The biggest mistake that I see people make–the single biggest mistake–when they are in pursuit of an offering that we have on the open market, is they position themselves as a great practice, they don't position themselves as a great fit. Really not understanding what fit is and just thinking I can afford this practice and I'm 50 miles from it. And while those things can be important, there are other things that are critical in what fit is and what goes into us finding the perfect fit.
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Topics:
Acquisition,
Buying & Selling,
Open Marketplace,
M&A Playbook
Sparking that next phase of growth might be harder than expected. For firms moving from sole proprietor to a practice, growth may come easy – but only to a certain point. When a plateau hits, where should advisors look to dig in and overcome? Benchmarking, alongside a deep understanding of business growth and value drivers, is where firms can stand apart from the pack.
If you are ready to grow your financial advisory business and wondering, “Why haven’t I grown faster?” this may be the blog post for you.
Read on for our best tips on diagnosing and overcoming growth inhibitors.
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Topics:
Business Growth,
Building Your Team,
Client Relationships,
Business Operations,
Key Insights
Ultimately, I think sellers come to us and they want to know what kind of multiple they can get to their business. And the question is really well-intentioned, what I think would be better for sellers to ask is: How do I position my business to get the most value or to achieve my strategic objective?
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Topics:
Acquisition,
Buying & Selling,
Open Marketplace,
M&A Playbook
Whether you’re buying or selling a business, there are a few players that are “must-haves” on your transaction team: personal lawyer, CPA/Tax professional, representative of your IBD/Custodian, personal stakeholders, and a non-advocate, industry-experienced mediator.
The role of each of these players is important to the overall success of your deal, however, the mediator can sometimes be overlooked–often to the disadvantage of your deal. So, why are they so important?
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Topics:
Selling Your Practice,
Acquisition,
Buying & Selling,
Trends in Transactions Study,
Transactions
How has marketplace strength held on throughout 2023?
We've seen a really strong M&A marketplace in 2023. Demand is still really strong. As we've consistently had at least over the last five years, we've got an inverse in terms of there's a really strong demand and not a whole lot of supply. And that trend has continued in through 2023.
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Topics:
Acquisition,
Buying & Selling,
Open Marketplace,
M&A Playbook
The value of your practice is determined by many factors, some obvious, and some not so obvious. And the degree to which some aspects impact your value more largely depends on the reason you’re valuing the business in the first place.
Whether you’re considering acquisition, onboarding new talent–or new owners–, monitoring annual growth, or getting ready to sell, these ten factors have the most significant impact on the value of your business. Focus in these areas can make a major difference in your book’s sustainability and its eventual purchase price when transition time arrives.
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Topics:
Business Growth,
Business Value,
Buying & Selling,
Sustainability,
Benchmarking,
Valuation & Appraisal
Even though it had been in the works for years, last month’s Schwab/Ameritrade merger left both organizations’ advisors wondering what it meant for them. The good news is that the transition has been seen as largely successful, with only some tech snafus which, let’s be honest, is to be expected when you’re talking about huge platform changes for millions of accounts. Adapting to change rarely happens overnight.
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Topics:
Selling Your Practice,
Acquisition,
M&A,
Deal Structure,
Buying & Selling
The decision to sell a financial services practice is a difficult one for any advisor to make. After a lifetime of work to build your business, and after years of earning your clients’ trust, how do you turn the job over to someone else? Will they work as hard as you have? Will they care as much as you do? Will they always put your clients’ interests first? When selling your practice, you get just one chance to do it right. The following case study provides some unique insights into the process and illustrates the opportunities, and the mistakes, that many first time sellers make:
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Topics:
Selling Your Practice,
Acquisition,
M&A,
Deal Structure,
Buying & Selling
This week's playbook highlights very important insights for first time borrowers from our friend Susie McEuen at Oak Street Funding.
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Topics:
Acquisition,
Financing,
Buying & Selling,
Open Marketplace,
M&A Playbook