As more brokers reach retirement age, succession planning is a critical consideration. In this feature, sponsored by Trail Homes, we explore how selling part or all of a trail book can provide both retirement security and opportunities for growth.
Amid the day-to-day churn of admin, client meetings, marketing, and chasing new business, it’s easy to see how easily succession planning could fall on a broker’s do-later list.
Yet it’s a topic worth some thought – and not just for brokers approaching retirement.
A broker’s trail book sits at the heart of their exit strategy. But as many have discovered, it’s not as simple as kicking back in retirement and letting the passive income roll in.
Nick Young, managing director of leading trail book buyer Trail Homes, said careful planning and management are required to truly maximise the value of this asset.
“Years ago, the ingrained thought was that the mortgage broker would live on their trail book in retirement. This was very, very common through the industry,” he said. “For example, there was this overwhelming idea that if a trail book had been paying $10,000, $15,000, $5,000 or whatever each month for the last 10 years then somehow this is going to continue to do this all the way through retirement. This is fundamentally incorrect. This is not how it works. The average trail book declines around 20 per cent per year. And if not actively topped up, halves every three or so years.”
Exit strategy
Part of what makes succession planning so challenging is knowing when – a decision that hinges on having a clear picture of where your business stands.
Young encourages brokers to first identify whether their business is expanding, mature, or in decline. Broadly speaking, he said an expanding business will generate more upfront income than trail, a mature business will see both roughly balanced, and a business in decline will show higher trail income relative to upfront commissions.
Depending on what stage a broker’s business is at will then dictate the optimal strategy brokers can take different actions on trail at each stage.
For example, those with an expanding business may choose to sell part of their book to free up capital for new opportunities, while brokers with a mature business may benefit from selling part of their trail book when it’s at its peak value.
This is an excerpt from an article that appeared in The Adviser’s December 2025/January 2026 issue. To read the full article, click here.
