Start planning for succession sooner than later

Name:

Pat Weir

Occupation:

Senior advisor and associate, Lawton Partners Wealth Management

Location:

Prince Albert, Sask.

Age:

62

In the business since:

1978

Firm’s AUM:

More than $100 million

Typical clients:

Business owners and families

Fee model:

Trailer fees

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This article is part of the Advisor’s Edge 20 Ways to Be a Better Advisor feature package, published in the June 2018 edition of AE. Click here for more tips and to learn about our 20th anniversary.

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Start planning for succession sooner than later

The last 40 years have gone by quickly for Pat Weir. After graduating from university, she worked at an IIROC firm before choosing to become an MFDA advisor and obtain her insurance licence. She started her own practice after the 1987 stock market crash, and has been with Lawton Partners Wealth Management since 2015.

Weir realized in her late 50s that she should be planning for her own retirement. “I can’t tell you how many times I sat in on sessions with other advisors about succession planning,” says Weir. “But I woke up one day and realized I’ve got to get going.” Fortunately, Weir’s two partners approached her 18 months ago with a proposal to buy her firm. They’re working out the details, but Weir expects her firm to be sold gradually over time. She now works four days a week and will cut back to three days in the fall before eventually retiring (she hasn’t set a date).

Weir compares the succession planning process to the familiar one of creating retirement plans for her clients. “You’re not going to get the value for your practice if, all of a sudden, you have to sell,” she says.

“The last thing I wanted to do was to take the first cheque and ride into the sunset because I plan on living in my community. I want there to be a continuation of everything I built.”

While she hasn’t formally announced her retirement, she has told many clients about her plans. Weir’s partners have also been sitting in on meetings for the last year to get to know her clients, and the clients have started to contact her partners.

In addition to planning an orderly exit from the business, Weir is prepared to deal with an unexpected illness or emergency. Communication with the firm and clients is part of that plan. She suggests working with your firm to decide who will look after your work in case of an emergency. “My clients don’t expect me to be here all the time,” she says, “but if an emergency comes up they want to feel that they can be looked after.”

For advisors who work on their own, Weir suggests partnering with another solo advisor. She had such an agreement with an advisor in another city who worked for the same dealer. In the case of death or disability, they agreed to run each other’s practices until the book was sold or staff could be trained to take over.

“It was a relief to know that he was willing, as was I, to step in should either of us die,” says Weir.