How RIA Valuations Work: What Drives Your Number
Author “Is my practice worth 15x?” If you have spent any time around other advisors lately, you have probably heard some version of this. Someone sold for 15 times EBITDA. Maybe it came up at a conference, maybe a peer mentioned it over dinner, maybe it showed up in a headline about a big platform acquisition. Here is the part worth sitting with: that number is probably real. Somebody likely did sell for that. What tends to get lost is what the number was actually describing. Try asking it a different way. Is your practice worth 15x to your partner in a buy-in, or to the next advisor who might take it over one day? Almost certainly not, and that has nothing to do with how good the practice is. The cash flow simply will not support a price like that. No lender is going to underwrite it at that level, and no successor could service that kind of debt without the deal collapsing under its own weight. Now, ask it again about a well-capitalized acquirer who can fold your firm into a much larger platform, layer in synergies you could never generate alone, and pay a meaningful part of the price in equity rather than cash. Suddenly 15x is not just possible. It might be exactly right. Same practice, two very different buyers, two very different numbers, and neither one of them is wrong. That is really the question underneath the question. Before anyone can tell you what your practice is worth, you both need to agree on who is asking and why. A number built for an internal succession plan and a number built for a strategic sale were never meant to be the same number, and holding one up next to the other is a bit like comparing what a house would rent for against what it would sell for. Both are real. They are just not the same measurement. This is where a closer look at the data helps, not because it hands you a single magic multiple, but because it shows you the range and what actually lives inside it. SRG’s 2026 Advisor M&A Review looked at 171 peer-to-peer transactions completed in 2025, representing roughly $14 billion in transferred AUM. Here is how EBITDA multiples broke down across that data: Statistic EBITDA Multiple Maximum 13.75x Third quartile 12.71x Median 11.65x Average 9.98x First quartile 6.41x Minimum 5.90x Standard deviation 3.03x The high end of that range topped out at 13.75x, with an average of 9.98x, up from 9.2x the year before. Recurring revenue multiples averaged 3.27x, up from 3.08x. Worth flagging: this data set is built entirely from peer-to-peer transactions, and we intentionally leave private equity and aggregator deals out of it. Those transactions are measuring something different, what a specific, well-capitalized buyer is willing to pay given its own synergies and growth plans, rather than what a typical buyer would pay in the open market. If you have heard about a deal north of 13x or 14x, there is a good chance that is exactly where it came from. None of that means the number you heard was wrong. It probably was not. It just was not answering the question you are actually asking, which is usually some version of, what is my practice worth to me, right now, for the purpose I have in mind. That is the question this article is built to help you answer, drawing on what SRG’s valuation team sees across thousands of engagements, working almost exclusively with financial advisory practices. The multiple is an output, not an input So, to get to your number, and to understand why it might not resemble your neighbor’s at all, it helps to clear up something almost nobody explains plainly: the multiple everyone talks about is not where a valuation begins. It is where one ends. A gross revenue multiple, an EBITDA multiple, and an EBOC multiple are not, on their own, a finished valuation. The market approach genuinely does start with a multiple, that is the whole premise behind it, but a raw multiple pulled from someone else’s transaction reflects that transaction’s risk profile, not yours. Before it means anything for your practice, it has to be risk-adjusted to reflect the specific characteristics of the practice being valued. The income approach works differently. Rather than starting from a multiple, it discounts a practice’s projected cash flow directly, using a discount rate built around that practice’s own risk, to arrive at value. Either way, the number you hear at a conference is rarely the number that would actually apply to your practice, because it has not been adjusted for the risk that is unique to it. There are three generally accepted valuation approaches, asset, income, and market, and pricing multiples live only inside the market approach, derived from private transaction data on comparable practices. Taking a hearsay multiple and applying it to your own revenue is not the market approach. It is arithmetic built on someone else’s assumptions, for someone else’s transaction. Here is a real example of how far that gap can stretch. In a recent engagement, a single market-based value indication implied an EBITDA multiple of 22.56x against the firm’s own reported earnings. That figure looked alarming until we adjusted the earnings side. A buyer acquiring full control would not carry several of the seller’s current costs: one of the older owner’s compensation would not be replaced