For employee and broker-dealer advisors
Before you ask what your book is worth, ask whether you own it
Independent practice owners sell to buyers. Employee advisors at wirehouses and broker-dealers usually cannot — the client relationships sit with the firm, and the only route to value is the firm’s own retiring-advisor program, on the firm’s terms. Which of those two situations you are in changes the number, the timeline, and who you are allowed to talk to.
Three questions that decide everything
Whose clients are they, on paper?
Not in spirit — on paper. Your employment agreement, your firm’s client-ownership language, and any non-solicitation covenant you signed determine whether you have something transferable. Most advisors have not read those documents since the day they joined, and the language is rarely ambiguous once you do.
Is there a program, and what does it actually pay?
Every major firm now runs a retiring-advisor or sunset program. They are real money and they are also the only bid you will receive. Payments are typically staged over several years, tied to retention, and conditional on your conduct after you leave. The headline percentage is not the number that matters.
Could you convert first?
Advisors who move to independence before retiring change what they are selling — from a claim on a firm’s program to an asset they own outright. That path takes years and it is not right for everyone, but it is the single biggest lever on the eventual number, and almost nobody raises it early enough for it to be available.
Where this fits
This site covers ownership, firm programs, and the route to independence. Once you have established that you own something sellable, our sister resources model what it is worth and how a discreet private sale is actually run.
Already own your practice?
Skip straight to the number. A confidential valuation takes about a minute — no account, no listing, no obligation.
Who Owns My Book of Business is an authorized lead-generation partner of buyAUM. buyAUM compensates us only if a transition is completed. Sellers are never charged a fee at any stage. Nothing on this site is legal, tax, or compliance advice.