Step 1
Why a local successor can matter to your clients.
Your clients chose you, in part, because you were here: across the table, at the same events, working with the same CPAs and attorneys. When you step back, many of them will want that to continue.
A successor your clients can meet for coffee is a different handoff than a name on a letter.
Industry-wide, Cerulli expects about 35% of advisors to retire within the next decade, and more than a quarter of them are not sure what their succession plan is. Your clients are part of that wave whether or not you have a plan.
A local successor also makes your own transition easier. Joint client meetings, a gradual handoff, and staying available for questions are all simpler when everyone is in the same region.
Step 2
Talk to a successor, or run a marketplace process?
| Question | Broker or marketplace | Direct local successor |
|---|---|---|
| Who you talk to | An intermediary, then many potential buyers | The person who would serve your clients |
| Best for | Testing a wide market | Advisors who already want someone local |
| Confidentiality | Depends on how the process is run | One private conversation to start |
| Fees | May involve listing, success or consulting fees | Ask any buyer what you would pay, and to whom |
Both have a place. If you want a broad market test, a broker or marketplace can run a process. If you already know you want a local successor, starting with a direct conversation can be simpler, and you can still use independent advisers to test the terms.
Step 3
Who Morrowgate is a fit for.
- Advisors in Rochester and Western New York planning to retire or reduce their workload.
- Practices whose clients include business owners, executives, pre-retirees and retirees who want their planning coordinated.
- Advisors who want to hand off a whole practice, or a group of relationships.
- Advisors with a timeline anywhere from “soon” to “a few years out.”
Morrowgate is led by Gregory Garone, CEPA®, in Rochester. See how to vet us as a successor.
Step 4
How a conversation starts.
Your goal, your timing and the question you want answered.
Service, platform, capacity and what clients would notice.
Only if there is mutual interest, in writing.
No client names, account details or documents are needed to start. If Morrowgate is not the right fit for your clients, we will say so.
Questions from local advisors
Do my clients need to be in Rochester?
Morrowgate focuses on Rochester and Western New York. If many of your clients live elsewhere, ask; we will tell you honestly whether we can serve them well.
Does Morrowgate buy books of business?
Morrowgate may be interested as a prospective successor for a whole practice or selected relationships. Any arrangement depends on mutual fit, diligence, required approvals, and definitive agreements.
I work at a large firm with a sunset program. Can we still talk?
Understand your agreements first and get legal advice on what you may discuss. See sunset program vs. selling.
Sources & scope
Morrowgate Private Wealth · October 23, 2026. These resources provide background; they do not endorse Morrowgate or establish the terms of any arrangement.
Worksheets, examples, and discussion prompts are educational preparation aids. Apply the requirements relevant to your business model with your firm and independent advisers.
Advisors in Rochester & Western New York
Start with one local conversation.
Tell us your goal, your timing and the question you want answered. No client names or records. Morrowgate may be the local successor you end up talking to, so ask us everything on this page.
Start a local conversation →Published by Morrowgate Private Wealth. Editorial standards. Educational preparation, not an appraisal or transaction advice.