Market performance gives you speed. Employee performance gives you velocity. Practice management gives you momentum. If you want to be successful, focus on building momentum.
A weekly update on issues important to the Investment Management industry
Market performance gives you speed. Employee performance gives you velocity. Practice management gives you momentum. If you want to be successful, focus on building momentum.
During ATO’s annual meeting in New Orleans, industry experts weighed in on pressing topics for independent trust companies. Key discussions revolved around the limited impact of the FTC’s proposed ban on non-compete agreements, the potential advantages of AI in trust administration, and the unique financial trends and risks observed in the TrustCo sector. For those in the trust industry seeking insights on its current state, this conference provided invaluable perspectives and recommendations.
Measuring the financial performance of an RIA usually starts with GAAP statements, but it shouldn’t end there. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) have their place, but are too vague and nonspecific to provide much in the way of strategic direction for an investment management business. In this post, we propose a path to break down your financials into key performance metrics, giving your leadership a more constructive way to think about what builds value in an RIA.
The RIA industry is facing a potential succession crisis, with many firms still helmed by their founders and lacking in non-founding shareholders. Although succession planning is vital for the long-term success of these firms, it is often sidelined in favor of immediate growth strategies. This article delves into various solutions for RIA principals, from internal transitions to external acquisitions, highlighting their benefits and potential drawbacks.
Labor is the single largest expense for any investment management firm, but beyond that simple fact, there is surprisingly little similarity regarding how the thousands of wealth managers, asset managers, independent trust companies, and investment consulting firms pay their people. Compensation studies show considerable variances in how much firms pay for certain positions, and the character of remuneration — salary, bonuses, equity compensation, benefits — varies as a function of firm history, economics, and culture.
Understanding the intricate complexities of buy-sell agreements can provide a basis for shareholder transactions and mitigate costly legal disputes down the road. We explain the pitfalls of rules-of-thumb based valuation measures, the importance of the ‘As Of’ date, the necessary qualifications of your appraiser, and how updating your agreement annually can manage expectations and avoid surprises. Stay informed and avoid the inevitable challenges by familiarizing yourself with these key components of a well-crafted buy-sell agreement.
The much-ballyhooed consolidation trend in the RIA space is in a state of transition. Many acquisition platforms, fine-tuned in an era of zero interest rates and plentiful equity capital, are challenged in the post-ZIRP environment. Picking up on economist George Box’s observation that “all models are wrong, some are useful,” it’s worthwhile to survey the acquisition landscape and see what worked and what still works.
The intricate journey of selling a business you’ve built can be daunting, filled with complex emotions and countless considerations. This process, particularly in the investment management space, requires thorough preparation, strategic thinking, and an understanding of the many dynamics involved. In this post, we explore four critical areas that every investment manager must consider: developing a pragmatic pricing expectation, establishing a solid rationale for selling, preparing your firm’s financial documents, and understanding the tax implications of different deal structures.
The endowment effect has an impact on your RIA and oftentimes rules of thumb and recent headlines can lead to overvaluation. We share the nuances of valuing your firm, from assessing cash flow, growth, and risk to understanding the relevance of non-systematic risks. Uncover the factors that truly influence your RIA’s value and learn how an independent valuation can help you make informed decisions for your firm’s future.
Curious about what makes a firm’s margin a powerful indicator of its performance? We explain the “typical margin” for RIAs and how different segments of the investment management industry have varying margins based on their business models. Learn why future margin prospects are more significant than the current margin when evaluating the worth of an RIA and how to protect margins in a rapidly changing industry, and how to generate stable, improving margins that lead to higher valuation multiples when the firm is eventually sold.
Harry Truman kept a sign with his personal slogan, “The Buck Stops Here,” on his desk. The reverse side of his sign, which faced the President, says, “I’m from Missouri.” Specifically, Truman grew up in Independence, Missouri, and took pride in his hometown. RIAs would be well advised to value their independence as much.
Succession planning has been an area of increasing focus in the investment management industry, particularly given what many are calling a looming succession crisis. The demographics suggest that increased attention to succession planning is well warranted: over 60% of RIAs are still led by their founders, and only about a quarter of them have non-founding shareholders. Yet when RIA principals are asked to rank their firm’s top priorities, developing a succession plan is often ranked last.
Revenue multiples are cited perhaps as much as any other valuation metric in the RIA industry. In this week’s post, we focus on their key drivers and ways to improve the value of your management fees.
