Industry Update on M&A: Why Buy? Tips for Those with Their Sights Set on Becoming an Acquirer

A conversation with Louis Diamond Overview When it comes to M&A, there are plenty of independent business owners and wirehouse advisors who have their sights on becoming acquirers, yet it’s an incredibly competitive environment with more buyers than sellers. This episode looks at the buy-side perspective, the attributes needed to become an attractive acquirer, the characteristics of prospective targets, and more.   Listen in… > Download a transcript of this episode…   About this episode… M&A has been one of the hottest topics in the wealth management industry in recent years. And even despite choppy markets and rising interest rates, independent firms are getting high watermark valuations and deals are closing at record levels. So, what’s driving all this activity? Why are independent business owners so eager to sell what they worked long and hard to build and nurture? What’s the attraction for buyers? The reality is that there’s an imbalance in the industry between those who want to sell and those who want to buy. That is, there’s an incredible appetite amongst buyers and not nearly enough sellers to meet the demand. So in this episode we look at the buy-side perspective, answering the above questions and more, including: The attributes needed to become a credible and attractive acquirer amongst hefty competition. The key characteristics of sellers that could be potential targets. And, ultimately, how a nascent firm or wirehouse advisor planning for their next chapter can set themselves up to be a successful acquirer. Plus, Mindy and Louis share examples of ex-wirehouse teams that have become effective acquirers—and how they achieved their success. It’s a well-rounded episode designed to offer useful takeaways for advisors and business owners alike.   Related Resources Industry Update: What Financial Advisors Need to Know About Growing Through Recruitment and M&A: A conversation with Louis Diamond One of the major motivations for advisors who choose independence is to build an enterprise via recruitment and M&A. But inorganic growth opportunities are not exclusive to independent firms. Although more limited, wirehouse advisors have options too. Listen-> Transitions, Retire-in-Place Programs and Termination: A Top Attorney’s Perspective—with Attorney Tom Lewis of Stevens & Lee Advice for financial advisors on navigating transition, avoiding termination, Protocol vs non-Protocol moves, and what you need to know before signing a binding retire-in-place agreement with your firm. Listen-> One-on-One with Rudy Adolf: How Focus Financial Partners Revolutionized RIA M&A—and Went Public in the Process—with Rudy Adolf, Focus Financial Partners The industry legend describes how the idea of Focus Financial Partners came to be, filling a gap in how independent financial advisors accessed capital, resources and monetized their life’s work, plus the firm’s journey as a public company, their growth, how they are further evolving and more. Listen-> How an ex-Wells Fargo Team Turned a “Paper Tablecloth” Vision into 3X Revenue and $8.5B in Assets in 5 Years—with Gerry Goldberg, GYL Financial Synergies Gerry discusses how he and his team left Wells Fargo FiNet, with $4B in assets, to build their own firm, GYL Financial Synergies in partnership with Focus Financial Partners. Listen-> Why a $5B UBS Breakaway Team Set Out to Build the “Boutique Firm of the Future”—with Rob Sechan, NewEdge Wealth Ex-UBS $5B advisors, Rob Sechan and Jeff Kobernick found that servicing their UHNW clients became difficult at the wirehouse and wanted more than other firms offered. So they built RIA NewEdge Wealth with Edge Co Holdings and other UBS veterans. Listen-> Industry Update on M&A: If You Build It, Will They Buy It? Part 1 of 2. With Louis Diamond The excitement around M&A activity has many financial advisors considering their future. Is independence the right path? And if you build an independent firm, who will buy it? Part 1 of this 2-part episode compares and contrasts options, including recruitment deals and retire-in-place programs, and shares examples of breakaways whose firms were recently acquired and what made them attractive acquisitions. Listen-> Industry Update on M&A: If You Build It, Will They Buy It? Part 2 of a 2. With Louis Diamond For advisors who are reviewing their firm’s retire-in-place program, considering a recruitment deal, or looking to launch an independent firm, understanding the value on the open market is critical. Part 2 of this 2-part series explores what drives value and how to build a business that will be “attractive” to acquirers and garner the highest valuation at the end of the day. Listen->   Also available on your favorite podcast app and other media sites.