# How long a sale or succession takes

As of Oct 5, 2026, Succession Resource Group says a practice sale typically takes 6 to 12 months from first engagement to closing, and it reported an average of 129 days from listing to funding for 2024 deals.

As of: 2026-10-05
Address: https://advisoriq.com/succession/guides/how-long-a-sale-takes/

## Facts

- summary: Years to prepare, months to sell, and a year or more of payments and transition after closing.
- key_facts: A sale typically takes 6 to 12 months from engagement to closing.; Average time from listing to funding was 129 days in SRG's 2024 deals.; Most internal succession plans take 5 to 15 years, according to FP Transitions.; 35% of financial advisors plan to retire within the next 10 years, according to Cerulli.

## Notes

- Educational, not legal, tax or investment advice.
- 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.

## Sources

- Succession Resource Group: Merger or sale: finding the right path to your exit, checked 2026-10-05: https://www.successionresource.com/merger-or-sale-finding-the-right-path-to-your-exit/
- Succession Resource Group: SRG Advisor Deal Report 2025 (2024 transactions), checked 2026-10-05: https://www.successionresource.com/blog/srg-advisor-deal-report-2025/
- FP Transitions: Internal succession, checked 2026-10-05: https://www.fptransitions.com/internal-succession-seeker
- Cerulli Associates, press release: Advisor retirements underscore need for stronger rookie development, checked 2026-10-05: https://www.cerulli.com/press-releases/advisor-retirements-underscore-need-for-stronger-rookie-development
- Succession Resource Group: Selling in the next 3 to 5 years (webinar page, David Grau Jr.), checked 2026-10-05: https://www.successionresource.com/selling-in-the-next-3-5-years/
- FP Transitions: Preparing to sell, checked 2026-10-05: https://www.fptransitions.com/blog/preparing-to-sell
- Succession Resource Group: Selling a book of business for financial advisors, checked 2026-10-05: https://www.successionresource.com/selling-book-of-business-for-financial-advisors/
- Mercer Capital: Earnouts that actually pay in RIA M&A, checked 2026-10-05: https://mercercapital.com/insights/blogs/ria-valuation-insights-blog/2025/earnouts-that-actually-pay-in-ria-ma/
- Kitces.com, Richard Chen: Deferred payments: retention payments, earnouts and growth targets, checked 2026-10-05: https://www.kitces.com/blog/deferred-payments-trap-seller-valuation-terms-retention-payments-earnout-cagr-target/
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: Form ADV: General Instructions (SEC 1707), checked 2026-10-05: https://www.sec.gov/files/formadv-instructions.pdf

## Related

- [Asset sale or equity sale: how practice deals are structured](https://advisoriq.com/succession/guides/asset-sale-vs-equity-sale/)
- [Down payments, seller notes and earnouts: how the price gets paid](https://advisoriq.com/succession/guides/how-the-price-gets-paid/)
- [Minority stakes and outside capital](https://advisoriq.com/succession/guides/minority-stakes/)
- [What buyers look at](https://advisoriq.com/succession/guides/what-buyers-look-at/)
- [Valuation estimator](https://advisoriq.com/succession/valuation/)
- [RIA deal tracker](https://advisoriq.com/succession/deals/)

## Cite as

AdvisorIQ, as of 2026-10-05. https://advisoriq.com/succession/guides/how-long-a-sale-takes/

License: https://advisoriq.com/license/