Exiting on Your Own Terms
The RIA M&A landscape is on fire. The most recent RIA Deal Room Report, which provides unbiased, data-driven insights into the changing M&A landscape, spotlights new records in volume and valuation, more lucrative sales and mergers, and more prominent but discerning buyers. It also presents an evolved industry landscape from a two-lane road to a more complex highway of options that include investors, platform-driven investors and integrators.
As the M&A market becomes more sophisticated, it is even more important for advisors to consider teaming up with an experienced navigator to help guide them through the challenges and the opportunities of considering a transaction.
At AGS, we consult on a variety of buy/sell transactions, either as a friendly broker working for the deal, or a trusted consultant to a buyer or seller. We apply our experience and research, including interpreting the dynamic M&A market from an internal and external perspective, offering insight and skills to both front-end decision-making and back-end execution.
We work with clients for a range of reasons, including looking to:
- grow and scale to meet increasing demand or broaden capabilities;
- address sustainability and succession planning issues;
- create a more robust platform; and
- add another investment specialty.
In all cases, our clients are seeking a robust valuation and financial outcome, while keeping true to the intended outcome of a proposed transaction.
Whatever your motivation, we work with you throughout the process, starting with encouraging you, as an M&A candidate, to reimagine what your future business could be. We help ensure you’re ready to enter the highly competitive M&A market, taking you through a structured decision process. We conduct due diligence to validate the deal, and structure a transaction that is a win/win for all parties. Once we find the right fit, we facilitate all facets of negotiations between the deal parties.
Our Capabilities
Our Differentiating Approach
We lead with experience.
We know the market, business models, valuation, deal structures and potential for growth.
We follow a philosophy.
Our expertise is the result of constant practice, a collaborative culture, discipline and ongoing industry education.
We guide the process.
We work as a team and follow a tried-and-true, evidence-based process that defines the whys. Implementing our process flow, we:
Case Studies
Here are representative examples of sell-side and buy-side deals that highlight how we balance growth expectations and risk to close the deal.
Client Overview
- $1B AUM RIA in the Southeast
- Founding partner team experiencing tremendous growth and in need of additional platform resources
- $1B+ RIA evaluating adding a $250M RIA with unique capabilities
- Selling owners needed an efficient path to exit
Challenges
- Internal succession attempts were not feasible and the partner team had a long runway
- Operational fit and career upside for team was critical
- Management needed support for non-critical activities such as compliance and HR
- Unique aspects of both firms required a custom approach to deal structure
- Both parties wanted a speedy exit without disruption
- Buyer sought an accretive transaction, while delivering a fair deal that met the seller’s objectives.
Successes
- AGS team clarified goals and opened a partner search
- AGS curated a group of potential partners that would fit the client’s needs
- AGS and the client discovered a transaction with local flexibility backed by a strong platform was the right fit
- The client received a top-tier valuation while accessing best-in-class resources for future growth
- AGS guided buyer on price and terms to satisfy seller’s non-negotiable
- Buyer firm proposed a win/win framework for the selling owners and contributors
- Transaction resulted in increased growth with new capabilities, talent and an expanded geographic footprint
Case Studies
Here are representative examples of sell-side and buy-side deals that highlight how we balance growth expectations and risk to close the deal.
Client Overview
Challenges
Successes