Succession - Case Study

Book of Business Details:

Broker Dealer – Lincoln Financial Securities (LFS)

Agent Age – 72

AUM - $6 Million

# of Clients – 145

Lines of Business – Life Insurance (Lincoln Life), Annuities (Hancock and Lincoln), Mutual Funds Direct (American Funds), Brokerage, and 401k (Lincoln)

Electronic CRM – No. Kept physical files.

Assistant – Yes. She was moving to Austin and that prompted the discussion.

Relationship – 401k Wholesaler made the introduction.

Time Frame:

Approached – December 2018

Continuity Plan Placed – Jumped past continuity Plan

Agreement Placed – January 2019

Transaction – April 2019

Payout Period – 3 Years

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Summary:

We were introduced to the advisor by a 401k wholesaler, who told us he was looking to get out of the business since his assistant was leaving him. He had tried to work a deal with another Broker/Dealer, but it had recently fallen apart. He needed to move quickly, as his health was worsening from the stroke he had suffered the year prior.

Moving from LFS to Lincoln Financial Advisors (LFA) would seem to be simple, but it was a true Broker/Dealer switch and had the same issues that you would have with it. The first step was for the advisor to officially leave LFS and join LFA before we could engage his clients. Once he had moved his registration, we started with a letter announcing his movement from LFS to LFA and his partnership with us. Along with the letter, we sent pre-filled Agent of Record change forms. As those forms came back in, we were able to move the clients to LFA. Lastly, we had him work with us for about a month to meet with the 401ks and his top 10 clients. We were able to retain his business, assist his assistant in moving, and allow him to retire in a 4-month time frame. While typically we look for successions to have a longer lead time to them, this particular case did not provide for this opportunity.

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