The Sell and Stay® path is an often overlooked, gradual exit option hidden amongst the folds of internal succession, mergers, and external sales. For owners who need or want to work towards an exit but are not yet ready to leave the business entirely, Sell and Stay® is a perfect solution. Sell and Stay® allows an owner to continue working and earning an income without having to worry about matters such as management, day-to-day operations, or compliance.
Topics: Buying & Selling, Exit Planning, Sell and Stay™
In our post-covid M&A world, finding “the perfect fit” is paramount. While price plays a role in deals, it has much more to do with the merging or acquiring entity’s vision and proposed deal terms. Our team has an unmatched vantage point in this industry when it comes to buying or selling an advisory firm. After reading through tens of thousands of inbound inquiries and supporting over 2,000 M&A transactions, we’ve picked up on a few resounding themes. Here are our #FPInsights on which aspects are of vital importance to firms seeking an acquisition or merger.
Topics: Selling Your Practice, Acquisition
Key performance indicators, or KPIs, are data points which help businesses assess progress towards an intended result. Ensuring you take the time to Mark, Measure, Monitor, and Master those KPIs which will help you manage, protect, and grow the equity value of your business.
Topics: Benchmarking, KPI, EMS
For many years, our data has shown that firms with over $2M in annual revenue tend to grow twice as fast as those with $250K in annual revenue. Contrary to how it might seem, this is actually a function of their structure, not necessarily their size. These firms have cultivated efficiencies in cash flow, capacity, expenses, and operational systems to support scalability and growth. These sophisticated structures are accessible to most businesses–in a wide range of revenue levels–if they’re willing to explore and dedicate time and resources to improve.
Topics: Business Growth, Business Value, Client Retention, Benchmarking
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Despite the continued surge of wealth management M&A activity, one surprising fact remains: most of these market participants are engaging in a transaction for the very first time. While there are aggregators and larger RIAs that will continue to build up their business through strategic acquisitions, the majority of today’s deals spark from a mutual attraction either from aligned competencies, or complementary competencies, that allow both firms to amplify their growth and sustainability.
According to James Fisher, Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions at FP Transitions, “Many practices are looking to be acquired or merge with a larger business to spur growth, to benefit from economies of scale, to offload compliance and day-to-day operations, to increase bandwidth and offerings to clients, or to assist with the retirement of one or more senior owners/partners, among other reasons.”
Regardless of experience, it takes a lot of patience, communication, time, and expertise to navigate the entire deal process. For firms going through this, on any side of the table, negotiating and documenting the transaction can often be more time consuming than anyone anticipated, creating the perfect environment for an all-to-common problem: deal fatigue.
Topics: Selling Your Practice, Acquisition, M&A, Business Value, Deal Structure, Buying & Selling, Mergers
Our summary of the independent advisory M&A market, including a look at real transaction data, context to help advisors understand what's driving the data, and an unbiased look at what's really going on out there.
Topics: Commentary, FP Transitions, M&A, Trends
Succession planning is a critical, foundational element in building a sustainable business. Incorporating new talent into your ownership structure is a process that takes continuous planning, evolution, and monitoring. When done correctly, succession planning ensures incredible employee culture, firm growth, and enduring business value. When the brunt of the planning is complete and documented with the help of partners like FP Transitions, firms have to stay focused as they begin executing their plan. Owners and next generation leaders must engage in transparent communication to navigate the inevitable bumps that can occur throughout the planning and execution of a succession strategy. The reality is, we’re all human. Life presents curves, and personal and professional goals can change. These anticipated bumps can necessitate larger course corrections in order to keep your plan on track.
Typically there are three areas where succession plans may need course corrections: if founder/owner plans change, if successor plans change, and if Plan B needs to be activated.
Topics: Succession Planning, Selling Your Practice, Sustainability
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LLC vs. Corporation. Which entity structure fits your goals?
Understanding your specific needs and specific goals is an important first step of the entity-building process. As Rod Boutin, JD, General Counsel at FP Transitions outlined in a recent webinar, “it is important that we build an entity that clearly identifies and promotes your attainment of those goals. Done right, an entity is a tool to align with your goals.”
Topics: Succession Planning, Organizational Structure, Business Growth, Tip of the Week, State of the Market, Exit Planning, Next Generation, Sustainability, Wealth Management, Valuation & Appraisal, Business Operations
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Recently, a client told us that since she had implemented a formal continuity plan, her clients have felt more comfortable adding assets to their portfolios now that their tenure with her business is protected. This stability of continuity is an important cornerstone for continued business growth and client retention.
Currently, FINRA requires that member firms have a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) that is written and can be made available upon request. But it isn't just compliance; having a clear and written continuity plan reassures your clients' concerns about the security of their investments at your practice.
FP Transitions has been helping financial advisors document, implement, and annually update their formal continuity plans for well over a decade. Now through our EMS Grow program, we are able to leverage our extensive network of advisors to help connect you to the right continuity partner for your unique business.
Single owner practices without written, actionable continuity plans and identified continuity partners, are at a disadvantage to larger businesses and firms with built-in succession plans.
As the owner and person that has built a trusting relationship with your clients, you know that it is crucial to protect their wealth as well as your business as a whole. The most challenging aspect of developing a continuity plan, however, is finding the right partner. Of course you want to be discerning when it comes to the person who is going to care for the business you’ve built when you no longer can. Fit is always the foremost consideration.
Introducing Continuity Partner Matching!
Searching for the right continuity partner within your immediate community and professional networks can force you into a partnership that isn’t the best match for your clients, or worse, can result in no partnership at all! Now FP Transitions is offering the ability to leverage the most extensive network of advisors in the industry, to help connect you to the right continuity partner for your unique situation.
The Continuity Partner Matching service, available to EMS™ Professional members, allows you to tap into our team of professional coaches and our network of over 30,000 advisors. We’ll guide you through the selection of interested continuity partner candidates based on specific time-tested criteria as well as your specific requirements.
Once you have identified the right person, business or firm, we’ll help you get the proper documentation and agreements in place to ensure the continuity of service for your clients in the event of death or disability, and help you to protect the value of the business you’ve built.
Please let us know if we can assist you in this vital step of growth in your business, and reassurance to your clients. If you are already an EMS™ Member, reach out to your representative to see how we can help. And if yo are not an EMS™ Member, you can find out more about the program HERE.
Topics: Continuity Planning, FP Transitions, Continuity Partner Matching, Enterprise
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