For this week’s post we’re introducing our whitepaper on compensation structures for investment management firms. This whitepaper is designed to help you navigate the various compensation models to optimize firm growth and employee retention.
Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a proposed ban on non-compete agreements in employment contracts. If enacted, the proposed ban would prohibit a common provision of employment agreements that employers use to limit employees’ ability to compete.
Last week, The Association of Trust Organizations held its annual meeting at the JW Marriott in Las Vegas to discuss industry trends, practice management, and recruitment during the Great Resignation. As a sponsor and panelist, we outline 5 takeaways from the meeting in this week’s blog.
We’re often asked by clients what the range of multiples for RIAs is in the current market. At any given time, the range can be quite wide between the least attractive firms and the most attractive firms. The factors that affect where a firm falls within that range include the firm’s margin, scale, growth rate of new client assets, effective realized fees, personnel, geographic market, firm culture, and client demographics (among others).
In this post, we focus in on the client demographics factor, explain how buyers view client demographics, and explore steps some firms are taking to reach a broader client base.
We think of investment management firms as a “growth and income” play. The space has attracted capital specifically because RIAs produce a reliable stream of distributable cash flow with the upside coming from market tailwinds and new clients. For all the trade press touting interest in RIAs, investing trends over the past fifteen years have had a mixed impact on the investment management community.
For asset managers, cheap capital makes stock picking less important. Persistent alpha is harder to prove. Passive and alternative products are more competitive. Investment committees are surly. Fee pressure is rampant.
For wealth managers, cheap capital has made diversification look kind of pointless and bordering on stupid. In the rearview mirror, owning anything other than the S&P 500 has, since the credit crisis, looked like a mistake. While this may not have had an immediate impact on revenue and margins, it does nothing to cement advisor/client relationships.
But what about valuations? Where do RIAs fit in an environment that favors growth stocks?
One reason deal activity can remain strong in tough financial markets is that buyers can use earn-outs to control what they pay for deals, offering more money in the event that markets recover and justify higher valuations, and managing their outlays if performance lags. For sellers, the relevant consideration is bear markets may tank a big part of their expected deal consideration, well beyond their control. A falling tide may not simply work to the detriment of sellers, but also hand buyers a bargain purchase when markets improve. Earn-outs align interests in the near term but can provide asymmetric benefits in years ahead.
Schwab recently released its 2022 RIA Benchmarking Study. The survey contains responses from over 1,200 RIAs representing $1.8 trillion in AUM to questions about firm operating performance, strategy, and practice management. The survey is a great resource for RIA principals to see how their firm’s performance and direction measure up against the average firm. In our blog post this week, we highlight some of the key results of the survey.
In continuing the series on buy-sell agreements, this week’s blog post was inspired by the Felcity Ace cargo ship in which the ship was carrying several thousand new Porches, Bentleys, and Volkswagens when fire spread quickly. This circumstance ultimately produced a metaphor for RIAs. When RIAs are formed, they often enter into some kind of shareholder agreement whereby the parties agree upon rules to buy or sell ownership interests under given circumstances. No one thinks much about it because the expectation of a terminal event – like sale of the business or the retirement of a member – is so far off in the future. It’s like loading 4,000 cars on a ship and sending it out to sea, assuming that, at the end of the journey, the cargo will be reliably delivered and offloaded in good condition. No one thinks about the ship while it’s on the way from one destination to another until a fire breaks out.
Following up on last week’s post, this week, we offer four additional considerations that you should be addressing in your firm’s buy-sell agreement. We’ve seen each of these issues neglected before, which usually doesn’t end well for at least one of the parties involved. A well-crafted buy-sell agreement should clearly acknowledge these considerations to avoid shareholder disputes and costly litigation down the road. We highly recommend taking another look at your buy-sell agreement to see if these issues are addressed before something comes up.
Working on your RIA’s buy-sell agreement may seem like an inconvenience, but the distraction is minor compared to the disputes that can occur if your agreement isn’t structured appropriately. Crafting an agreement that functions well is a relatively easy step to promote the long-term continuity of ownership of your firm, which ultimately provides the best economic opportunity for you and your partners, employees, and clients. If you haven’t looked at your RIA’s buy-sell agreement in a while, we recommend dusting it off and reading it in conjunction with the discussions in this blog post.
Knowing why you’re successful is a key to sustaining success. This week we offer five thoughts on turning your RIA’s success into momentum.
