Succession and M&A

Guides

How practice sales and successions work, in plain language. Educational only: every factual claim links to its source, and none of this is advice on a specific deal.

As of Oct 5, 2026, AdvisorIQ publishes 5 plain-language succession and M&A guides that cite 29 public sources, from SEC and IRS rules to industry deal studies.

• Asset sale or equity sale: how practice deals are structured

  What a buyer actually buys, why client consent comes up, the registration filings, and how the tax allocation works.

• Down payments, seller notes and earnouts: how the price gets paid

  Why the headline price is rarely the cash at closing, and how down payments, seller notes, earnouts and buyer equity work.

• Minority stakes and outside capital

  How a minority investment differs from a sale, how common these deals are, and why control is about more than a percentage.

• How long a sale or succession takes

  Years to prepare, months to sell, and a year or more of payments and transition after closing.

• What buyers look at

  Revenue quality, growth, clients, team and records: the factors that move a practice up or down a published range.

Put the guides to work: estimate your practice or see recent deals.

Practice management content is not eligible for CFP Board CE. CFP Board plans to allow up to five hours of it per cycle once its Q4 2027 changes take effect. CFP CE requirements