along with several other roles that would simply be absorbed into the buyer’s existing infrastructure. Adding those costs back roughly tripled the earnings figure, and the very same value, measured against that buyer-adjusted number, implied 8.38x instead. Same practice, same dollar value, same date. Only the earnings side of the ratio changed. Observation: A multiple only means something once it has been risk-adjusted to your practice. SRG Pro Tip: When you hear a multiple, ask three questions before you react. Multiple of what? Under whose expense structure? How much was cash at close? The question behind the question: who is the buyer? We touched on this earlier with the partner buy-in example, but it deserves a closer look, because almost every disagreement about value traces back to this exact point. It is rarely a disagreement about methodology or market conditions. It is a disagreement about who the assumed buyer is. Different buyers bring different cash flow, different levels of control, and a different ability to make a price actually work, so naturally, they do not land on the
To PE or Not to PE: What Every Advisor Should Know About Private Equity Offers (Ep. 35)
When Private Equity Calls: A Guide for Advisors Private equity has officially moved downstream. PE-backed aggregators that once targeted billion-dollar firms are now writing offers for practices with $150 million to $500 million in AUM, and many advisors are receiving these offers without having gone looking for them. In this episode, David Grau Jr, MBA. and Kristen Grau, CPA, CVA, CEPA cut through the headlines to explain what a PE-backed deal actually looks like from the inside. The conversation covers who these buyers are, how they structure offers, and why the classic idea of “selling and retiring” often does not fit the PE model. David and Kristen walk through financial normalization, recurring revenue debates, P&L preparation, and the often-overlooked reality that time kills deals. If you have ever been approached by a PE-backed firm, or think you might be, this episode gives you the framework to evaluate the offer clearly. SRG works exclusively alongside sellers in the M&A process, helping advisors get the right offers in front of the right buyers. Whether you received an unsolicited offer last week or you are thinking three to five years ahead, now is the time to understand the landscape. Show Notes PE-backed aggregators vs. direct PE: Direct PE investment goes to large enterprises (typically multiple billions in AUM). PE-backed aggregators have already taken that investment and are deploying it through acquisitions of firms as small as $150M to $250M in AUM. The seller profile is shifting: PE buyers want firms they can grow. The new seller profile is 50 to 70 years old — someone still willing to work and grow, not ready to retire in 12 months. Big multiples come with conditions: PE buyers may quote 10x to 12x earnings, but achieving that figure typically requires staying on for three to five years and hitting specific growth targets above current trajectory. Normalization can shrink your effective multiple: If you plan to leave post-sale, PE buyers add replacement comp back into expenses — often 25% to 35% of revenue — reducing normalized earnings and the effective payout. Know your numbers: Experienced buyers will cross-reference reports and look at client-level data. Sellers who do not know their numbers give buyers leverage to negotiate down. Clean your P&L before going to market: Remove owner-discretionary expenses, get onto a consistent tech stack, and track your financials quarterly for three to five years before selling. Best price or best terms — rarely both: A high purchase price often means more back-end risk and longer commitments. A lower cash deal with clean terms and a shorter transition may serve some sellers better. When you get an offer, pause: PE buyers are disciplined and experienced. They will create urgency. Pause, shop the offer, and call SRG before signing anything. Hosted By David Grau Jr., MBA (Founder / CEO) Kristen Grau, CPA, CVA, CEPA
How to Get “PE Value” With or Without PE
Watch the Replay Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.First Name *Last Name *Phone * Work Email * Would you like to join SRG's newsletter to receive industry updates and other webinar opportunities? Yes No Access Recording Can You Get Private Equity Value Without Selling to Private Equity? In this session, Succession Resource Group’s David Grau, Jr., MBA, unpacks how advisory firm owners can pursue private equity-level value whether or not they sell to private equity. The webinar breaks down the difference between direct PE investment and PE-backed aggregators, how headline multiples of up to 15x EBITDA translate into the 9x to 11x most sellers actually realize once deal terms are accounted for, and why the definition of a seller has shifted toward owners who sell and continue to run their firm. David also reviews the four variables that shape the right path, including practice size, timeline, buyer universe, and long-term priorities, along with the deal structures that decide what an owner takes home, from the traditional 80/20 down payment to today’s 40/30/30 split of cash, rolled equity, and earnouts. He then shows how internal succession and peer-to-peer sales can close the value gap and approach PE-level outcomes when firms start early, keep growth in focus, and sell in tranches. Advisors weighing an exit in the next three to ten years, evaluating an unsolicited offer, or planning an internal succession will find this a practical, data-backed guide to their options. Host David Grau Jr. MBA CEO/President Paper-plane Linkedin-in
