With the stock market on the upswing and the regulatory environment continuing to show signs of easing, many advisors are starting 2018 from a strong foundation. For growth-focused advisors, now may be the time to make a strategic move that can help improve their competitiveness.
So, what’s the right path forward for you? One answer is practice acquisition, which can be a great way to improve your balance sheet, acquisition specialists at Ameriprise Financial say.
Here are four potential benefits to a practice acquisition.
1. Amplify your growth.
Not hitting your growth goals? There may be a better way. Growing your existing practice client by client can be labor-intensive, especially when driven by long-lead sales cycles. By acquiring a broader client base in one expedient move, you can reduce the time required to reach your targets.
2. Improve your margins.
Acquiring a practice means you add clients — without necessarily assuming the related overhead. If you already have real estate, a staff and systems in place, an acquisition can help improve your profitability.
"Practice acquisition is one of the fastest methods to grow your practice," says Bill Williams, Executive Vice President, Ameriprise Franchise Group. "In one move, you can broaden your client base, expand your services and amplify your referral base."
A practice acquisition can also be a powerful way to quickly strengthen your value proposition by potentially adding talent, diversifying your service offerings and broadening your footprint in the communities you want to reach. You can energize your staff with additional opportunities — while simultaneously better catering to your clients through more specialized services.
3. Take advantage of support.
You don’t have to go it alone. Now is a great time to take advantage of the support that some broker-dealers are now offering advisors pursuing an acquisition. A strong financial firm partner can help you throughout the sourcing process, including search.
Even if you’ve already identified a practice you’d like to acquire, working with a turnkey partner can take the due diligence, valuation, financing and paperwork off of your plate, allowing you to retain focus on your clients. A turnkey partner such as an established broker-dealer can even help you with final onboarding.
"We have practice acquisition down to a science," says Patricia Moll, Senior Franchise Field Vice President, Ameriprise Financial. "Not only do we help our advisors identify prospects, we actually go to the meetings with them, walking with them through key steps along the way."
4. Access flexible financing.
More flexible financing options are available now than ever before — you don’t need to have the cash up front. By working with a firm that has either in-house lending resources or strategic partnerships with third-party lending resources, you can quickly get the help you need to fund your acquisition.
Working with a strong broker-dealer can give you a broad array of options, including helping establish exit strategies for existing management to ease transition and retain key talent.
"[Our] team at Ameriprise has completed hundreds of successful acquisitions. They have the knowledge and experience to help advisors understand what their practice may be worth," Williams says. "We can help you make sure you have the right infrastructure in place to make a successful acquisition."
Learn more about the practice acquisition resources and support Ameriprise can offer you at
Learn more about the practice acquisition resources and support Ameriprise can offer you at
Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC.
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