Retiring IFA - Blog Archives

Emotional Leakage in your IFA Exit…? 

When thinking about your future IFA exit strategy, I can imagine it stirs up a lot of emotions within you…

… One moment you are feeling the emotional highs of excitement and the thrill of satisfaction…

… The excitement of going out and finding that perfect acquirer…

… And the obvious satisfaction connected to the financial wind fall from the sale of your IFA Business!

But with the highs come the lows…

… And it is also true that on the journey through your IFA exit process you will feel the plummeting lows of loss and grief, along with fear and second guessing.

No doubt you will have thoughts such as…

“What will I do with all the extra time” and “An empty calendar equates to an empty life”?

And on top of that, you worry that you may lose your identity and loss of community - as no doubt you will have built strong friendships with your work colleagues and clients!

I need to tell you that these range of emotions are completely natural when it comes to going through your exit strategy…

... However, you cannot let any of them affect the process!

Becoming a slave to your emotions can greatly hinder a successful outcome when negotiating on terms for your IFA Business so the rule is…

… Never become emotional in your negotiations!

 If you click here to download our eBook, we can show you the 9 Key Steps to helping you through your negotiations, because letting your fears and second guessing can lead to you:

Developing a weak state of mind, which leads to you not being able to deal with the task at hand…

… Which will inevitability lead to you talking your way out of a premium cash rich offer!

But by clicking here now to download our eBook, you will see how building up a trusting and reliable relationship with potential acquirers can…

… Assist your understanding with other points of view, without being biased by emotion… 

… Which as a result can help you achieve a higher level of success in getting what you want out of your exit!

Best Wishes,

Stephen Hagues

PS. Letting your heart rule your head? Click here for our eBook now to read the 9 Key Steps on how to negotiate the best possible outcome for your IFA Business! 

As a new acquirer of an IFA Business you will no doubt have a lot of very important things you have to deal with. 

Have you thought about the possibility that the exiting owner can be a valuable asset to your newly acquired firms ongoing profitability and success?  

When acquiring an IFA business, it is really important to look at the retiring proprietor as someone who can assist you in:

Retention of staff 

Retention of clients

And, retention of profits

They are a leader and skilled at what they do. They are the keeper of this gold mine of opportunity for you in the years of goodwill and solid relationships they have built up. 

And, anxious to achieve the best price the exiting owner will be happy to add value to their business sale by conducting a full and healthy handover with you!

But even with these facts there are so many acquirers that do not take advantage of what the retiring proprietor can do for them. 

By clicking here to download our eBook you can learn why it is so important to have a smooth handover to ensure you continue healthy relationships with your clients after acquisition. 

So how to achieve this:

Well agreeing the purchase is one thing… Agreeing the specifics of the handover and definition of success is another matter entirely.

In short, make sure you put forward clear expectations of what you want the retiring proprietor to do for you by setting out exactly: 

How long the handover period will be. 

Minimum hours they need to fulfil in the office. 

Appointments per week to be carried out (with a total over the whole handover period). 

Agree a plan for joint meetings and definition of success.

Contacting clients to inform them of the sale and present them with the new business model. 

The reason that doing this is so important is two-fold:

Firstly, having the retiring owner in client meetings can help with instances such as a clash of personalities. Their ongoing relationship and physical presence can assist in smoothing over any conflict that may arise. 

Secondly, it enables you the buyer to give clients the truthful impression that the exiting proprietor is still involved in the business as a part time consultant. You can read here in our eBook all about how the feeling of continuity will help you to reap the benefits until the client is completely and contently under your wing.

And by the time you have gotten to the handover stage, you will have already built up a reliable and trustworthy connection with the IFA seller which will make the specifics of the handover run so efficiently. 

But if you have made the mistake in thinking that the IFA seller doesn’t matter in the acquisition process, it means you won’t have built up a positive relationship with them and this will have a very negative and knock on effect!

Over 80% of IFA buyers we have spoken to didn’t realise just how indispensable a healthy and communicative relationship with their seller was, and as a result they lost clients and their profits decreased rapidly.

Don’t let that be you!

If you are in the market for acquisition and you are looking to attract top IFA sellers, here are 3 ways I can help:

Claim your FREE copy of our guide that reveals why you are missing out on premium acquisition opportunities. Why retiring IFA owners are selling to your competitors and not you and how to fix it, by clicking here. 

Book in with one of our expert consultants who can give you the lowdown on the acquisition process. Can update you with sellers hot on the market right now and how to win them over, by clicking here. 

And if you want to find top sellers in your area, reply to this email with the words ‘IFA acquisition’ and I will see if I can help. 

Best Wishes

Stephen Hagues

P.S. Click here to download our eBook on the 5 Fatal Errors when buying IFA practices and remember, the more black and white rather than grey areas you and your exiting proprietor have then the less chance for errors, resentment and lost value later on!

