The Succession Gap Is a Math Problem
Founders in their sixties own most of the independent advice industry, and almost none of the equity has moved. The gap is arithmetic, and it compounds.
Walk into almost any independent advisory firm and the pattern repeats. The founder is in their sixties. The clients are loyal to the founder. The second generation runs the work but owns none of it. Everyone assumes there's a plan. There is no plan.
The math is unforgiving. Internal buyouts need young partners with money they don't have, buying equity that gets more expensive every year the firm grows. Waiting makes the firm worth more and the internal sale less possible. That's the trap: success itself closes the exit everyone said they wanted.
So the realistic options narrow to two. Sell to an outside buyer, or start moving equity a decade before you feel ready. Most founders discover this at 66 instead of 56, which is why so many sales happen in a hurry, to whoever calls that quarter.
The fix is unglamorous. Price the firm honestly, today. Decide who should own it in ten years. Work backward. A succession plan is just a schedule with money attached, and schedules only work when they start early.