For a lot of transactions, the tail end of the transaction can be for 3 to 10 years.

That's kind of the new model of M&A right now. It used to be that we only saw transactions when an advisor was ready to exit. Now we're starting to see advisors think about M&A earlier and earlier in their career–whether that’s preparing for a sale or exploring a merger. And our structuring timeline post-deal might only be 12 to 18 months, but we're starting to see that extend out to almost 10 years.

So some key questions as we move through the process are: What happens after the deal is closed? How do we maintain an orderly transition of clients to the acquirer? What happens from a growth perspective and a compensation perspective to keep that business growing and, and profitable over time?