Investing in the future

Many brokers are forced to sell their businesses when they retire due to a lack of long-term succession planning. Andrew Foxwell reports on the way some brokers are changing this

Increasing numbers of brokers are reaching retirement age and find they have no option but to sell their pride-and-joy to acquisitive networks like Folgate.

With the onset of Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulation, succession planning is increasingly becoming a formal necessity for brokers, to ensure clients are not left in the lurch without cover when the unexpected happens to a key employee. Such planning can involve hiring and grooming sons or daughters to take the reins of the