BROKERHUNTER MARKET INSIGHT

The fear of losing clients is the reason most advisors stay longer than they should. The data tells a different story.

Ask any advisor why they’ve stayed at their current firm longer than they planned, and the answer is rarely the payout grid. More often, it’s a quieter fear: that if they move, their clients won’t follow.

It is the single most powerful retention tool the wirehouse model has ever produced and it works almost entirely because advisors overestimate the risk. The data on actual client portability tells a more encouraging story and understanding it can change how an advisor thinks about the decision entirely.

“Advisors don’t just manage money. They manage trust. And trust, it turns out, travels.”

Clients are more loyal to their advisor than to the firm behind them. A 2024 study found that 63% of investors would likely follow their advisor to a new firm if they left. The relationship built on years of trust, communication, and personalized advice, belongs to the advisor. The logo on the building is largely irrelevant to most clients. Clients stay loyal to the person who answers the phone during market volatility, helps them navigate retirement decisions, calls after a death in the family and guides major financial life events over years or decades.

When advisors plan their transitions carefully, the retention numbers are strong. Industry data shows retention rates of 86% to 90% or higher when moves are well executed, with some advisors reporting over 94% of client assets following them. The advisors who lose the most clients are typically the ones who don’t have a transition plan not the ones who move.

The Schwab 2024 RIA Benchmarking Study puts the average industry-wide client retention rate at 97% for independent advisors in a steady state. Clients served by advisors delivering consistent, engaged service rarely leave and the firm’s name has very little to do with it. Clients stay loyal to the person who answers the phone during market volatility, helps them navigate retirement decisions, calls after a death in the family and guides major financial life events over years or decades.

Wirehouse firms understand client portability better than most advisors do. Their transition agreements, forgivable loan structures, and Protocol exit procedures are designed precisely to create friction and doubt at the moment an advisor is most likely to leave.

The calculation advisors are encouraged to make goes like this: you have a $150 million book; if you lose 20% of clients in a transition, that’s $30 million gone before you’ve placed a single call. The number sounds catastrophic. But advisors who have executed well-planned transitions report a very different experience. Clients who have been served well for years and who receive a proactive, honest conversation about why the advisor is moving and what it means for them, almost universally follow.

The clients most likely to stay behind are those who were already disengaged, already working with another advisor, or who had thin relationships to begin with. Losing them in a transition often clarifies, rather than damages, the health of the book.

The advisors who retain the most clients share a few consistent practices:

— They communicate early and personally. A phone call before a client reads anything in writing is worth more than any letter or email. Clients want to hear directly from their advisor, not from a firm announcement.

— They lead with the client’s interests. Explaining a move in terms of better service, better technology, or greater independence to act in the client’s best interest resonates. Most clients, when asked honestly, have no particular attachment to the institution.

— They move with a plan, not in reaction. Advisors who time their transition thoughtfully, avoiding quarter-end reporting periods, major life events for key clients, or market volatility may reduce disruption and retain more.

— They stay reachable. The transition period is not the time to go quiet. Advisors who over-communicate in the first 90 days lose far fewer clients than those who assume the relationship is secure.

The advisors who lose the most in a transition are those who leave abruptly, communicate poorly, or underestimate how much their clients care about continuity. That is a planning problem, not a portability problem.

“69% of advisors who went independent wished they had made the move sooner. Client retention is almost never the reason they waited, it’s almost always the reason they give.”

BROKERHUNTER SELECT Thinking through a transition? BrokerHunter SELECT works directly with experienced advisors navigating a career-defining move. We help you think through client portability, timing, and the right platform for your practice confidentially, and without pressure. Start a Confidential Conversation →

J.D. Power, 2024 U.S. Full-Service Investor Satisfaction Study

Charles Schwab, 2024 RIA Benchmarking Study

Jump.ai, “How to Retain Clients During a Financial Advisor Transition,” 2025

Zeplyn.ai, “5 Reasons Your Advisory Firm Is Losing Clients,” January 2025

Schwab Advisor Services, “Supported Independence Study,” 2024