FINRA Lawyer Blog
FINRA recently released Regulatory Notice 22-23 providing guidance on what firms should consider when constructing succession plans for Financial Advisors (“FAs”) who will no longer service their customers do to expected or unexpected life events.
The Need for a Plan
The Notice begins by listing the various cost/benefits of having or not having a succession plan, which would seem obvious to all. It takes no great imagination to see the benefits of a sound succession plan in the event of an FA’s sudden death or the consequent difficulties of not having such a plan. The Notice, however, provides some interesting real-life anecdotes that FINRA Staff have witnessed of the years regarding succession failures and successes.