TRANSITION TALK

Acquiring a wealth management practice brings immediate growth and is an alternative to spending money and time on marketing to find new clients. That’s why there is currently an average 75-to-1 buyer-to-seller ratio. If you’re going to succeed in this arena, you need to stand out from that crowd. If you don’t have the cash on hand, one of the best steps you can take is to become prequalified for a conventional or Small Business Association (SBA) loan.

Twenty years ago, most acquisition deals consisted of a down payment of around 30% with the balance seller-financed through an earn-out arrangement. As fee-based practices became more prevalent, buyer demand increased. The combination of recurring revenue and increased demand pushed values higher and, in time, strengthened the underlying deal terms as well. Gradually we witnessed a shift to the use of performance-based promissory notes in place of earn-out arrangements. And, in the last seven years or so, the landscape changed yet again when the availability of bank financing entered the picture. This has afforded younger, smaller buying firms the opportunity to compete financially with larger, more established firms.

A place to start accessing this financing is to prequalify for a loan. A bank will review your finances and give you an estimate of how much they will lend to you. A bank’s prequalification tilts the acquisition playing field in your direction; you can knock out 90% of the competition. Sellers like the security prequalification brings to the transaction. In addition, you’ll be ready to move quickly if there’s a new opportunity or if a seller has a short time horizon.

Completing an annual valuation on your business is the financial service industry equivalent of undergoing your annual physical. I’ll turn 55 this year and I have resigned myself to the fact that prescription medications have officially become their own food group and an annual physical is no longer optional. My annual pilgrimage happens to take place in the spring tucked neatly amongst the sporadic appointments to see specialists for knees, elbows, near sightedness, far sightedness, rotator cuffs and something about my lumbar.

Now, the key word here is annual. If I had my cholesterol checked 10 years ago and then never again how am I going to know if what I am doing is working? An annual examination provides a historical record of your overall health including your vital signs enabling you to make changes in order to perform at your best. The good news is that, unlike my annual physical, your valuation results should get better as your business matures.

Your business is a living, breathing entity. Just like the investments you make on behalf of your clients, it needs to be nurtured, protected, and developed in order to realize its maximum value. It’s important that your valuation be updated annually. The monetary value of your practice is just one of many pieces of information to be gleaned from a professional business valuation.

For many financial advisors, it has become commonplace to receive unsolicited offers in the mail. The offers to buy practices usually promise a competitive valuation and purchase price, great terms and future opportunities, and are backed by private equity, bank financing, or other cash reserves. More than anything, these letters bring hope, choices, and affirmation that an advisor has built something valuable and transferable.

Some of these letters arrive from well-known firms but many are from smaller, previously unknown suitors whose marketing strategy is to grow rapidly through practice acquisition. The advisors we talk to on a daily basis tell us about these letters dismissively at first, but they also say they keep the letters for future reference–just in case. Hope and choices are good things, even if they’re not needed today.

It is always flattering to be recognized, wanted, and valued, even if your name comes from a purchased mailing list. The more important point may be that these letters get many independent advisors, like you, thinking and wondering about the future. Questions arise: What is my value? What options do I have? Is this the best offer, or maybe the only offer, I’ll ever get? Can I sell my practice and keep working, given that I’m not ready to fully retire right now?

Take a look around your hometown. Your favorite places: the coffee shop, bookstore, brewery, dry cleaner, and salon that you frequent on a pretty regular basis are all small business–or at least started that way. Just like you. These founders had a dream and a desire to be their own bosses and make their work something they enjoy doing. Many started in small spaces, just enough room to get the business of the ground. They relied on grit, resourcefulness, and thrift to further their businesses through the first stages. Now, the most successful independent operations are evolving and growing their teams, but many struggle to maintain their position amidst stronger competition, an uncertain economy, and consolidation trends.

Does this sound familiar? The issues of scale, expense management, and growth planning are not unique to financial services. Other professionals begin their businesses with similar limitations, which they must address and overcome in order to reach a baseline of success. Passion and perseverance are powerful fuel, but the challenge comes in creating a business that can support sustainable growth. 

Mergers are transactions that can take on many shapes, apply to almost any size advisory enterprise, and are infinitely customizable depending on the unique details and situations of the participating advisors.  

Advisors commonly think of a merger as the statutory combination of two practices into one in a tax efficient manner, but it’s better to think of the merger process as the combination of two or more advisors’ strengths, client bases, and cash flow streams, while reducing or eliminating weaknesses and inefficiencies – lofty goals to be sure, but readily achievable.

The reality is that mergers can be used to address a much wider set of challenges and opportunities including:

1. Growth through acquisition (i.e., by merging a small practice into a larger practice, and then setting up an internal succession/continuity plan);
2. Finding a successor, or becoming a successor (by first creating an internal, minority equity partner who later completes the buy-out of the founder’s S-corporation or LLC);
3. Establishing a practical and reliable Continuity Plan and protecting the value of your practice against your sudden death, disability or retirement is best accomplished by having an equity partner such as may be created through a merger;
4. Improving Enterprise or Revenue Strength through increased efficiencies and the added strengths of other advisory owners;
5. Expanding market territory, expertise, and services;
6. Building a strong, enduring business by combining the diverse strengths of multiple contributors.

To help illustrate these benefits, consider the following three examples as discussed in our recent Roundtable Talk, “Every Merger Is Unique,” below, each representing an actual merger between independent advisors that we helped orchestrate in 2018: 

It is without a doubt a “seller’s market” when it comes to financial advisory practices. With an average buyer-to-seller ratio of 85:1, sellers can be picky. Given the sheer volume of qualified buyers that send in inquiries for practices listed by FP Transitions on our open-market system, it is extremely important for potential buyers to put their best foot forward and show the seller why they are the “cream of the crop.”  

Remember, your inquiry is the first communication you will have with the seller, who likely knows nothing about you. While we don’t recommend drafting a novel, your inquiry should at a minimum tell the seller enough detail to pique the seller’s interest. Inquiries that merely state, “I have cash,” “Let’s talk,” “I need more information,” or “See our website for more information,” are usually immediately stricken by the selling party from consideration, regardless of how well qualified the inquirer may actually be. This is because experienced and successful buyers take the time to make a strong first impression.

One of the fastest ways for an advisor to grow their business is to acquire another advisor’s book of business. Most advisors see this “traditional acquisition” route as a quick and easy way to increase their revenue and managed assets, but if unprepared this growth path can be challenging and technically complex.  

There has also been a significant increase in competition for traditional acquisition opportunities in recent years resulting in the transactions not being as economically viable as in years past–especially for an advisor seeking to use the cash flow of the acquired book to pay for the acquisition.

Luckily, there are a few other strategies that offer the potential for meaningful growth and, over time, might even provide greater enterprise value.  Strategies like mergers, continuity partnerships, equity pathways for next-generation owners (G2 owners), strategic partnerships, and Sell and Stay® transactions offer alternatives for advisors who may not have the enterprise strength or firm depth for a traditional acquisition.  These alternative options take planning and patience, but can yield incredible growth and value in the long run. Many of these strategies also present powerful opportunities to create enterprise value when combined with an advisor’s organic growth.