No one is so powerful that they can stop the march of time.

Can you imagine getting closer to your end of days and having a whole brick load of regret weighing on your shoulders?

Your inner monologue will no doubt sound like:

I can’t believe how fast life goes

I’m getting older and there are still so many things that I haven’t done.

I have so many regrets about missed opportunities… I always wanted to travel the world but I have always had too many responsibilities

I wish I could stop time so that I could do all the things that I wanted to, but I can’t!

Because at the end of the day, time waits for no man, and no woman.

And if you don’t act now, when it comes to preparing for your IFA exit strategy, you could end up losing the time you thought you had to achieve the goals and aspirations you dream about in retirement! 

Such as:

Travelling the world

Creating precious memories with your children and grandchildren

Pursuing that personal passion or hobby that you have always had on the backburner because your work was always more important!

Did you know that 80% of individuals regret not retiring sooner to spend time with their family!

Don’t become part of that devastating statistic… The truth is, you will never get that time back so act now!

If you are planning to exit within the next 5 years I would say now is the time to start focussing and preparing yourself and your IFA Business

And because I know just how much there is to think about for you potential retiring proprietors I have prepared this eBook just for you!

That’s right! For you and at no cost to you, I have outlined here why you need to give yourself enough time and plenty of options when choosing the right acquirer for your business.

Because there are many out there and chances are you will need to wade through a whole host of unsuitable acquirers before you find one that is the right fit for your IFA Business whilst giving you the most premium offer!

So stop wasting time!

From the comfort of your office or home, spend 10 minutes now downloading and reading our eBook so you can save your precious time for the things that matter to you most in life

Because even if you think you have plenty of time before starting your IFA exit, the bottom line is time is unstoppable and will march on regardless…

… And eventually it will run out if you aren’t careful!

Best Wishes

Stephen Hagues

PS. One must not procrastinate or delay, click this link now to speak to one of our expert consultants about your exit strategy and remember Time and Tide will not wait and neither will our appointments so don’t miss your opportunity to be the first in line! To book in your telephone appointment, click here now!

Knowledge is Power!

For most IFA business owners that I have worked with, growth is key to increasing profits.

Another important thing I have learned is that organic growth is hard earned!

Therefore the quickest and in some cases the most sensible thing to do to achieve growth and increase profits...

...is acquisition! 

Acquiring a business however, is not always straight forward. In fact, for first time IFA buyers it could be the single most costly business decision that they ever make.

So acquiring the wrong business is simply not an option!

In fact, mistakes of any kind are likely to lead to significant losses and must be avoided...

...To help make sure that they are, I've compiled a list of the 5 key things to remember when buying an IFA practice!

1) Decide what it is that you're looking for.

Purchasing a business is often times the biggest expenditure that any firm can undertake...

...so it's important to make sure you get it right!

Size, location, cultural fit. These things are all of paramount importance when considering exactly which businesses you are going to be looking at in terms of acquisition prospects. 

2) Do your research!

It has oft been said, that if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail...

...now this may seem somewhat simplistic, but in this instance it is absolutely true. You need to ensure that you have all of your own finances in order and are in a position to acquire before you even start thinking about it. 

3) Ensure that you undertake full due diligence.

Following on from point number 2, once you have got yourself ready and have worked out your target. It is crucial that you establish that you establish that the business is as advertised.

I can't count the number of times I have spoken to clients who have gotten to 6 months post-acquisition, only to find that there was an obvious reason that the business was for sale in the first place...

...I can tell you, this reason is rarely good.

4) Consider working with a broker.

If you've done your research and haven't found exactly what you're looking for, then the next logical step is going through professionals.

Brokers work with hundreds if not thousands of businesses a year and so have a much wider net to cast...

...therefore they are far more likely to be able to find a suitable acquisition target and also likely help take a huge amount of weight off your shoulders when it comes to the nitty gritty.

Engage the right brokers and the route through acquisition will always be much smoother.

5) Draft the right sales agreement.

You've done all the hard work, found a target, now it's crucial that you ensure the draft agreement is in place and written up correctly.

Make sure you used an experienced and reputable acquisitions attorney here, it is not an area to be trying to save costs!

Your brokers will be able to point you in the right direction here. Make sure you are thorough and leave no ambiguities.

If you follow these 5 steps then you will be well on your way to ensuring a successful acquisition and capitalising fully on the solid foundations of organic growth that you had previously been built on.

For more information on the acquisition process and the 18 essential points for due diligence to ensure you don't get ripped off, download our free e-Book by clickinghere.

I have worked with thousands of acquirers in over a decade in the industry, and these key points are guaranteed to make sure that acquisition runs smoothly.

Hear about how to spot the real goodwill value of a firm and spot a brilliant investment here. 

Best Wishes,

Steve Hagues

PS. Uncover the 5 most common major mistakes made when acquiring an advisory business and how to avoid them here!