When you’ve built a firm from scratch — or grown one over decades — the decision to sell is never just a transaction.
It’s the culmination of your work, your relationships, and your legacy. And while there’s more than one way to step away, some paths can open far bigger doors than others.
The two most common routes for financial advisers are:
1️⃣ Internal succession — selling to people already inside your firm, like a management team or family members.
2️⃣ External sale — selling to a buyer outside your business, such as another advice firm, or private equity.
Internal Succession: Familiar Faces, Familiar Limits
Keeping it in the family can feel safe.
You know the people, you trust the relationships, and you can picture them continuing the business in the same way you have.
Pros:
- Retains much of the culture and values you’ve built.
- Often less visible change for clients and staff.
- Allows you to guide the transition closely.
Cons:
- Lower sale values are common — internal teams often can’t match the offers of external buyers.
- Buyers may need to secure financing, stretching the timeline and adding uncertainty.
- Growth can remain limited without fresh capital, technology, or market access.
For owners prioritising sentiment over sale value, this can still be a rewarding choice — but it’s not the fastest or most financially competitive route.
External Sale: Capital, Capability, and Competitive Bidding
Selling to an external buyer can feel like a leap into the unknown — but it’s often where the biggest opportunities lie.
Pros:
- Higher sale prices from buyers with strategic growth plans.
- Faster capital release, allowing you to access the value of your business sooner.
- Access to resources you may never have had in-house: advanced technology, broader investment propositions, marketing firepower, and new client acquisition channels.
- Enhanced opportunities for your team — from career progression to better infrastructure and benefits.
- Additional value for clients, who can benefit from new services, improved tools, and stronger long-term stability.
- Experience of the business sale process, with opportunity to speak to others who have been through it with the buyer.
Cons:
- Cultural change is more likely if you don’t find the right partner — but with the right buyer, it can be positive and future-focused.
In most cases, the external sale route offers a stronger financial outcome, greater certainty of completion, and fresh opportunities for the people and clients you care about.
The Heart of the Decision
Yes, the choice is personal. But it’s also strategic.
An external sale doesn’t mean abandoning your legacy — it can mean expanding it, ensuring your firm and your people have more resources, more reach, and a stronger platform for the future.
If your goals include maximising the value you’ve worked so hard to build — and setting your business up to thrive well beyond your own tenure — an external buyer is often the most effective way to get there.
Next Step:
We work with firm owners to identify the right buyers — the ones who offer not just the best price, but the best fit for your legacy.
If you’d like to explore your options confidentially, let’s talk.