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use a multiple of gross-dealer concession on the trailing 12 months, sources say.

“ The transition assistance or compensation being offered for someone to move is unlike anything I’ ve ever seen, and I’ ve been doing this for almost 29 years,” Papike says.

But she cautions that those figures, especially the“ very, very, very high watermark” of 125 %, are not what many advisors are going to be offered.

“ I think that this topic can be confusing to advisors because they hear numbers and they assume that that’ s being offered across the industry. And that’ s absolutely not the case,” Papike says.“ There are so many smaller firms, even midsize firms, that are nowhere near the high watermark.”

Yes, the large firms are offering such payouts, but that’ s only good if the firm’ s culture is right for the advisor and he or miserable at their firm and actively looking, and another 20 % in the unhappy-tomiserable category.

“ So if given the right opportunity, the right model firm, the right type of firm, the right situation, that 30 % is in play at any given time,” he says.“ It just depends on who talks to them and what falls in their lap.”

Besides transition assistance, firms are offering increased payouts in the first one to three years— when in the past a lot of deals included back-end bonuses or earnouts— and extending invitations to advisors to join large, established teams that need help. There are also innovative sunset packages of up to three times revenue for advisors five to 10 years from retirement, sources say.

But even the promise of more support is an advantage, Rummage says, especially if an advisor is feeling invisible to the

“ The transition assistance or compensation being offered for someone to move is unlike anything I’ ve ever seen, and I’ ve been doing this for almost 29 years.”

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she can plug into it. If, however, the advisor needs a more flexible environment, they’ re probably going to need a smaller firm. For example, she says, if an advisor operates in a niche or works with a specific kind of client or requires a certain kind of tech, the big firm, for all its big payouts, may not be amenable enough for the advisor to make a happy union.

That’ s why Papike starts her recruitment conversation by asking the advisor what kind of environment they need. After that, she gets into the talk about the up-front money.

Filling The Needs Of Advisors

Whether it’ s an up year or a down year in the markets, Rummage says that 30 % of advisors are always in one degree of play or another, with 10 % of all advisors top ranks at their current firms. It could be they’ re rebuffed by little slights— such as the fact that the company changed the sales assistant they were working with. Or it didn’ t ask the advisor about moving to a new office location that extended the advisor’ s commute.

“ When most advisors change firms, it’ s because there’ s a straw that broke the camel’ s back. And it’ s not usually something like their payout. It’ s not usually something like the technology and support they’ re getting,” Rummage says.“ They just felt like they weren’ t appreciated.

“ The second they feel like the firm doesn’ t appreciate them enough, that’ s when they’ re all going to start looking around,” he says.“ And moving is not an easy thing. It’ s a hard four months of hell.”

28 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2025 WWW. FA-MAG. COM