How to Get “PE Value” With or Without PE
Watch the Replay https://vimeo.com/1208241907?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci Can You Get Private Equity Value Without Selling to Private Equity? In this session, Succession Resource Group’s David Grau, Jr., MBA, unpacks how advisory firm owners can pursue private equity-level value whether or not they sell to private equity. The webinar breaks down the difference between direct PE investment and PE-backed aggregators, how headline multiples of up to 15x EBITDA translate into the 9x to 11x most sellers actually realize once deal terms are accounted for, and why the definition of a seller has shifted toward owners who sell and continue to run their firm. David also reviews the four variables that shape the right path, including practice size, timeline, buyer universe, and long-term priorities, along with the deal structures that decide what an owner takes home, from the traditional 80/20 down payment to today’s 40/30/30 split of cash, rolled equity, and earnouts. He then shows how internal succession and peer-to-peer sales can close the value gap and approach PE-level outcomes when firms start early, keep growth in focus, and sell in tranches. Advisors weighing an exit in the next three to ten years, evaluating an unsolicited offer, or planning an internal succession will find this a practical, data-backed guide to their options. Host David Grau Jr. MBA CEO/President Paper-plane Linkedin-in Transcript 00:00:06.000 –> 00:00:18.000Good afternoon, everyone. David Grau Junior, President of Succession Resource Group here, welcoming you to our session today. As you can hopefully see on screen titled how to get PE value 00:00:18.000 –> 00:00:39.000With or without PE obviously getting PE value from PE is much easier, but we want to certainly unpack what’s happening out there right now, private equity, private equity backed aggregators, but also how those values, terms, deals in general compare to internal succession or external. Basically, by the time we’re done here today. 00:00:39.000 –> 00:00:57.000Either through the content or your questions, hopefully through both, we’ve been able to plant the seed. Get you a little bit better educated on your options because the world of M&A, I’m not going to say it was ever simple, but by comparison, I look back 10 years compared to where we are today 00:00:57.000 –> 00:01:05.000And it is exponentially more complicated. And so we want to try to make sure that, especially if you are contemplating 00:01:05.000 –> 00:01:11.000selling and might even redefine what a seller is a bit today, putting together as a team 00:01:11.000 –> 00:01:17.000If you’re contemplating selling in the next, I don’t know, 12 months, 5, 10 years. 00:01:17.000 –> 00:01:20.000your options are 00:01:20.000 –> 00:01:27.000Are what you want them to be, right? If you call us and say, I want to be done in 12 months, we can help you. If you say, I want to be done in 12 years. 00:01:27.000 –> 00:01:42.000We can also help you, and you’ll have more and different options. So there is no wrong answer necessarily unless it’s not congruent with the outcome that you’re driving towards. That’s what we ultimately want to drive towards today in our session. So we will make sure we carve out time to say we 00:01:42.000 –> 00:01:48.000Collectively, you may carve out time for some Q&A towards the end, in case there are questions that come up. 00:01:48.000 –> 00:02:02.000There was a Q&A panel, and if you are good about using it, I promise I would be good about watching it, and we’ll try to maybe even answer those questions organically as they come in. That way it’s a little more topical for the portion of the presentation that I’m on, and I do have the slide deck up that I’ll share with you 00:02:02.000 –> 00:02:11.000If you want a copy of that slide deck, our team will be reaching out to you after the webinar here today. So just let them know you’d like a copy of that deck. It is available. 00:02:11.000 –> 00:02:24.000We didn’t intentionally try to build a little bit more content into some of the slides so that 6, 12 months from now, you could look at it and with a little bit of background, have it still be useful to you because not all just pretty pictures and diagrams. 