September 8, 2021
Wendy Leung Quoted
By Katie Kuehner-Hebert
The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred a wave of financial advisors calling it quits, or at least finally giving serious consideration as to how to go about properly transitioning their firms either to the next generation or to another firm.
“Some advisors, when forced by COVID to confront mortality—theirs, friends, and family—decided to expedite their retirement and enjoy life,” Leung says. “Since markets were high and many advisors had their best year ever from a revenue perspective, it was a great time to lock in a retirement payout from their firm. Or, if the advisor was independent, sell the business at a high-water mark and benefit from the lower capital gains tax rates that are still in effect.”
Conversely, some advisors who were thinking about retirement pushed off the decision when they realized they could work very effectively remotely, she says. Not having to come into an office, and the ability to work from wherever they want, is prompting some advisors who are nearing retirement to push out their timelines.
