RIA Valuation Insights

August 9, 2024 Trust Companies Wealth Management

Build, Buy, or Outsource

RIAs Need Trust Capabilities, but How?

Advising clients on estate planning is a core service offered by wealth management firms, and the best tool for meeting estate planning objectives is often some sort of trust. This dynamic places trust companies closely adjacent to wealth management firms, and, increasingly, RIAs have sought to internalize trust operations through various means in a bid to expand their capabilities and move upmarket to larger clients with more complex needs. For RIAs that can figure it out, there are opportunities for higher growth and retention at the margin relative to a field of competitors that lack robust trust capabilities.  

August 2, 2024 Industry Trends Valuation

RIA Value Is a Function of Liquidity

Is the Investment Management Industry Missing Part of Its Capital Stack?

For several years, RIA consolidation was fueled by cheap debt, compelling acquisition multiples, and AUM growth underpinned by rising markets. Today, debt isn’t free, acquisition multiples have been bid up, and public markets have become dependent on a very narrow list of equities for growth. Despite headwinds, the P.E. thesis of investing in the RIA space: sticky revenue, low capital intensity, and dependable margins, has survived the pandemic and rough market years like 2022. The missing element was and is the inaccessibility of public market equity to cash out the P.E. investment thesis and to provide replenishment capital to do new deals.

July 26, 2024 Industry Trends

Will Rate Cuts Improve RIA Multiples?

Most economists and market participants now believe the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates at its September meeting as inflationary trends show signs of easing. Naturally, we’re interested in how expected rate cuts will affect the investment management industry’s transaction multiples. Many industry observers believe anticipated rate cuts will have little or no impact on the sector since most RIAs don’t have any debt on their balance sheets. While it’s true that most investment management firms do not employ leverage in their capital structure, lower interest rates will nonetheless impact their cost of equity and, consequently, their valuations.

July 19, 2024 Industry Trends Trust Companies

Independent Trust Company Trends

One of the most frequently ignored sectors in the wealth management industry may be its first cousin, the independent trust industry.  While many still associate trust administration with banks, which account for more than 75% of the space, the growing prominence of independent trust companies is capturing the attention of many participants in the investment management community.  In this post, we examine current trends impacting independent trust companies.

July 12, 2024 Industry Trends Transactions

RIA M&A Update: Q2 2024

Following a year where deal volume in the RIA industry nearly matched the all-time high of 2022, RIA M&A activity has cooled in 2024.  Fidelity’s May 2024 Wealth Management M&A Transaction Report (most recent available data) listed 86 deals through May 2024, down 17% from the 103 deals executed during the same period in 2023. In this post, we explore what this means for your RIA now and looking forward.

July 5, 2024 Industry Trends

RIA Market Update: Q2 2024

RIAs underperformed in the second quarter of 2024, with even the largest asset managers facing a decline in stock price in spite of a stronger asset base on which to collect revenue. Despite the price drop, all groups examined experienced growth in fundamentals year-over-year. We explore further in our Q2 2024 Market Update.

June 28, 2024 Industry Trends Transactions

New SEC Analysis of Form ADV Data

Insights on RIA Consolidation Trends

Consolidation is a theme that has a lot of traction in the RIA industry.  The prevailing narrative is that a growing multitude of buyers are scrambling to compete for a limited number of firms.  With the rapid pace of deal activity in the RIA industry, you might expect to see the number of firms decline. Despite consolidation pressures and record levels of acquisition activity, the reality is that the number of RIAs continues to increase, with new formations outpacing consolidation.

June 21, 2024 Current Events Transactions

Ken Fisher’s Deal Is Remarkable Because It Isn’t Remarkable

Fisher Investments has for many years been the Toyota Corolla of the RIA space. Not fancy. Not interesting. Not exclusive. Advertising for sales leads. Mass affluent customers. Meat and potatoes wealth management. Nothing remarkable, except for an exceptional growth story that led to a huge transaction.

June 14, 2024 Transactions Valuation

Whitepaper Release: Assessing Earnings Quality in the Investment Management Industry

For this week’s post we’re introducing our whitepaper on quality of earnings analysis in the investment management industry.  For RIA buyers and sellers, commissioning a QofE report is an essential element of the due diligence process.  In essence, a well-executed QofE analysis not only reveals why a firm is profitable but also assesses the likelihood of maintaining and enhancing that profitability after the transaction.  This comprehensive approach ensures that both buyers and sellers make well-informed, strategic decisions in the RIA industry.

June 7, 2024 Current Events Transactions

Why Haven’t Higher Interest Rates and Inflation Derailed RIA Dealmaking Activity?

Just over 30 years ago, the Memphis Area Transit Authority (“MATA”) made the dubious decision to construct a trolley line traversing most of the city’s downtown area, and it hasn’t gone well. If MATA could do it all over again, I suspect they would permanently closed the trolley system altogether, given the issues they’ve had over the years. Last year, many RIA industry participants expected a similar cessation to dealmaking in the sector following the adverse impact of higher interest rates and inflation on investment managers’ AUM balances and profitability in 2022.  Fortunately for the industry’s bankers, these economic headwinds haven’t derailed the sector’s M&A momentum.