A weekly update on issues important to the Investment Management industry
This fourth post in a series on selling your RIA focuses on corporate culture, the single most defining element of investment management firms. RIAs are more than EBITDA margins and GIPS compliant performance numbers. Ironic, isn’t it, that culture is rarely negotiated and never mentioned in a purchase agreement?
As we do every quarter, we take a look at some of the earnings commentary of pacesetters in asset management to gain further insight into the challenges and opportunities developing in the industry.
If you’re entering into negotiations to sell your RIA, buckle up, stay composed, be mindful of your goals, and don’t catch deal fatigue.
The primary danger of an unsolicited offer is that it lures potential sellers into thinking the deal is done and the process will be easy. As with most things in life, if something looks too good to be true, it usually is.
We’ve been asked to review unsolicited offers to buy an asset management firms many times. As such, we thought it would be worth taking a few blog posts to talk about unsolicited offers, how to approach them, evaluate them, and decide whether to pursue or reject them.
Asset manager M&A activity in 2017, in particular, is on track to reach the highest level in terms of deal volume since 2009.
We think performance fees will likely continue to fall (in one form or another), but, like active management, never be totally eliminated. So on balance, a modestly improving outlook for the sector is probably justified after a rough 2015 and 2016 for most industry participants.
If you only followed the press surrounding asset managers, you’d think the entire industry was in serious trouble. Fee compression, fund outflows, regulatory overhang, rising costs, and a host of other issues have dominated headlines in recent years, yet the market doesn’t seem to care.
This week, we’re sharing some recent media on trends in asset management, including the breakaway broker phenomenon, M&A activity, and the ongoing shift towards passive products.
Piggybacking off of our post from last week, we discuss the various options one faces when leaving a wirehouse firm, including the various pros and cons to doing so. The advisory profession has evolved significantly over time, so we’re writing this post to keep you apprised of your options as you consider the big leap.
