Financial Advisors’ Succession: It’s About The “Critical Middle”

Buying books of business – chocked full of existing client portfolios - has been the favored way to grow as it represents, a turnkey solution to get into a market quickly with established cash flow as opposed to building a business from the ground floor up. Ultimately, however, this is only a short term win. Keeping those clients and building upon the goodwill requires business smarts: the skills to scale a business by expanding capacity. That’s why you should attend:

Business Plans the Work. If you are interested in scaling your practice - Don’t Miss this Virtual CE Event: March 25 at 8:15 CT. Sessions start at 8:30 CT. 

To register call 1-866-953-4769 or Register online here.

A joint initiative by

The Backdrop. According to a recent report by Investor Economics, advisors over the age of 55 years represent almost 40% of all full service brokerage advisors in Canada, managing about 50% of all assets. This should make business succession a top of mind issue. However, senior financial advisors are not always as well prepared to plan for their own futures as they should be. Worse, their successors are unprepared to sustain and grow the businesses they are poised to take over. One of the key reasons: they don’t understand the numbers that will determine the value and priority of their business pursuits.

If that describes you, don’t miss “The Numbers Tell the Story” with best-selling author and CBC News Network Weekend Business Panelist Jenifer Bartman CPA, CA, FCMC, MFA, RWM, FDFS on March 25, 2026 as Knowledge Bureau and The Personal Coach bring you the first in a new Business Builder CE Summit Series: Plans that Work!   

Here’s the “Why” and what you will learn:

What will be discussed? There is so much business building information packed in this all new Business Builder CE Summit:

• Put Your Ideas Into Action with Strategic Business Planning with Evelyn Jacks and April Lynn-Levitt
• Communicate Your Value to Your Next Ideal Client with Lisa Mohammed and April Lynn-Levitt
• Power Up Your High Performing Team to Double Your Revenues with Charlene Wolthuizen
• The Numbers Tell the Story: The Success Secrets in Your Financials with Jenifer Bartman
• The Real Wealth Manager’s Journey
• New Client Generator: How to Develop a Consistent Flow with Lisa Mohammed and April Lynn-Levitt
• A True-to-Life Case Study: How I Built My Business & My Business Skills, with Special Guest Doug Buss

The Issue for Senior Advisors. As your likely transition target is a younger advisor, both senior and next gen leaders have an interest in the ability for the business to generate sound financial performance - consistently. Financial advisors need to understand the numbers that lead away from cash flow crunches and embellish the bottom line – those numbers upon which the value of the business will be judged. All of that is distinct from client relationship management. 

What’s the key difference? Jenifer Bartman says it’s about focusing on managing and growing the business, as compared to providing a service; the emphasis also needs to be beyond the “top line” (i.e., sales) and the residual (i.e., what’s in your bank account). “Understanding and managing the “critical middle” is what matters, including expenses and cashflow. These important steps should be taken now, to identify and implement the necessary foundation to create a track record of long term growth.”

The Issue For Both - New Entrepreneurs and Transitioning Advisors. In a competitive world where transition and strategic partnerships are of the most interest to younger advisors who may wish to acquire an existing practice and grow it, it is important to demonstrate a solid financial track record, from a business perspective. 

Equally important is the ability to make sound business decisions, in terms of where value and growth can be created, as well as identifying areas that no longer represent opportunity.  Business leaders need accurate and reliable financial information in order to do so, beyond sales budgets and bank account balances.

In The Numbers Tell the Story, the “critical middle”, says session leader Jenifer Bartman, “includes managing expenses that are incurred to generate revenues, cashflow, and financial continuity. Doing this well is the basis for establishing a track record of growth and building value in the company, raising the likelihood of successful sale or transition in the future. Failing to do so can result in a range of problems, including insufficient pricing levels, a lack of good information for decision making, cashflow issues, and poor performance.”

Here’s what you will learn in Jenifer’s session on March 25, starting with registration at 8:15 CT:

• What does success look like? Focus on key areas beyond revenue, including expenses, EBITDA, and cashflow.
• Key Ratio Analysis – The Balance Sheet and its relationship to the Profit and Loss Statement
• Healthy business habits – Pricing strategy that considers cost and cashflow implications
• Comprehensive Budgeting – Why it matters and what’s involved.
• Reporting considerations – The design and frequency that supports good decision-making and current, reliable information

The Bottom Line: Good information for making sound business decisions and proactively identifying problems, as well as the basis for working towards a successful transition, starts with good financial records for due diligence processes in succession planning. But best of all this is immediately implementable for your ongoing business success. A better understanding the company’s opportunity to add value; is helpful for generating better results and for attracting potential partners, too. 

Don’t miss this important Virtual Event – March 25 at 8:15 CT. Sessions start at 8:30 CT. To register call 1-866-953-4769 or Register online here.