00:02:24.000 –> 00:02:37.000Beyond that, if you would like a copy of the recording session is being recorded. We record all of these, and we’ll send that out to you, I believe, automatically. That should come probably tomorrow. If you are registered and not attending 00:02:37.000 –> 00:02:47.000you’ll know when you receive the email. You’re not here. And if you are registered and attended and you want to rewatch it, rewatch any portion of it, share it with somebody you know that needs to hear this message, feel free 00:02:47.000 –> 00:02:58.000And last but not least, we’re not going to bury you with a bunch of poll questions here today, but I’m going to start out with one at the very beginning that’ll have our moderator here put up. 00:02:58.000 –> 00:03:01.000It just frankly helps us dial in the content 00:03:01.000 –> 00:03:06.000I’m pretty good doing some of the stuff on the fly, but certainly for future sessions that we have coming up 00:03:06.000 –> 00:03:17.000And also make sure we can get you the best and most relevant content. We’ve got a lot of articles, white papers, resources, even sort of interactive quizzes that might be useful to you. 00:03:17.000 –> 00:03:29.000But only if we know where you land on these things. So you’ll see the quick poll question that’s up there. When you’re done answering it, obviously we’ll close it out, but it will not inhibit us from progressing through the rest of today’s session because 00:03:29.000 –> 00:03:36.000I’ve got a good 40-45 minutes for the content, and then, like I said, I wanted to make sure we carved out time for your questions. 00:03:36.000 –> 00:03:37.000So 00:03:37.000 –> 00:03:44.000Quick intro, who’s SRG? Hopefully you figure that out before registering, but if you didn’t, I appreciate you 00:03:44.000
Advisor Compensation: How to Pay Your Team the Right Way (Ep. 34)
The Compensation Conversation Your Firm Needs to Have Compensation is one of the most consequential levers in an advisory firmm and one of the most misunderstood. For years, firm owners relied on industry surveys to benchmark pay. Most of those resources are gone, and the ones that remain are pulling from data that is neither vetted nor reliable. At the same time, the firms themselves have grown and changed faster than their compensation models have. In this episode of The Fine Print, David Grau Jr. sits down with Julia Sexton, CVA, Director of Team Solutions at SRG, to work through what modern compensation design actually looks like for advisory firms. The conversation starts with benchmarking, where to find accurate data and why survey-based studies fall shortm and builds into a practical framework for structuring pay around the goals you have for your business, not just what the firm next door is doing. Julia walks through why production-based compensation creates silos even in firms that say they want collaboration, how to design different structures for farmers and hunters on your team, and why grid-based payouts that grow with market appreciation without added work put a slow choke hold on your margins and your firm’s value. The episode also covers eligibility criteria, career path design, and how to back-test any compensation change before rolling it out so your team barely notices the difference. Show Notes Compensation is the most powerful lever in an advisory firm — and one of the least examined. When the go-to industry benchmarks disappeared, many owners kept running compensation models they inherited from the wirehouse era without stopping to ask whether those models still fit where their business is headed. The data problem no one is talking about. The Investment News compensation study that the industry relied on for years is gone. What replaced it pulls from government sources with small, unvetted sample sets. SRG built its Talent Strategy Report from thousands of actual valuations, scrubbed, reviewed, and confirmed, because survey data and evaluation data are not the same thing. Location and firm size matter less than you think. Geographic pay premiums have largely flattened in a remote-first world. Firm size affects specialization of roles more than raw compensation levels. A smaller firm may actually pay more because fewer people are wearing more hats. There is no right compensation model, only the right one for your goals. Before designing anything, owners need an honest conversation about what kind of business they are building. An ensemble model built for scalability and enterprise value requires a fundamentally different compensation structure than a siloed model built around individual books. Production-based compensation creates silos, even in firms that call themselves a team. If advisors are paid on individual revenue, they will optimize for individual revenue. The incentive and the stated goal are working against each other, and compensation always wins. Farmers and hunters need different structures, not just different amounts. Farmers should be incentivized on assets serviced, net flows, and client satisfaction. Hunters should be rewarded for new business brought in. Putting a farmer’s compensation model on a hunter, or vice versa, produces exactly the wrong behavior. Grid-based payouts quietly destroy firm value. An advisor managing the same 100 households gets paid double seven years later because markets appreciated. The workload did not change. The complexity did not change. That margin erosion compounds over time and makes internal succession nearly impossible to structure. The BBP model: base, bonus, and profit. Splitting compensation into three buckets creates stability through salary, drives individual performance through bonusing, and aligns the team around long-term firm success through profit participation. Eligibility criteria, including fee schedule compliance, training, and client satisfaction scores, determine who gets access to the bonus bucket in a given year. Career path design is a capacity strategy. Progressively raising the minimum client tier an advisor is responsible for, and reducing their payout on smaller accounts, creates a natural delegation structure. Founders do not need to recruit expensive lateral hires. They need a junior advisor at the bottom of the org chart so everyone above them can move up. Back-test before you roll anything out. Run the new model against what your team actually made last year. If the output looks dramatically different, calibrate the levers before you announce anything. The goal is for the transition to feel like continuity, not a renegotiation. Hosted By David Grau Jr., MBA (Founder / CEO) Julia Sexton, CVA (Director of Strategic Organizational Planning)
