You have spent years — perhaps decades — building relationships with your clients. You know their circumstances, their properties, their financial situations. They trust you. They call you when their fixed rate is coming to an end. They refer their children and their friends.
What happens to all of that when you retire? For many mortgage brokers, this question is easier to avoid than to answer. But the brokers who leave their clients best protected — and who receive the most value from the businesses they have built — are almost always those who thought about this question early and planned carefully.
The reality of an unplanned exit
When a directly authorised mortgage broker retires without a succession arrangement in place, their clients lose access to the broker who knows them best. In most cases, clients are not formally notified. When their fixed rate expires and they need to remortgage, they either go directly to their existing lender — often accepting whatever product transfer rate they are offered — or they find a new broker from scratch.
The financial consequences can be meaningful. A client who goes directly to their lender for a product transfer may end up on a higher rate than they could have obtained through an independent broker. Over a five-year fixed term on a £300,000 mortgage, even a small rate difference can cost thousands of pounds.
What the FCA expects from retiring brokers
The Financial Conduct Authority does not prescribe a specific exit route for retiring mortgage brokers. However, the Consumer Duty — which came into full force in 2023 — makes clear that firms are expected to deliver good outcomes for clients, including at the point where the firm ceases to operate or the adviser retires.
In practical terms, this means that simply shutting the door and walking away without ensuring your clients have access to ongoing advice may not be consistent with your regulatory obligations. A well-managed handover is not just good practice — it is increasingly the standard the regulator expects.
What your clients actually need from the transition
The most important thing your clients need when you retire is continuity. They need to know who will be looking after them, that the new firm understands their circumstances, and that they will receive the same quality of service they have come to expect from you.
A well-managed handover typically involves a personal communication from the retiring broker introducing the new firm as trusted business partners. Clients who feel that their broker has carefully chosen a trusted successor for them — rather than simply abandoning them — are much more likely to remain loyal.
The difference between a good handover and a poor one
A poor handover typically looks like this: the retiring broker stops responding, sends a brief note to clients saying they are retiring, and wishes them luck finding a new adviser. In this scenario, client attrition is high. A good handover sees the retiring broker staying involved in the introduction process, sending personal communications endorsing the new firm warmly and specifically. The result is a much higher retention rate — which benefits everyone.
Protecting your long-standing clients specifically
Every mortgage broker has a handful of clients who are more than just names in a CRM system. These are the clients who have been with you since the beginning, who refer their friends and family. These relationships deserve special care in any succession arrangement — ideally a personal telephone call before any formal communication goes out.
What about protection and insurance clients?
Mortgage and property finance clients can be transferred to another directly authorised mortgage firm in a relatively straightforward way. Protection and life assurance clients require a different kind of arrangement. If your client bank includes a significant protection element, it is perfectly possible to arrange two separate successions — one for the mortgage clients and one for the protection clients. At Broker Exit, our focus is specifically on mortgage and property finance clients. We can introduce you to trusted firms who specialise in the protection side. Get in touch to start a confidential conversation.
