The Financial Advisor M&A Guidebook: Best Practices, Tools, and Resources for Technology Integration and Beyond

With M&As in the RIA space increasing, many firms are rapidly changing hands with little to no expert guidance on how to successfully execute a merger or acquisition. In 2017, a record number of M&A deals closed in the advisor space – 168 transactions, or a 22% growth over 2016. Aside from a fifth straight year of record highs in M&A activity, the size of the acquired firms has also increased, with average acquisitions involving wealth managers exceeding $1.01 billion in assets under management.  For many advisors, it only takes a handful of missteps during a merger or acquisition to jeopardize their business, but with so much unknown, advisors need a guidebook for success. A significant and often overlooked component to a successful RIA merger or acquisition is the thoughtful integration of technology. This comprehensive guide walks you through the steps of strategy, assessment, implementation, adoption and growth, all while considering how to best inspire and galvanize afirm’s most valuable asset – its people.

Combining the real-life experiences of a life-long financial advisor with the expertise of a 15-year operations director and founder of a large RIA ops network, this book takes real M&A experiences of the financial services industry and offers best practices, tools and resources to help advisors make smart decisions about technology integration that elevates the firm’s goals and solidifies its future success. 

Greg Friedman is an innovator and advocate for excellent wealth management. He is co-founder and CEO of Private Ocean, one of the West Coast's leading wealth management firms. He’s also the former co-founder of Junxure, an industry leading CRM for advisors. Friedman is widely recognized as one of the nation’s top financial advisors. Investment Advisor Magazine named him as one of its Top 25 most influential financial advisors in 2008, 2009 and 2010.  In 2008, Financial Planning Magazine included Friedman in its elite list of financial “Movers and Shakers.” In 2007, Charles Schwab honored him with its prestigious IMPACT Award® for “Best in Tech.” Friedman plays a lead role in the movement toward tighter technology integration in the financial planning industry.  He was also recognized by Investment News in 2017 as an Icon and Innovator.

Shaun Kapusinski is all about operational excellence. He has spent over 15 years at Sequoia Financial Group, LLC, and is currently a Director of Operations focusing on technology and administration. Kapusinski turned his passion for operations into one of the industry’s first operations-focused study groups. In 2010, he founded HIFON, an RIA operations network linking together over 200 RIA firms across the country. Shaun’s other industry and community involvement includes being a member of The University of Akron’s Finance Advisory Board; he is a current Committee Member for the operations track at Bob Veres’ Insider’s Forum; and he is a former member of the Schwab Advisor Services Technology, Operations & Service Advisory Board. Shaun has been a speaker on various operations topics at multiple industry conferences.