Inside SRG’s Talent Strategy Report: Compensation Benchmarks for Advisors
The Talent Strategy Report at a Glance The Talent Strategy Report (TSR) is SRG’s annual compensation and staffing benchmarking report built for independent financial advisory firms. This infographic breaks down what’s inside, how the data is sourced, and what makes it different from the generic salary surveys most firms rely on. If you’re making compensation decisions this year, start here. Download Infographic
5 Most Common Post-Transition Roles
Download Your eBook! Uncover Your Post Sale Potential. You have many post-transition opportunities – from helping develop and analyze investment models, becoming a mentor to junior advisors, and/or staying on in a rainmaking capacity. Selling your practice now and staying on for the next couple years is not only achievable, but also creates more possibilities than most advisors think. Take a look at the (5) five post-transition roles that allow you to phase out on your terms and uncover your post-sale potential! Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.First Name *Last Name *Phone * Work Email * Would you like to join SRG's newsletter to receive industry updates and other webinar opportunities? * Yes No Download
Building Your Team for Succession Success
Watch the Replay Does Your Team Structure Support Your Succession Plan? In this webinar, Succession Resource Group’s Julia Sexton, CVA, and David Grau Jr., MBA, explore how employment-related planning can strengthen an advisory firm’s long-term succession strategy. The session covers how employment structure, role clarity, and internal alignment all factor into a firm’s ability to execute a successful transition. Succession Resource Group walks through common organizational and planning gaps that create challenges during succession events, and what firms can do to address them before a transition is on the horizon. Advisors preparing for internal succession, evaluating their current team structure, or working to build a stronger operational foundation will find this session particularly relevant. Host David Grau Jr. MBA CEO/President Paper-plane Linkedin-in Host Julia Sexton, CVA Director of Strategic Organizational Planning Paper-plane Linkedin-in Transcript 100:00:07.270 –> 00:00:16.589David Grau: Good afternoon, everyone. David Grau here, President of Succession Resource Group, welcoming you to our session today. We’ll give you just a second. 200:00:16.870 –> 00:00:20.080David Grau: To get everyone in, Zoom always takes just a minute here. 300:00:20.310 –> 00:00:26.610David Grau: In the meantime, just a couple of quick housekeeping items, while everyone gets in. 400:00:26.710 –> 00:00:28.570David Grau: Gets access to the webinar. 500:00:28.880 –> 00:00:37.189David Grau: session today, hopefully you’re in the right spot. We are talking about building your team for succession, so this is certainly geared 600:00:37.290 –> 00:00:50.419David Grau: towards thinking about internal succession, but we’re going to talk about that as a springboard, or Plan A, and how it, frankly, can help set up Plan B, maybe even Plan C. So even if you’re listening today, and you’re sort of on the fence. 700:00:50.570 –> 00:00:57.540David Grau: About internal succession planning, the viability, ability to get value, there will… 800:00:57.610 –> 00:01:14.159David Grau: be more broad conversations than just internal succession, but we’re gonna come back to that, sort of as plan A for today. So, couple of just general housekeeping items. There’s gonna be a couple of quick poll questions. They won’t slow us down today. They’ll pop up. 900:01:14.160 –> 00:01:22.139David Grau: you can access them, complete them. We do ask if you don’t mind completing them for us. Again, A, they’re softball questions, but B, 1000:01:22.250 –> 00:01:33.490David Grau: they help us… there you go, there’s a poll question… help us bring you better, more refined content. A little bit today. Julie and I are pretty good about adjusting on the fly, but more specifically, we do try to bring 1100:01:33.610 –> 00:01:39.640David Grau: more useful educational content to you throughout the year, and it’s only early June. 1200:01:39.640 –> 00:01:58.830David Grau: So, the more feedback you can give us, the better resources we can provide you in the short term, the better content we can bring you long term. So anyway, I belabored the point. There’s poll questions, there’s one up right now, there’ll be one or two later, but like I said, we’ll continue as we present. If you don’t mind just participating, we’d greatly appreciate it. If you don’t, just stay up there and keep bothering you for the rest of the webinar. 