The check was sitting right there. A big one. The kind of retention bonus that makes most advisors pause, reconsider, and ultimately stay put.

Adam Spiegelman said no.

When the news broke that a major broker-dealer had been acquired by one of the largest publicly traded firms in the industry, Adam found himself at a crossroads that thousands of advisors have faced in recent years. After 14 years at a large insurance company and a subsequent move to a boutique broker-dealer he loved, the firm he had committed to was suddenly under new ownership. The promise of "we'll never sell" had expired.

"I went screaming to figure out what to do here, knowing that I had told all my clients, told myself, told my wife, my kids," Adam recalled. "I couldn't envision myself being at a very, very, very large publicly traded company. I thought Adam would be a miserable adviser and his clients would suffer."

His story is not unique. Industry consolidation is accelerating, and advisors across the country are facing the same question: do I stay, move to another platform, or finally go independent?

Here is what Adam learned --- and what every advisor weighing that decision needs to hear.

The due diligence nobody talks about

Most advisors who dream about independence focus on the upside: freedom, control, keeping more of what you earn. Adam took a different approach. He set out to talk himself out of it.

"I literally set out to interview dozens and dozens and dozens of recruiters, firms, and advisors, and did all of this due diligence with one purpose in mind --- for somebody, some firm, some recruiter to scare me out of not wanting to go independent," he said. "And no one could. People told me compliance is a nightmare. This is a disaster. You're on your own. Nothing scared me."

That is a counterintuitive but powerful framework for making a career-defining decision. Instead of looking for reasons to go, look for reasons not to. If no one can scare you out of it, you have your answer.

Adam spent what he estimates were a couple hundred hours researching, interviewing, and planning before making the move. That front-end investment is something most advisors underestimate.

The move itself: harder than you think, but smoother than you fear

Adam had already transitioned firms once before --- moving from the large insurance company to his boutique broker-dealer --- and described it as "a disaster." The firm fought him. The process was painful. And the one thing he took away from that experience was simple: "I never, ever, ever wanted to do this ever again."

Yet here he was, doing it again. The difference? Going independent meant doing it on his own terms, with no firm on the other end dictating the rules.

"It was a much better transition the second time around," Adam said. "But looking back, I still would say I never, ever want to do this again."

The lesson for advisors considering independence: the transition will be hard. Expect 15-hour days, seven days a week, for a couple of months. Expect your spouse to feel like they have a roommate instead of a partner. But if you invest the time on the front end --- the research, the planning, the due diligence --- the actual move can go smoother than you expect.

The confidence question

One of the most underrated aspects of going independent is the confidence it requires around client retention. Will your clients follow you?

Adam made a deliberate decision not to let that fear drive his choices. "I had kind of determined that if clients don't want to join me, that's going to be up to them. But this is where I'm going, and I had the confidence to move and know that I was doing the right thing."

This is a critical mindset shift. Advisors who go independent out of fear --- fear of losing clients, fear of the unknown, fear of compliance --- tend to make defensive decisions. Advisors who go independent out of conviction tend to build better firms.

The result? Adam was one of the first advisors to leave after the acquisition announcement. Since then, he has had a dozen or so former colleagues call him up asking, "How did you do this? I'm so jealous."

The "I wish I'd done it sooner" factor

Perhaps the most telling thing Adam said during our conversation was this: "I wish I had done it sooner. Even maybe before having gone to Commonwealth."

That sentiment echoes what we hear from nearly every advisor who has made the leap. The freedom, the control, the ability to make decisions without layers of bureaucracy --- it changes everything.

"It's just me and the SEC for my clients, and that's what it's always been, without the layer of additional bureaucracy in there," Adam explained.

For advisors at broker-dealers or large platforms, that statement might sound terrifying. For those who have gone independent, it sounds like relief.

What independence actually means day-to-day

Going independent is not just a business decision. It is a lifestyle decision. Adam described the shift in practical terms:

• Technology choices are yours. No more being handed three or four approved financial planning tools. You evaluate, you choose, you implement. (More on this in a moment.)

• Client relationships are yours. You answer the phone. You set the service model. You decide who you want to work with.

• The RIA itself takes time. Compliance, operations, technology management --- these are real responsibilities that consume bandwidth, especially in the first year.

• The learning curve is ongoing. Seven months in, Adam was still fine-tuning systems and processes. That is normal.

The technology reality check

One of the biggest surprises for newly independent advisors is the technology burden. At a broker-dealer, someone else handles the tech stack. When you go independent, you are suddenly evaluating dozens of vendors across every category.

"Technology was at the very, very, very top of the list of learning lessons," Adam said. "Commonwealth kind of did everything. Put it on a silver platter for us. And the most difficult part --- well, the fun part is choosing and understanding what I can use. But it's kind of integrating everything together."

This is where many independent advisors struggle. Choosing individual tools is relatively straightforward. Making them all work together --- data flowing between your CRM, custodian, portfolio management system, financial planning tool, and everything else --- is where the real complexity lives.

Adam's advice: "You've got to have a very strong IT provider or someone that kind of understands all that integration."

That integration challenge is exactly why firms are increasingly looking at unified data infrastructure to connect their tech stacks rather than trying to manage dozens of point-to-point integrations on their own.

Should you go independent?

Not every advisor should. Independence requires a certain temperament, a willingness to invest significant time in the transition, and the confidence to bet on yourself.

But for advisors who value freedom, who want to build a practice that reflects their values, and who are willing to do the work --- the evidence is overwhelmingly positive.

As Adam put it: "I don't have any regrets. I'm super happy I did it."

The firms that are acquiring broker-dealers and consolidating the industry are making a bet that advisors will stay for the check. The advisors who are leaving are making a different bet --- that freedom and client service are worth more than a retention bonus.

Both sides cannot be right. The market will decide. But if the calls Adam keeps getting from envious former colleagues are any indication, the independent advisors are winning.

This article is based on a conversation between Kyle Van Pelt and Adam Spiegelman on the Next Mile podcast. Adam is the founder of Spiegelman Wealth Management and a former advisor at Commonwealth Financial Network.

For more conversations with advisors and firm leaders navigating the future of wealth management, subscribe to the Next Mile podcast on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform.

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