About this episode…

Fidelity’s latest M&A report signaled that despite headwinds of a turbulent market and interest rates, as well as the regional banking crisis, the M&A wave is still flowing strong.

The first quarter of 2023 saw 67 acquisitions – 10 more than the previous quarter’s 57 – representing some $83.5B in client assets.

No doubt, there’s still a hunger for quality firms with strong P&Ls and growth trajectories.

And it’s this very space that firms like FP Transitions play in.

The firm was founded in 1999 by industry-legend David Grau, Sr., who literally wrote the book on Buying, Selling and Valuing Financial Practices back in 2016.

FP Transitions became one of the standouts in the wealth management world, specializing in the valuation and analysis of the intangibles that make advisory practices unique and valuable.

They do this by employing strategies that build upon a lifetime of work and trusted client relationships—and executing a succession plan designed to both realize value for the founder and perpetuate the business for the next generation of advisors.

Earlier this year, FP Transitions reached a milestone, performing over 15,000 independent business valuations.

The firm’s CEO, Brad Bueermann, joins Louis Diamond to discuss all that and more, including:

• FP Transitions background—and how they developed their unique methodology.
• The firm’s own next gen transition from David to Brad—and how the processes they use with wealth management clients played an integral role.
• Where firm valuations are today—and what he expects for the future.
• What buyers were most concerned about in the past—and how that differs today.
• Multiples and enterprise value—and what business owners need to pay attention to maximize both.
• Identifying the value drivers—and how to develop a plan to increase value over time.
• Creating a win-win scenario in a transaction—and why FP Transitions sees this as the best possible route for all sides.

It’s an episode filled with practical advice and intelligent conversation around the evolution of independent firms with key takeaways on achieving maximum enterprise value.