1300:01:58.830 –> 00:02:12.060David Grau: So, second one is the slides. We’re using slides today, obviously, to guide the conversation. You will find them to be amazing slides. We’ve got a great marketing team. Julia and I put a lot of time and effort into them. 1400:02:12.080 –> 00:02:20.589David Grau: to be fair, Julia and Parker put a lot of time into them, and then I took it over for Parker, because he was tied up, we do a lot of project work this time of year. 1500:02:20.700 –> 00:02:31.930David Grau: So I get to step in and pitch it here today and talk with you about this stuff, but the slides are available. We do try to make sure that they are useful to you as standalone resources later. 1600:02:31.930 –> 00:02:46.290David Grau: So if you’d like a copy of those, just let us know. Our team will be reaching out to you, and we’re happy to get you a copy. Last but not least, the session is recorded, so if you have anything that you would like to rewatch, you want to share it with somebody after the fact. 1700:02:46.290 –> 00:02:51.800David Grau: That will also be sent to you, I believe, automatically within, like, 24 hours? 1800:02:52.950 –> 00:03:02.819David Grau: Last but not least, again, we’re gonna focus mostly on planning for internal succession as Plan A, and how that can help support, potentially, a Plan B and Plan C. 1900:03:03.150 –> 00:03:12.749David Grau: But if, as you’re listening today, you think, this is for the birds, or things change over time, it happens, half of our organization 2000:03:12.880 –> 00:03:16.129David Grau: Is dedicated to and focused around 2100:03:16.640 –> 00:03:20.029David Grau: Helping you build a more valuable business, exit that business. 2200:03:20.890 –> 00:03:32.739David Grau: The other half of the business is the listing side, where we can actually help you either confidential, you know, kind of off-market private listing, full-blown listing to bring the most potential candidates in. 2300:03:32.740 –> 00:03:42.240David Grau: So if you do need that solution, it’s different than the rest of the stuff Julie and I will be talking about here today, but we’ve got a whole dedicated team that, if you want to go that route, kick the tires on it. 2400:03:42.560 –> 00:03:54.699David Grau: If you get an unsolicited offer, private equity-backed aggregator, these folks are really good at what they do, and you don’t want to go it alone, we’ve got a whole dedicated team. So, not the topic for today, probably won’t come up again, but just planting the seed. 2500:03:55.760 –> 00:03:59.990David Grau: With that, let’s dive in. So, as we… 2600:04:00.810 –> 00:04:15.990David Grau: look at the calendar for the rest of the year. I mentioned the poll questions help inform the content we bring you. Well, the next two webinars,
Building Your Team for Succession Success
Watch the Replay Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.First Name *Last Name *Phone * Work Email * Would you like to join SRG’s newsletter to receive industry updates and other webinar opportunities? Yes No Access Recording Does Your Team Structure Support Your Succession Plan? In this webinar, Succession Resource Group’s Julia Sexton, CVA, and David Grau Jr., MBA, explore how employment-related planning can strengthen an advisory firm’s long-term succession strategy. The session covers how employment structure, role clarity, and internal alignment all factor into a firm’s ability to execute a successful transition. Succession Resource Group walks through common organizational and planning gaps that create challenges during succession events, and what firms can do to address them before a transition is on the horizon. Advisors preparing for internal succession, evaluating their current team structure, or working to build a stronger operational foundation will find this session particularly relevant. Host David Grau Jr. MBA CEO/President Paper-plane Linkedin-in Host Julia Sexton, CVA Director of Strategic Organizational Planning Paper-plane Linkedin-in
How to Make a Merger a Growth Move: A 5-Step Roadmap for Advisory Firms
For many financial advisory firm owners, growth eventually hits a ceiling. Organic client acquisition slows, operational demands pile up, and the question surfaces: what comes next? Mergers have become one of the most effective strategies for advisory firms looking to scale, reduce risk, and build long-term enterprise value. But a merger done poorly can create more problems than it solves. The difference between a merger that accelerates your business and one that stalls it comes down to preparation, process, and the right professional guidance. In a recent SRG webinar, Nicole Frey, CFP®, Director of Team Solutions, and Ryan Grau, CVA, CBA, Director of Valuations, walked through the full merger lifecycle for advisory firms. Below is a summary of the key takeaways. You can also watch the full webinar recording here. Why Advisory Firms Pursue Mergers Advisory firms explore mergers for a range of reasons, and the right motivation depends on where you are in your business lifecycle. Some of the most common drivers include: Faster growth. Rather than relying solely on organic growth, merging with a partner who brings their own book of business can accelerate your trajectory. SRG’s AcquireEdge program helps firms identify and