Advisor Diligence Question Bank

The current seat (1–8)

1. What still fits here on culture, clients, and capital?
2. What no longer fits, and is that a hiring problem or a platform problem?
3. Have you asked internally for the thing you think you have to leave to get?
4. What would have to stay true for this seat to keep earning its place?
5. What can still be repaired without a registration change?
6. What has to happen — a note window, a successor, a grid — before a move is rational?
7. If you left, what would have to be true of the next firm that is not true here?
8. Does the public movement record around your firm change the story, or only the pitch?

Culture and supervision (9–16)

9. How does the firm handle gray-area compliance questions?
10. What decisions can you make independently, and what requires approval?
11. How accessible are senior leaders after onboarding?
12. What do advisors who joined in the last 12–18 months wish they had known?
13. Is the firm built for entrepreneurs, employees, ensembles, or someone else?
14. Who reviews advertising, seminars, and social, and how long does it take?
15. If you and the supervisor disagree, is there a direct line to the broker-dealer?
16. How is the supervisor compensated on your production in a way that could influence approvals?

Clients and operations (17–25)

17. What will clients experience in the first 30, 60, and 90 days?
18. If FINRA Rule 2273 applies, who delivers the educational communication, and when?
19. Which accounts, products, or client situations are hard to transition?
20. What technology is required, optional, or replaceable?
21. How are service requests handled, escalated, and measured?
22. Can they demonstrate the workflow on one of your actual complex clients?
23. Who owns the client relationship on paper after the move?
24. What happens to householding, alternative investments, and lending?
25. What is the staff-to-advisor ratio for operations that will actually touch your book?

Economics and the offer (26–36)

26. What does take-home look like in years one, three, and five — not year one only?
27. Which costs do you pay, which does the firm pay, and which sit in the transition package?
28. What are the note terms, forgiveness schedule, and repayment triggers?
29. What asset-transfer and retention assumptions are baked into the offer?
30. How does that compare with staying and negotiating internally?
31. What does the grid look like after incentives expire?
32. What optionality do you lose if you sign?
33. Is tax treatment documented, and do you have time for counsel?
34. Are ticket charges, custody, E&O, and technology in the comparison?
35. If this is an OSJ affiliation, what is the OSJ grid and your grid, side by side?
36. See the offer red-flag checklist if more than two of those are unanswered.

Capital, growth, succession (37–42)

37. Does the platform help with acquisitions, recruiting, or next-generation advisors?
38. What succession options exist if you slow down, sell, merge, or bring in a partner?
39. Does the move increase or reduce enterprise value?
40. What equity or capital options exist, and what control do you give up?
41. If the OSJ owner sells or moves the enterprise, what happens to your contract?
42. If you leave the OSJ but stay at the broker-dealer, is that permitted?

The recruiter (43–50)

43. How do they start — discovery, or a destination list?
44. How are they compensated, in a sentence you can repeat?
45. When is your name shared, and with whom?
46. What happens if the evidence says you should stay?
47. Do they compare culture, operations, and succession, or only payout?
48. Can they support diligence after selection, or does the relationship end at the intro?
49. Are they introducing a market, or a lane dressed up as a search?
50. Would you trust them with a second opinion on an offer you already hold?

Compiled from Continuum’s published guides. Not legal, tax, or compliance advice. Second opinion before you sign.