly those facilitated through platforms like Truestar Legacy, place great emphasis on cultural alignment. The goal isn’t to change what works, but to preserve and enhance it.
What You Can Do: Take the opportunity to meet the new team. Ask them how they plan to maintain continuity of service, how they’ll familiarise themselves with your financial history, and how they intend to earn your trust.
A business sale often raises concerns about hidden costs or rising fees. While most reputable firms aim for transparency and consistency, it’s essential to stay informed.
What You Can Do: Request a side-by-side breakdown of your current fees and any changes proposed by the new firm. Understanding what you’re paying for, and why, empowers you to make decisions that serve your best interests.
You’ve worked hard to build your financial portfolio, and you deserve assurance that changes in ownership won’t derail your strategy. In principle, a well-executed transition should not disrupt your investment structure without consultation and consent.
What You Can Do: Talk with your IFA, after all you know them well. Ask for written confirmation that your investment strategy, risk profile, and long-term goals will remain intact. Any adjustments should be based on your evolving needs, not imposed as part of a generic business model.
In a digital world, data protection is more important than ever. GDPR regulations require that all personal and financial data is handled responsibly, especially during a business transition.
Reputable firms that acquire IFA businesses should already have robust data governance in place to ensure a secure and compliant transfer of records.
What You Can Do: Ask the acquiring firm about their data protection policies. How is your information stored, accessed, and safeguarded? Reassurance here is not just about technology, but about trust.
Clients often value their IFA relationship for the personalised, high touch experience it offers. Understandably, you may be worried that a new firm, especially a larger one, could bring a more impersonal or transactional feel.
Truestar Talent supports IFA acquisitions and prioritises firms who match the outgoing IFA’s service ethos. This ensures that existing clients continue to receive the same standard of care and responsiveness. Here is how we help retiring IFAs looking to sell their IFA business: https://www.truestartalent.co.uk/specialisms/retiring-ifa/
What You Can Do: Find out whether you’ll have a dedicated adviser moving forward. Ask about response times, communication frequency, and whether you can expect annual reviews or ad-hoc consultations.
Yes. It’s important to know that you always have a choice. You’re not automatically tied to the new firm if you feel the fit isn’t right for you. However, don’t rush to a decision, take the time to evaluate the new relationship before making changes and again, really chat to your IFA, you know them and they have your best interests at heart.
What You Can Do: Give the new firm a chance to show who they are and show how they align with your goals and values. Afterall, your IFA chose them.
There’s often an emotional dimension to this question. Clients may wonder why a trusted adviser would step away from a business they’ve nurtured for years. In most cases, it’s a natural and carefully planned part of retirement or succession planning.
Many advisers choose to sell not out of necessity, but out of responsibility, because they want to ensure their clients are looked after by a trusted successor, as they move onto retirement. They have worked hard for you and supported you and are now ready for the next chapter in their lives, once they have handed over your care properly.
What You Can Do: Ask your IFA about their motivations. Understanding their “why” can offer closure and confidence. Often, knowing that they’ve chosen a buyer with your best interests at heart can make all the difference.
Life is unpredictable, and while many transitions are planned, others can happen unexpectedly. That’s why succession planning is such a critical part of a professional IFA’s responsibility to their clients.
Truestar Legacy was created, as part of Truestar Talent to help Financial Planners put these contingency plans in place, ensuring that should something unforeseen happen, there is a clear and structured path forward for clients.
What You Can Do: Ask your IFA what plans are in place for continuity in the event of illness or sudden retirement. A good adviser will be happy to share the measures they’ve taken to protect you. Be brave and have that chat, you won’t hurt or insult them by asking and it will give you peace of mind!
The most successful IFA business transitions are built on open communication and shared expectations. As a client, the more engaged and proactive you are, the smoother the process will feel. Your IFA will be with you every step of the way and will put you in hands that they trust. They will have done their due diligence and care about how you will be looked after going forward.
What You Can Do: Stay connected. Attend any transition briefings or introductory meetings offered by the new IFA firm. Keep asking questions. The more you understand, the more confident you’ll feel. Your IFA will support you through this too.
Whether you’re planning for retirement, wealth transfer, or supporting the next generation, legacy planning is deeply personal. A change in adviser should never jeopardise your long-term vision.
Any IFA firm worth their salt should show respect and continuity when it comes to legacy planning, and ideally, enhance it with additional resources or specialisms.
What You Can Do: Review your legacy plan before the transition and ensure your intentions are clearly documented. Ask how the new firm supports intergenerational advice, estate planning, and beneficiary support.
In short, yes. Your IFA will most probably still be with the transitioned business for at least a minimum of a year. During that time, they will introduce you to your new IFA, who they recommend to you. After that you’ll have a new relationship with a Financial Planner who is engaged in getting to know you and supporting you.
Most probably your current IFA may well live near you. You may well still see them in the pub, restaurant or local supermarket. Post retirement, they will still value seeing you and hearing how well things are going for you. After all, you’ve developed a trusted relationship over many years, that won’t go away. They will be keen to hear how well you are getting on with your new IFA and how pleased you are post the transition, it will matter to them personally.
While the sale or succession of your IFA’s business can feel like a major change, it doesn’t have to mean a step backwards. In fact, when handled correctly, it can offer continuity, fresh expertise, and even a renewed focus on your financial future. Change can be a great thing, if handled right!
At the heart of it all, your needs, goals, and values should remain the key priority. That’s why responsible transitions, like those supported by Truestar Talent and their specialist division, Truestar Legacy, are built around one simple principle: people first.
You’ve placed your trust in your IFA for years. Now, as the next chapter begins, you deserve nothing less than the same level of care, respect, and commitment – because protecting your future is what matters most.
Have a chat with your IFA and share your concerns and questions – they will really welcome this!
Some other articles that you really might find interesting on subject of selling your IFA business:
A Retiring IFA love letter: “The Goodbye Business”. Selling your IFA business with grace, trust, and continuation… https://www.truestartalent.co.uk/retiring-ifa-how-to-sell-your-ifa-business/
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
