By Louis Diamond, Investment News – It seems to be counter-intuitive for an advisor or team who may be riding the wave of their “best year ever” to change jerseys or break for independence. Yet it’s happening in record numbers.
By Louis Diamond, AdvisorHub – An expanded landscape with more options than ever before has advisors wondering: “Should I go for the short-term windfall or bet on the long-term potential?” And there are good cases for both options.
By Louis Diamond, CityWire.com – In years past, a $1B+ independent firm would have automatically considered themselves a legitimate buyer. But today, with the red-hot M&A market spurred by scores of private equity capital, serial acquirers, and the emergence of mega-RIAs boasting a full suite of comprehensive client services, AUM is no longer a predictor of buyer status.
By Louis Diamond, WealthManagement.com – With so much uncertainty and negativity pervading our lives, it’s helpful to imagine a future where we witness positive effects of the crisis on the RIA industry.
By Louis Diamond, InvestmentNews – An interesting trend is developing amongst the largest and most successful independent broker dealer (IBD) practices. It’s a high-class problem to have—one that we see at every IBD when the top 5–10% of individual practices (those typically generating in excess of $3-5mm of GDC) reach a point where they begin thinking about their end game and how they will monetize their life’s work. They are essentially “growing themselves out of the market.” That is, their practices have reached a point in which there is not a viable successor within their broker dealer network.
By Louis Diamond, WealthManagement.com – The wealth management industry was already evolving rapidly to match the needs of clients and advisors, yet the COVID-19 crisis is likely to accelerate the pace even faster. While each segment of the financial services ecosystem will no doubt be impacted, there’s one area in particular likely to evolve more than others: the Independent broker dealer (IBD) channel.
By Louis Diamond – The recent spate of mergers and acquisitions has led many principals of independent advisory firms to consider their own futures.
“If we stay along our current course, will we be well positioned not only for growth, but also for increased enterprise value, making us more attractive to buyers of businesses like ours?”
By Louis Diamond – We often hear principals of independent firms speak of their desire to increase assets under management, and how they feel that doing so will help ensure their relevancy and solidify their position in the marketplace. While this singular notion may have been a focus in years past, increased competition has caused a shift in goals for many quality firms, a shift towards increasing overall enterprise value by paying attention to the things that most impact it (as discussed in my last post).
By Louis Diamond – Independent broker dealers (IBDs) serve a great purpose within the marketplace. By allowing advisors to own their business, self-brand and take control of their financial destiny, IBDs are often a breath of fresh air for breakaway brokers and entrepreneurial spirits. Yet while there are many multi-million dollar businesses within IBDs, there are often instances where a business has outgrown this model in favor of the registered investment advisor (RIA) hybrid space.
By Louis Diamond – R-I-A: These three letters are dotted across industry publications and conference agendas, and on the minds of most advisors (especially post-DOL ruling), but why all the hype? And, why are we watching so many long tenured top advisors and teams moving in that direction?