evaluate acquisition and merger opportunities with this goal in mind. Greater scale and efficiency. When two firms combine, revenue may grow at a faster rate as the combined firm expands its client base, referral network, service capacity, and opportunities to capture additional wallet share. Expenses often increase at a slower rate because core infrastructure, technology, compliance, management, and administrative costs can be spread across a larger revenue base, creating margin improvement as the firm scales. Risk reduction and continuity. Sole proprietors face significant key-person risk. Adding a partner means your clients are protected if something happens to you. It also opens the door to better succession planning and contingency planning options. (For more on why contingency planning matters in the context of M&A, see Contingency Planning: A Key to Acquisition Success.) Expanded capabilities. A merger can help you offer new services, diversify your client demographics, enter new geographic markets, or create a one-stop shop by combining with complementary practices like CPA firms. For firms thinking about strategic direction at this level, SRG’s enterprise consulting services can help map the path forward. Talent attraction. In an aging industry, larger combined firms can offer more defined career paths and specialized roles, making it easier to recruit and retain talented professionals. Improved negotiation power. Operating at a larger scale gives you leverage when negotiating vendor contracts, payout grid rates, and fee structures with broker-dealers or custodians. Step 1: Get Your Entity Structure Right Before you start looking for a merger partner, your own house needs to be in order. Your entity structure — the legal form, tax status, and organizational setup of your firm — directly impacts how a merger can be executed. SRG’s entity support services are designed to help firms get this foundation in place. (For a deeper dive, download Your Guide to Proper Entity Structure.) The two most common legal forms in the advisory space are corporations and LLCs. Frey noted that LLCs taxed as partnerships offer significantly more flexibility for mergers. In a partnership structure, a new partner can contribute their book of business in exchange for ownership without triggering a taxable event. In an S-corporation, by contrast, that same contribution is often treated as a sale by the IRS, creating an immediate tax liability even though no cash changed hands. For firms that want the flexibility of an LLC partnership and the FICA tax savings of an S-Corp election, there is a hybrid solution: an LLC taxed as a partnership at the operating level, with each partner holding their interest through an individual S-Corp holding company. It adds complexity, but it gives you the best of both worlds. The takeaway: address your entity structure before the merger conversation heats up. Trying to restructure and merge simultaneously can be overwhelming. If your entity is already in place, SRG’s entity maintenance program ensures your governance documents and compliance stay current as the business evolves. For more on how entity structure supports growth, see Set Your Firm Up for Success — Using Entity Structure to Unleash Growth. Step 2: Define Your Ideal Merger Partner Not every merger is a good merger. As Frey put it during the webinar, a merger is “almost like a marriage, just on a business level.” You want to build trust and rapport before proposing anything formal. Finding the right partner requires honest self-assessment and intentional criteria. Your ideal merger partner should be similar or complementary to your business. Frey recommended evaluating potential partners across several dimensions: Revenue sources and service model compatibility. If one firm operates primarily through in-person client meetings and the other runs on virtual engagement, there needs to be a plan to reconcile those models or you risk losing clients during the transition. Client types and demographics. Complementary client bases can be a strength, but mismatched expectations around client service intensity can become a source of tension. Growth goals. If one partner is aggressively pursuing growth while the other is winding down toward retirement, that misalignment needs to be addressed through compensation structures rather than equity adjustments, which can create IRS audit complications. Once you have identified a potential partner, start by networking through broker-dealers, professional conferences, centers of influence, and business coaches. Build the relationship before introducing formal merger conversations. (For practical guidance on early-stage partnership conversations, see Teaming Advice When Preparing for a Merger.) When the time is right, sign an NDA and begin sharing financial information through a structured due diligence process. At minimum, you should be requesting three years of financial history with a deep dive on the trailing 12 months, a breakdown of the client base (demographics, asset distribution, concentration risk), staffing levels and compensation commitments, any existing equity-sharing or profit-sharing promises, major contract terms and expiration dates, and each owner’s goals — whether growth-oriented or succession-oriented — along with their expected