It will depend on a number of things ranging from your relationships to the firm you work for.  Some firms may reassign clients to another FA in the town you’re moving from.  Other firms will not really care as long as the assets stay with them.  Bottom line, keep your relationships strong and have a good plan with how you will work with your out of state clients.

Joe,

I recently moved across the country while changing firms... I have brought over about 25% of my book. That number seems low, due partly to the fact that some clients I was expecting to bring over dont feel comfortable with my being 3000 miles away, and also due to the fact that a large % of my book doesnt fit well with my new firm... Thats fine with me- of all the accounts I identified as wanting to bring over, only 3 have not moved at this point ( at some point they will, which will be a bonus) .There are many variable that will go into how successful your transition is... You should begin to identify those relationships you want to continue, and make it a point to provide those households with stellar service, to further increase the likelihood that they will follow you.

Yes, it is quite possible to keep your clients happy if you are out of
state.  I’ve known guys who have clients all over the
country.  The bigger ones they’ll spend out of their pocket to fly
to see them every now and then.



If you have clients in your current home market you can fly back a few
times each year to meet with them, can’t you?  Say take a week and
schedule all your meetings with clients…Sure…  I even heard of
one guy who went to live in Vegas for 5 or 6 months a year.  He
kept all his clients.  

Definately true INQ. At present I am traveling back East twice a year for week long stints. As long as you give clients advance notice, they will see you since they know the window is short. I cram as many appts in before hand. I have also gotten a great referral to a clients business partner. After a few phone conversations, he faxed his tatement out, and when I go back in Oct I have a good chance to move a nice 7 figure account… With technology these days( phone, email, fax, conf calls, etc), the distance thing shouldnt really matter.