One of the biggest reasons financial advisors are increasingly choosing to go independent is the opportunity to build a business that truly lasts. Unlike working at a large wirehouse or broker-dealer where the institution will always take priority over the individual, having your own independent practice represents an opportunity to put your own unique stamp on the way you do business. Independence also means having the freedom to decide what your practice becomes once you’re ready to step aside.
A successful advisory practice is more than a book of business. It’s a collection of relationships, processes, expertise, values and a culture that an advisor has built over a career. The right independent Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) structure can give you greater control over all of it, including how your practice grows, what it is ultimately worth and who carries it forward.
Independence can create more enterprise value
When you own your business and your client relationships, growth doesn’t just mean increasing revenue year over year. It also directly contributes to the value of the practice you’re building.
That’s one of the primary reasons independence continues to attract advisors. Instead of making money for a large institution, independent advisors can turn their work into a durable business that has its own enterprise value. It’s no surprise that Cerulli Associates reports that the number of advisors operating at independent RIAs has grown at a 5.2% compound annual growth rate over the past decade, the fastest growth among major advisor channels.
Of course, independence alone doesn’t guarantee growth. That’s where working with the right partner to support your practice comes in. At Integrated Advisors Network, our team serves as a genuine partner to each of our advisors, supporting them with technology, compliance, and back-office logistics. We strive to not just make our advisors more efficient, but to work alongside them as problem solvers who can help them build a differentiated, successful practice. And because our advisors always retain 100 percent of their business, their work and success are always building their own enterprise value — which is exactly how it should be.
Independence and succession planning
The benefits of independence go far beyond growth — and the timing couldn’t be more relevant. According to Cerulli, more than 100,000 advisors are expected to retire over the next decade, representing over 37% of industry headcount and roughly 41% of industry assets. Yet Cerulli also finds that roughly a quarter of advisors expecting to retire within that window are unsure of their succession plan.
That gap is exactly the moment when true independence offers a different answer to the question all advisors face when they decide it’s time to step aside: “What happens to my clients and everything I’ve built?”
In a large wirehouse or brokerage setting, the answer is often out of your control. The institution is ultimately the one that will coordinate what happens to your clients. An independent RIA can put the advisor in a fundamentally different position: you have greater control over the future of your practice.
That means you can think about succession on your terms. You can identify the person — or team — you believe is best equipped to serve your clients. At Integrated, we’re proud to have built a spirit of camaraderie among all our different advisor groups. When it comes time for succession, those relationships begin to pay off, as retiring advisors have a built-in group of like-minded peers they can consider for the sale of their practice. Not only is that financially beneficial to the advisor, but it also provides the peace of mind that the clients they’ve spent their career serving will continue to be supported by a fellow advisor team that shares their values.
How Integrated supports succession planning
At Integrated, succession planning isn’t simply about identifying a buyer someday in the far-off future. It’s about building relationships within a network of advisors who understand the culture and client-first approach you’ve spent years developing. The goal is to make the eventual transition feel like a continuation — not a handoff to a stranger.
Integrated’s model gives advisors the ability to decide who takes over their book, while the network can facilitate the introductions and provide contingency planning to help protect both the business and its clients.
Build something that lasts
The best reason to pursue independence may not be retirement at all. It’s the opportunity to build a business with a future.
You get to decide how you serve clients. You get to invest in growth. You get to build enterprise value. And, when the time comes, you get to have a meaningful say in who carries your work forward.
With the right RIA platform behind you, independence doesn’t have to mean building alone. It can mean having the infrastructure, technology, compliance support, and advisor network necessary to build something valuable — and a succession strategy designed to make sure that value lasts. After a career spent helping clients plan for their futures, you deserve the opportunity to plan for your own, too.