If you're planning your retirement with a financial adviser who's anywhere near retirement age themselves, you might be setting yourself up for a nasty surprise.
Recent industry data indicates only 10-20% of financial advisers have a documented succession plan, despite many advisers being in their mid-50s and planning to retire within the next decade. Meanwhile, 83% of people with advisers worry about what happens when their adviser retires, and more than half fear they won't receive any warning at all.
That's not just a statistic. It's a wake-up call for Kiwi investors.
You'll Likely Outlive Your Adviser's Career
If you retire at 65, you're likely to live another 25-30 years. According to Stats NZ, life expectancy for a 65-year-old New Zealander is currently 20.6 years for men and 23.2 years for women – and those figures continue to improve over time. Many Kiwis will live well into their 90s, with centenarians becoming increasingly common.
Now consider this: if your 60-year-old adviser plans to work until they're 70, that gives you just 5-10 years of their guidance during a retirement that could span three decades. You'll almost certainly outlive their working life, and quite possibly outlive them entirely.
The mismatch is stark. You need financial guidance for 25-30+ years, but your peer-age adviser might only be around for a third of that journey. Without a proper succession plan, you're facing two decades of uncertainty at precisely the time you need stability most.
The Hidden Risk in Your Financial Plan
Think about the irony for a moment. You hire a financial adviser to help you plan for decades of retirement, ensuring you'll never run out of money or face unexpected disruptions… Yet the person guiding you through this process often hasn't done the same planning for their own practice.
When an adviser retires without a proper succession plan, clients typically get assigned to someone new. Often, it’s someone they've never met.
The investment philosophy might change. The service style could be completely different. It's a bit like when your GP retires without warning and you're left scrambling to find someone new who understands your goals and history.
If you're pre-retirement (around 55 or 60) and working with an adviser who's 65 with no succession plan, you're practically guaranteeing yourself a disruptive transition right as you enter retirement. Even if that adviser works until 70 or 75, you'll still need another 15-20 years of advice after they're gone.
Why Advisers Avoid This Conversation
The reluctance to plan succession isn't malicious; it's deeply human. Creating a proper succession plan requires advisers to share their revenue with younger team members, invest significant time in training and mentoring, and confront their own career endings.
Many simply prefer to coast into semi-retirement rather than undertake this difficult work.
But their comfort shouldn't come at your expense, especially when you're planning for a retirement that could easily span three decades.
What a Proper Succession Looks Like
A well-executed succession plan doesn't happen overnight. The best transitions span multiple years, giving you time to build relationships with next-generation advisers while your current adviser gradually steps back.
You should see:
Early introductions to the advisers who will eventually manage your portfolio
Gradual transitions where new advisers take on increasing responsibility over 3-7 years
Consistent philosophy ensuring your investment approach doesn't change with personnel
Clear communication about the timeline and process
Demonstrated commitment such as ownership stakes for next-generation advisers
Age diversity on the advisory team to ensure continuity
Again, think of it like shopping for a family doctor. You don't want someone in their late 60s or 70s; you want someone who can look after you for multiple decades into the future. The same logic applies to your financial adviser, perhaps even more so given the 25-30 year timeframe you're planning for.
An adviser in their 30s or 40s can realistically serve you throughout your entire retirement. An adviser in their 60s simply cannot, no matter how skilled or dedicated they are.
This doesn’t mean you can’t get advice from an adviser in this age bracket – simply that you need to ask questions about the future.
7 Questions to Ask About Adviser Succession
Don't wait for your adviser to bring it up. Take control by asking:
Do you have a documented succession plan?
Who will work with my family when you retire?
Have I already met this person, or are they yet to be hired?
What's the age range of your advisory team?
How will you ensure my investment approach, services, and fees remain consistent?
What's the timeline for this transition?
Given I might need advice for another 25-30 years, how does your firm plan to serve me throughout my entire retirement?
If your adviser seems uncomfortable or unprepared to answer these questions, that tells you everything you need to know.
Building Succession Into Your Planning
Smart financial planning means thinking holistically about risk. You diversify your investments through KiwiSaver and other portfolios, maintain emergency funds, and plan for healthcare costs. Adviser succession should be part of that same risk management framework.
If you're in your 40s, you might have more flexibility, but you should still favour advisers with clear succession plans. If you're approaching retirement, this becomes non-negotiable. You need an advisory team that can serve you for the next 30 years, not just the next five.
Look for firms that have already made the hard choices – those that have hired and trained next-generation advisers, documented processes and consistent philosophies, and made those younger advisers actual owners in the business. This isn't just good planning; it's a commitment to their clients' long-term wellbeing.
The Bottom Line
Your financial security is too important to leave to chance. The adviser helping you plan for decades of retirement should have spent at least as much time planning for their own succession.
The actuarial reality is clear: at 65, you're looking at potentially 25-30 years of retirement. Your peer-age adviser simply won't be working that long. The question isn't whether succession will happen – it's whether it will happen with planning and care, or chaos and disruption.
Ask the hard questions now. If the answers don't satisfy you, it might be time to find an adviser who's as committed to your future as you are.
Nick Stewart
(Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Huirapa, Ngāti Māmoe, Ngāti Waitaha)
Financial Adviser and CEO at Stewart Group
Stewart Group is a Hawke's Bay and Wellington based CEFEX & BCorp certified financial planning and advisory firm providing personal fiduciary services, Wealth Management, Risk Insurance & KiwiSaver scheme solutions.
The information provided, or any opinions expressed in this article, are of a general nature only and should not be construed or relied on as a recommendation to invest in a financial product or class of financial products. You should seek financial advice specific to your circumstances from a Financial Adviser before making any financial decisions. A disclosure statement can be obtained free of charge by calling 0800 878 961 or visit our website, www.stewartgroup.co.nz
Article no. 434
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Keith Matthews of Tulett Matthews and Associates for exploring this critical topic on the Empowered Investor Podcast and highlighting the importance of adviser succession planning for investors approaching retirement.
References
Investment Planning Council (IPC) survey of 1,500+ Canadians with financial advisers, cited in Tulett Matthews & Associates, "Empowered Investor Podcast Episode 120: Don't Let Your Adviser's Retirement Disrupt Yours" (October 2024)
Stats NZ, "National and subnational period life tables: 2017–2019" - Life expectancy data for 65-year-olds in New Zealand
Industry research on adviser succession planning cited in Tulett Matthews & Associates podcast, showing 10-20% of advisers have documented succession plans, with average adviser age of 54 years