Plain-English field guides for evaluating recruiter incentives, platform alignment, transition economics, and the choices that shape the long-term value of a practice.
Three foundational guides cover the framework, the platform comparison, and the offer most likely to distract from long-term alignment.
Evaluate Culture, Community, Compatibility, Capability, Compensation, and Capital together - before one attractive feature stands in for the whole answer.
Read the complete guideUse one disciplined scorecard across employee, independent, hybrid, and RIA models.
Read guideModel the terms, repayment exposure, client risk, and platform alignment behind the headline amount.
Read guideThe library is organized around four jobs: understand the players, choose an advocate, compare platforms, and protect the long term.
Learn what recruiters and transition consultants do, how their incentives differ, and where each should add value.
Browse role guides →Interview a recruiter, compare coverage and conflicts, and know what should happen before your information is shared.
Browse selection guides →Pressure-test alignment, economics, capabilities, transition terms, and the operational reality behind each pitch.
Browse platform guides →Think beyond a move to succession, enterprise value, client continuity, and the practice you ultimately want to leave.
Browse long-term guides →Search the full library or narrow it by the stage of your decision. Every article includes a direct answer, a structured walkthrough, and next-step questions.
13 guides shown
Understand what an advisor recruiter should do, how firms differ, and which conflicts or limitations deserve scrutiny.
Read guideSee how decision-first consulting differs from a firm introduction and what support should continue through execution.
Read guideCompare placement-led recruiting and consulting-led evaluation across scope, incentives, analysis, and follow-through.
Read guideAn OSJ is a FINRA office classification that has become a business model. This explains what the designation actually requires, what a super-OSJ is selling you, and the questions to ask before you sit under someone else's supervision.
Read guideUse concrete interview questions, selection criteria, a practical scorecard, and warning signs before sharing sensitive information.
Read guideCompare representation, market access, incentives, confidentiality, analytical depth, and transition follow-through.
Read guideApply one disciplined scorecard across employee, independent, hybrid, and RIA models without forcing unlike firms into a payout-only comparison.
Read guidePressure-test culture, client experience, economics, operations, compliance, transition support, and future capital options.
Read guideEvaluate forgivable-note terms, repayment exposure, multi-year economics, client risk, and platform alignment before focusing on the headline amount.
Read guidePrepare the practice, define successor alignment, protect client continuity, and evaluate structure well before a transaction is urgent.
Read guideHow to read Edward Jones movement in public filings, and the questions to ask before leaving — including whether staying is better.
Read guidePrintable, ungated list of note, cost, clawback, and process red flags in a transition offer.
Read guideFifty ungated questions for the current seat, the next firm, the offer, and the recruiter.
Read guideNo guides match that search yet. Try a broader topic or clear the search.
Our public research tracks more than 23,000 SEC-reported registration changes in the latest 12-month window, including advisor flow, firm churn, landing patterns, tenure, and state-level movement.
Explore every Market Intelligence reportContinuum's articles are written for financial advisors making high-stakes platform, recruiting, transition, M&A, and succession decisions. Each guide defines the question, makes the tradeoffs visible, and gives you practical prompts for real diligence.
Rick Kerstiens brings more than two decades of advisor recruiting, platform evaluation, and business-development experience to the editorial process. Continuum is platform-agnostic, and a guide may reasonably lead to staying where you are. Learn more about Rick and Continuum, explore the 6C Alignment Framework, or use the anonymous 6C Alignment Check.
Talk directly with Rick about your current platform, goals, and constraints. The first conversation is confidential, and there is no obligation to move.