With the graying of the profession and the complexity of today's financial services world, many advisors find themselves overwhelmed and stuck when it comes to creating a viable succession or exit plan.

Too many have postponed what should be a long-term process; sadly, these advisors may feel successful now but will be disappointed with the final outcome.

Over the past decade, many firms have applied business discipline to create practices that meet or exceed their personal financial objectives during their working years. That's a great development for those individuals and the profession. Yet the regrettable reality is that most advisors still fail to plan effectively for a sustainable business that doesn't require their ongoing personal involvement; a business that would be attractive to a future owner.