What to line up before you give notice — and the order to do it in.
Most advisors lose money in a transition for reasons that have nothing to do with the deal they signed. They lose it on a contract clause they didn't reread, a client list they weren't entitled to take, or a resignation timed badly against their deferred comp. This is the sequence we walk advisors through before they commit to anything.
39 checks across 8 stages
1. Before you tell anyone
The period before you resign is the one where mistakes are hardest to undo. Almost everything here is about not creating a problem you'll be arguing about later.
Keep the search confidential — including from colleagues you trust.
A friendly heads-up to a teammate is the most common way a firm finds out early, and it hands them the timing.
Do not email documents to your personal address, or take anything home.
This is the single most damaging unforced error. Client statements, account numbers and internal reports are firm property, and moving them is what turns a routine exit into litigation.
Run your search on personal devices and a personal email address.
Work email and firm-issued laptops are monitored and discoverable.
Say nothing to clients until you have resigned.
Soliciting while still employed breaches nearly every advisor agreement and undercuts your position from day one.
Get the remaining 7 stages
Contracts, Broker Protocol, what to negotiate, timing, client conversations and the resignation itself. We'll email you a copy to keep.
Anonymous by default. No recruiter will contact you unless you ask, and we don't share your address.
2. Reread your own contract· 6 checks
3. Establish your Protocol position· 4 checks
4. Know your book honestly· 5 checks
5. Read the deal, not the headline· 6 checks
6. Get the timing right· 4 checks
7. Plan the client conversations· 5 checks
8. The resignation and what follows· 5 checks
Reviewed and approved by Revolt's team. General information, not legal or compliance advice.