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.
Topics: Acquisition, Buying & Selling, Open Marketplace, M&A Playbook
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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.
Topics: Business Growth, Business Value, Buying & Selling, Sustainability, Benchmarking, Valuation & Appraisal
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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.
Topics: Selling Your Practice, Acquisition, M&A, Deal Structure, Buying & Selling
In this episode of the M&A playbook, James Fisher, JD, VP of M&A and Principal at FP Transitions, shares why your leading next-gen talent should be included in your decisions to buy, sell, or merge your business. As future leaders and owners of your business, you should consider their opinions and priorities for the future of the business.
Topics: Acquisition, Buying & Selling, Mergers, Next Generation
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:
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.
Topics: Acquisition, Financing, Buying & Selling, Open Marketplace, M&A Playbook
What makes a financial services firm more desirable on the open market?
Topics: Selling Your Practice, Acquisition, Buying & Selling, Open Marketplace, M&A Playbook
Experienced business owners recognize the importance of tracking and monitoring their firm's value over time. They know this business is one of their largest assets, and by measuring and monitoring it, they are enabling its growth, protecting its value, and ensuring a sustainable - and profitable - future. Understanding value and monitoring it over time is the starting point for every business plan: organic growth, acquisition, succession, talent recruitment, everything.
Topics: Continuity Planning, Succession Planning, Continuity, Sustainability
Independent advisory firms continue to tap FP Transitions for valuation, transaction support and non-advocacy consulting on mergers, sales and acquisitions.
National wealth management consulting firm, FP Transitions, reports a continuous surge in independent financial advisor mergers, sales and acquisitions. With deal flow rivaling that of last year, the company adds another round of lawyers, analysts and industry consultants to its M&A and consulting teams. With more than 70 inquiries for each opportunity, FP Transitions’ data shows market demand continues to outpace supply, and is further fueled by a growing appetite of next generation owners (G2s) engaging in ownership earlier than prior generations.
This momentum of G2s seeking ownership paths has created greater opportunity in the independent space, and FP Transitions’ CEO and principal, Brad Bueermann, cites a ripple effect across the industry. “For decades, FP Transitions has focused on preparing both owners and next generation owners to establish, build and transition firms from one leadership team to the next. What we’re seeing now is a culmination of those efforts meeting the essential demands of 100,000 advisors gearing up for retirement by 2042.” Of these retiring advisors, Cerulli data indicates nearly 45% are planning an internal transfer of ownership to an employee or family member.
Topics: Succession Planning, Announcements, Buying & Selling, State of the Market, Press Release, Press Releases
Price is usually the most difficult hurdle for buyers and sellers to overcome. The value of a business is different for each party participating in a transaction and is based on opinion and the specific set of circumstances for each individual. Price, on the other hand, is the number at which the transaction is executed. Yes, value informs price, but it is not the only influencer. Price is also the result of good faith negotiations between buyer and seller. While negotiation does not necessarily impact each party’s perception of value, it allows for dialogue so that both sides arrive at a price where the value for each individual overlaps and a mutually beneficial deal can be struck.
Topics: Selling Your Practice, Acquisition, M&A, Business Value, Deal Structure, Buying & Selling, Mergers