As a Registered Investment Advisor, you are part of an elite group of professionals who have a real passion for your job and a deep understanding of what goes into running a successful business. Chances are you left the wirehouse so you could have a more direct and transparent relationship with your clients and have more control over your business.

But no matter how much you love the work, at some point it will be time to move on. The average age of advisors today is around 55, and 20% of advisors are age 65 or older. When you retire is entirely up to you—whether you’re 40 or 70—so how can you tell when it’s time?

You help people all day long, but who is going to help you understand when it’s time to retire and what retirement should look like?

Today we want to look at three common indicators that can help you recognize if and when it’s time to retire from your RIA.

1. The thrill of working with clients is gone

No advisor would ever admit this out loud, but at some point, the thrill of working with clients may start to diminish. Sure, it waxes and wanes over the years for every advisor, but we’re talking about a lasting general apathy toward the work of helping your clients reach their financial goals. 

In the beginning, you loved helping clients connect the dots toward the futures they wanted to build. Whether you were helping them buy a second house, pay for their kids’ to go to college or put money toward their dream retirement, you loved it all. You lived to help people.

Nowadays, your work feels like more of an inconvenience than an inspiration. Don’t feel bad—it’s not that uncommon, actually. At some point for many advisors, even the excitement of helping clients reach their goals can’t outweigh the slog of paperwork and marketing and meetings and networking…it all becomes too much. You just can’t muster the enthusiasm that once came so naturally to you.

Relax! This isn’t the worst thing in the world. It could just be a sign that you are ready for something new. It may be time to look into other career options. Think about what you would do if you could do anything you wanted, and start thinking about exit paths from your firm.

2. Lead flow has dried up and there’s no path to further growth

Maybe the passion isn’t gone from your end, but it is from the general public. The rocket-fueled growth of your early years that seemed like it would never slow down has…slowed way down. And maybe it isn’t showing any signs of picking back up. And maybe it’s been years since you saw any semblance of remarkable growth.

Granted, some advisors purposefully place a cap on the size of their business. If that’s you, then you likely don’t fall into this category.

But for other advisors, growth can be hard to come by. You may feel like you caught lightning in a bottle and just can’t seem to catch it again. Every other advisor you know is seeing steady growth, but you just can’t seem to bust out of the rut you’re in.

If your firm has been on the same plateau for years, it may be time to seriously consider your options for retirement. 

3. You’re beginning to explore transition options

This one is the clearest sign of them all. If you’ve started to explore transition options to sell or pass your firm on to someone else, then you may be more ready to retire than you think.

RIAs often bring on an advisor for an equity deal and plan to slowly hand over the reins of their firm, but find that the handoff happens more slowly than they would really like it to. A year or two into such a deal, they are itching to get out of the driver’s seat and wish they had put everything on a shorter timeline. 

How to be prepared

Retiring on your terms takes time, and there are no “easy” solutions. But if you’re ready to start talking retirement—or just want an action plan in place for when you are—we’ve created an advisor-centric model that simplifies the process more than anyone else, without taking away your independence.

We provide everything you need to run your business, and when you’re ready to retire, we make the transition seamless for you and your clients. All of that at a fraction of the rate of other TAMPs.

Join WealthPlan Group and we’ll take care of all of the details. Transition out when you’re ready, and we’ll take care of the legwork so you can retire knowing that your legacy is intact and your clients are taken care of.

Want to learn more? Schedule a consultation with one of our RIA experts today.