Short answer: Before switching broker-dealers or RIAs, ask whether the new platform improves client experience, autonomy, operations, compliance, economics, growth support, and succession enough to justify the transition risk. If it does not, staying is the right outcome.

Culture and supervision questions

  • How does the firm handle gray-area compliance questions?
  • What decisions can the advisor make independently, and what requires approval?
  • How accessible are senior leaders after onboarding?
  • What do advisors who joined recently wish they had known?
  • Is the firm built for entrepreneurs, employees, ensemble teams, or a specific advisor profile?

Client experience and operations questions

  • What will clients experience in the first 30, 60, and 90 days?
  • If FINRA Rule 2273 applies, when will the required educational communication be delivered, and who will coordinate it?
  • Which accounts, products, or client situations are likely to be difficult to transition?
  • What technology is required, optional, or replaceable?
  • How are service requests handled, escalated, and measured?
  • Can the firm demonstrate the workflow using one of your actual complex client scenarios?

Compensation and transition questions

  • What does take-home compensation look like over three to five years, not just year one?
  • Which costs are paid by the advisor, the firm, or a transition package?
  • What are the note terms, forgiveness schedule, and repayment triggers?
  • What assumptions are being made about client asset transfer and retention?
  • How does the economics compare with staying and negotiating internally?

Capital, growth, and succession questions

  • Does the platform help with acquisitions, recruiting, or next-generation advisor development?
  • What succession options exist if the advisor wants to slow down, sell, merge, or bring in a partner?
  • Does the move increase or reduce enterprise value?
  • What equity or capital options exist, and what control trade-offs come with them?

When staying is the answer

A recruiting conversation is designed to produce a move. An independent process is designed to produce a decision. Staying is the right answer when the current platform still fits on culture, clients, and capital, and the offer on the table is mostly a check.

  • Have you tested staying as seriously as you tested leaving — including an internal ask?
  • Does the public movement record around your firm change the story, or only the pitch? See Firm Churn.
  • If you are already holding an offer, get a second opinion before you sign.

Continuum's view: A good diligence process makes poorly aligned firms obvious early. It should reduce the number of conversations, not create a parade of pitches. It should also be willing to stop.

For a broader framework, read the 6C Alignment Framework guide or see Continuum's advisor search process.

Editorial standard: Continuum publishes practical, platform-agnostic education for financial advisors. Content is reviewed for clarity and real-world usefulness and is not legal, tax, or compliance advice.