Added on March 2014 in M&A Issues
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Summary: As more and more Baby-Boom-vintage advisory firms come up for sale or succession these days, the question of valuation is a recurrent theme. There are many methods to value a “small business” such as independent advisory firms—discounted cashflow, a multiple of earnings, a percentage of client AUM, etc.—but revenue multiples get little respect these days.
Added on March 2014 in M&A Issues
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Summary: More than a decade of pitching mutual funds and annuities to financial advisers convinced G.C. Lewis of two things: He wanted to become an adviser himself, and building one from nothing would be a huge challenge."It's very difficult today to start a financial-advisory practice from scratch," says Mr. Lewis. "The old days of cold calling don't work nearly as well...Today, more investors are looking to find advisers through referrals."
Added on March 2014 in M&A Issues
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Summary: Sandy Johnson's best business decision was to participate in an Ameriprise Financial Inc. experiment 20 years ago that brought individual advisers together to operate as a group practice. Today, her Proviant Group boasts operational efficiencies that would turn both smaller and larger firms green with envy
Added on March 2014 in M&A Issues
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Summary: In a study of 140 senior executives, Fidelity Institutional found that more than half (55%) expect to boost revenue from their wealth management practices 25% or more in the next five years. Nearly one-third (31%)— those having made the most progress in developing their wealth management businesses and identified in the report as “pacesetters”—anticipate that wealth management will contribute 35% to total bank revenue in five years’ time.
Added on March 2014 in M&A Issues
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Summary: RIAs overtook strategic acquiring firms as the leading buyer of advisory firms in 2013, according to data released Tuesday by Schwab Advisor Services. Mergers and acquisitions are up overall, too, although the amount of assets under management acquired in those deals dropped.
