Succession Planning Update

The new year is always a busy time for us in the Transact Succession Planning team. The festive break allows time for thought and consideration for long term plans.

It does not matter what stage you are at in your own personal succession journey, it is never too early to start thinking about it. Getting your business in the best possible position will help you in two ways. Firstly, it will improve efficiencies. Secondly, when you do consider implementing your succession plan, it will attract the best offers from potential buyers.

Businesses that have been running for a number of years evolve, and over time processes and regulations change. It is always good to have a documented review to address any out-of-date processes and procedures. Common potential issues I come across in my discussions with advisers are:

• Record keeping – Most firms will use a Customer Relationship Management system of some sort. It is important to make sure that the information held is up to date and complete.
• Reviews – We have all seen the recent articles and redress needed where clients’ investments and goals have not been reviewed. Make sure that reviews have taken place and if for some reason they have not, that it is documented. If a client cannot be seen for two subsequent reviews, consider if they are still an active client and whether charging is appropriate.
• Central investment proposition – Running multiple propositions can mean that there is inconsistency. This is not necessarily a problem. For instance, you may segment your clients depending on value or perhaps accumulation/decumulation. Make sure that if you do run more than one proposition the rationale is documented, and clients are in the correct segment.
• Charging – Review charges paid by clients. Assess if all clients in the same charging bracket are receiving the same level of service. Also, determine if all clients are profitable or if there are instances where larger portfolios are cross subsidising smaller ones. If so, do you want to continue servicing these lower value clients, or would your business perform better without them?
• Outsourcing – Investment risk is a big issue for a lot of advice firms. By outsourcing you can mitigate certain risks, asset allocation being a good example. If you are selecting investments this can be very time consuming, and reviewing performance and allocation is fraught with potential risks. If you consider that it is appropriate to outsource to a Discretionary Investment Manager (DIM) you will need to do your due diligence on the DIM but from there, they can run the portfolios, potentially reducing the risk to your business and freeing up a large proportion of your time.

Transact can help with some of your issues. For example, we can support you with data feeds with back-offices and offer extensive template functionality. Your regional Adviser Support Manager can help you with these and, as always, if you’d like to talk to us about the above or your succession plans – please get in touch with us at: successionplanning@integrafin.co.uk and we would be happy to help.

1. Introduction
2. TOL Recent Enhancements 
3. Transact 2025 Charge Reduction
4. Why Some Firms Integrate Directly With Transact
5. Transact & US Trading
6. Succession Planning Update 
7. Transact – BlackRock MPS & Growth
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9. The Name’s Bond: Are Investment Bonds The 007 Of Financial Planning?
10. ISAs – Treatment Of Accounts Following Death
11. Interest On Cash
12. Transact Events 2025