Retirement plan advisers considering a sale of their practice should focus less on securing the highest bid and more on finding an acquisition partner whose culture, leadership structure and growth strategy align with their own.
During the Tuesday session, “Adviser M&As: Do’s and Don’ts,” at the PLANADVISER360 Conference in Orlando, Florida, Barbara Delaney, principal at StoneStreet Renaissance Benefit Advisory Group, a member firm of Global Retirement Partners LLC, said she bought and sold her practice two different times.
In 2003, Delaney was a part of National Retirement Partners Inc. (NRP), which was sold to LPL Financial and then was reconstituted as Global Retirement Partners, and in 2019, she sold the asset of her firm, StoneStreet, to Hub International Ltd.
“I am no longer part of Hub, but I still very much work with my clients on a daily basis, and Hub runs the back office,” she said.
As mentioned by Delaney, she no longer holds a title at Hub, and left the firm in 2025, but still serves her existing retirement plan clients.
While growth opportunities, succession planning and access to capital remain the primary reasons advisers pursue mergers or acquisitions, panelists said advisers should carefully evaluate leadership structures, integration plans and long-term business priorities before agreeing to a deal. Those factors, in their experiences, often have a greater effect on post-transaction satisfaction than purchase-price negotiations.
Pursuing M&A to Grow
Delaney said her sale was motivated by succession planning, access to capital and the prospect of accelerating future growth.
Speaking from more recent experience, Sean Bjork, senior vice president at Hub Retirement and Wealth Management, sold his practice, Global Retirement Partners LLC, to Hub this year.
Bjork said, in considering an acquisition, he thought that if he wanted to scale independently it would require either significant hiring, a merger with another advisory firm or joining a larger organization.
“I went down all three of those roads at a high level initially, and it became really clear to me that I didn’t necessarily want to be a builder,” he said. “I really wanted to find where I could get that … growth and have the highest probability to do that.”
Cultural Fit Over Price
Bjork said prospective sellers should seek a trusted M&A adviser and banker to help normalize deal structures across competing offers. While valuation and deal terms often receive the most attention during acquisition negotiations, both panelists said advisers should devote equal, if not greater, attention to cultural fit.
He added that a poor cultural match can be far more difficult to overcome after a transaction closes.
“There isn’t enough money in the world to make you like someone or want to be there,” Bjork said.
As advisers evaluate a firm’s cultural fit, Bjork said they assess the leadership teams they will work with, the strength of local and regional offices and how retirement-plan consulting fits into the buyer’s broader business strategy.
Advisers should ask whether retirement is viewed as a key growth business, what percentage of company revenue comes from retirement services and whether management is continuing to invest resources into the practice.
“What percentage of the total revenue is retirement?” Bjork said. “Is that growing? Is it a priority? What’s the investment back into this specific business? Why?”
Delaney echoed those sentiments, saying advisers need confidence that an acquiring firm’s culture and operating philosophy align with their own. She said firms should carefully evaluate how they will integrate into a larger organization and whether the support and growth opportunities promised during negotiations will materialize after the deal closes.
“You really have to feel like you like them and feel that they will support you during the growth of it,” Delaney said.