Market Fluidity Has Increased. What are the Ramifications for Practice Owners?
Recruit 2 Advice | Financial Planning & AFSL Market Update | 2026
Dugald Braithwaite, Director R2A
Looking to Sell?
Issue
Market fluidity across the financial advice practice market continues to increase as PE Capital inflows and ownership models evolve, advisers move more freely between platforms, and buyers place greater weight on transferability and operational quality.
For practice owners, value is no longer driven by revenue alone. A business that is founder-dependent, poorly documented or operationally fragmented will generally attract more caution, more integration risk and a lower valuation multiple.
Idea
Strong systems, documented workflows, clean reconciled data and reduced key-person dependence all lower buyer risk and improve confidence in future earnings. This is where disciplined practices stand out.
The practical implication for AFSL practice owners is that internal infrastructure has become a direct value lever.
If client data is clean and consistently maintained in Xplan, workflows are standardised, advice delivery is repeatable, and client relationships extend beyond the founder, the practice becomes easier to diligence, easier to integrate and more defensible on sale.
Market Lewin’s article directly links stronger transferability to multiple expansion, noting that a business valued at around 4.0x EBITDA may rise to 5.5x or higher once transferability is optimised.
Lewin writes in Taking Cash Off the Table: Why Transferability Unlocks Value in a Financial Planning Practice, “The easier a business is to transition to new ownership, the more valuable it becomes.”
Recommendation
Practice owners should treat operational readiness as a strategic growth and succession priority now, not just when a sale is approaching.
The recommendation is straightforward: build the business so it can function cleanly without over-reliance on one individual.
That means tighter systems, cleaner CRM data, documented procedures, clearer staff roles and stronger client continuity. In a more fluid AFSL market, the firms that invest in infrastructure today are more likely to future-proof earnings, protect client value and maximise sale outcomes later.