Charles Paikert |
Should RIA founders sell to an outside buyer or to junior partners already in the firm?
The internal vs. external sale debate proved to be one of the liveliest at the recent Deals and Deal Makers Summit in
RIA owners should begin the decision-making progress by clarifying their goals for a sale, said
External sales usually mean both higher prices and greater simplicity, agreed
Selling to an outsider also usually means higher down payments and shorter payment periods, executives at the conference said, adding that such a deal also requires less lead time for the seller.
The biggest potential downside for an external sale? The possibility that the buyers won't live up to their promises, Seivert said. "What you see isn't necessarily what you get," he warned.
LESS RISK, MORE GOODWILL
Internal sales carry fewer risks, Seivert said: "You're selling to people you know." And selling to a firm's current associates spreads goodwill, rewards advisors for loyal service and gives owners more freedom in structuring a deal, Seivert said.
But not everyone agreed that such a deal was best for client retention.
"Clients still have to be handled carefully," said
Indeed, clients can become quite "jittery" about management and ownership changes — "even if those changes are for the betterment of the firm and, therefore, them," agreed one owner of a midsize RIA who asked that his name not be used because his firm is in the middle of an ownership transition.
And the staff may not be ready to take over, some veteran dealmakers pointed out. While firm founders to be rainmakers and entrepreneurs, salaried employees may not necessarily have those traits. "Employees usually haven't been owners, and some haven't aspired to be owners," Friedman said. "In a lot of cases, extensive training and mentoring is required."
FINANCING INTERNAL DEALS
For internal sales, financing remains one of the biggest challenges, because most younger advisors don't have enough money to be able to buy equity outright.
Owners will typically help junior partners finance the sale through a note, but payouts can stretch out for seven years or more.
In addition, owners are in effect buying themselves out, argued
Over the past few years, however, internal buyers and sellers have increasingly sought financing from lenders such as
"We want [borrowers] to be able to articulate why they are the appropriate successors for the firm; how they see their role as an owner and what they will do and do differently," Mangone said. "We want the junior partners we lend to be entrepreneurial and understand ownership."
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Source: | Source Media, Inc. |
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