RIA Valuation Insights

April 30, 2018 Transactions

Purchase Accounting Considerations for Banks Acquiring Asset Managers

As banks of all sizes seek new ways to differentiate themselves in a competitive market, we see many banks contemplating the acquisition of an existing asset management firm as a way to expand and diversify the range of services they can offer to clients. Transaction structures between banks and asset managers can be complicated, often including deal term nuances and clauses that have significant impact on fair value. Asset management firms are unique entities with value attributed to a number of different metrics (assets under management, management fee revenue, realized fee margin, etc.). It is important to understand how the characteristics of the asset management industry, in general, and those attributable to a specific firm, influence the values of the assets acquired in these transactions.

April 20, 2018 Industry Trends

RIA Stocks off to a Rough Start in 2018

A rocky first quarter was particularly volatile for publicly traded RIAs.  After reaching record highs in late January, most categories of publicly traded RIAs ended the quarter with negative returns.

April 13, 2018 Industry Trends Transactions

Asset Manager M&A Activity Accelerates in 2018

Asset manager M&A was robust through the first quarter of 2018 against a backdrop of volatile market conditions.  Several trends which have driven the uptick in sector M&A have continued into 2018, including revenue and cost pressures and an increasing interest from bank acquirers. We discuss further in this week’s post.

April 6, 2018 Industry Trends

Volatile First Quarter Brings Asset Management Industry Headwinds Back Into Focus

Publicly traded asset managers had a rough first quarter, as volatility returned to the market and major indices posted negative quarterly returns for the first time in over two years.  While the overall drop in the market was relatively modest, stock price declines of publicly traded asset managers were generally more significant. It is not surprising that most asset managers have underperformed during periods of declining markets, since the reverse was true during 2017, when most asset managers outperformed the major indices.

April 2, 2018 Industry Trends

Three Takeaways from the CFA Institute’s Wealth Management Conference in Los Angeles

Several topics were discussed at the CFA Institute’s Wealth Management Conference, most of which centered around financial planning, practice management, and servicing private clients with evolving needs and return requirements.  Though we weren’t able to attend all the sessions, we did pick up on a few themes from our discussions with the attendees and other exhibitors. In this week’s post, we further discuss those themes.

March 26, 2018 Current Events

The Impact of the 2017 Tax Cuts & Jobs Act on the Investment Management Industry

This whitepaper is a compilation of thoughts we have gathered in the early days of this new tax regime. We present what we think are the major issues that RIA partners should consider.

March 18, 2018 Current Events Transactions

Two Perspectives on RIA Transactions in the Wake of the Tax Bill

There is an argument to be made that the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act is bullish for RIA M&A, but there is also a counter-argument. In this week’s post, we address both.

March 9, 2018 Current Events

Your RIA May Qualify for the QBI Deduction, But Don’t Get Your Hopes Up

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) introduces the Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction as a partial offset to the bill’s reduction in the relative tax efficiency of pass through entities (S corporations, limited liability companies, and partnerships) versus C corporations.  Still, many RIAs will not be eligible for the deduction, and those that do will have a lot to keep in mind as it pertains to reasonable compensation levels and investment income.  We’ll try to sort it all out for you in this week’s post.

March 2, 2018 Current Events Industry Trends

What We’re Reading about the Tax Bill

Most of the sector’s recent press has focused on the tax bill’s impact on RIAs, so in addition to our own writings on the matter, we’ve highlighted some of the more salient pieces we’ve come across regarding the tax bill as it relates to the asset management sector.

February 23, 2018 Current Events Practice Management

The Tax Bill Rendered Your Shareholder Agreement Obsolete

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has really shaken up the underlying economics of investment management firms and, with that, the value of those firms. As a consequence, many owners of RIAs have inaccurate ideas of what their firms are worth, and, worse than that, they have outmoded shareholder agreements suggesting the willingness to transact at inaccurate valuations.