RIA Edge Podcast: Focus Financial’s Rajini Kodialam: The Evolution of RIA M&A

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While there have been hundreds of M&A transactions in the RIA channel in recent years, Focus Financial was one of the first strategic acquirers in the industry more than a decade ago – and has since grown into one of the largest and most influential firms in the wealth management business. 

In this episode of the RIA Edge podcast, Rajini Kodialam, Focus Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, sits with Informa’s Mark Bruno to discuss the evolution of M&A and the opportunities that exist today. Specifically, Mark and Rajini discuss:

  • How RIAs – both as buyers and sellers – are thinking differently about M&A today than they were just 12 months ago, given the changes in markets, economy and cost of capital
  • What “problem” Focus specifically solves for firms that it acquires or partners with – and how has that evolved over the last decade
  • How Focus differentiates itself from other professional buyers that have emerged in recent years
  • Opportunities for RIA to go global and enter markets outside of the U.S.

Resources:

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 About Our Guest:

Rajini is a co-founder of Focus and responsible for acquisition, relationship management and value-added initiatives across the firm.

Prior to founding Focus, Rajini worked at American Express where she managed interactive services for the U.S. Consumer Card and Travel businesses. Prior to joining American Express, she was with McKinsey & Company.

Rajini loves to cook, experiment with xeric gardening in her Austin home and aspires to write a sci-fi novel.  Rajini holds an MBA from Columbia Business School in New York, a PGDM from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and a B.A. from Delhi University, India.



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RIA Edge Podcast: Embracing the Marketer’s Mindset: Megan Carpenter’s Playbook for RIAs to Drive Meaningful Growth

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While markets may be in bear territory, it’s a bull market for financial advice – as more individuals need access to professional advice than ever before. 

How can RIAs effectively take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime growth opportunity to acquire new clients and deepen relationships with existing clients? Megan Carpenter, the CEO and Founder of FiComm – and one of the top marketing minds in the wealth management industry — dropped by the RIA Edge podcast to share stats, best practices and an RIA playbook for putting a strategic marketing plan in place. 

In the episode of RIA Edge, Megan and host Mark Bruno discuss:

  • The mindset of RIAs that are having the most success creating meaningful organic growth — and how leaders of these firms make sure this trickles down to all of their employees
  • There have been a number of firms that have experimented with digital marketing over the last several years. The firms that have seen the most growth, what are they doing correctly? More specifically, among the firms that are experimenting and having success, what are they doing differently?
  • Benchmarks for healthy organic growth rates, as well as how much should RIAs be investing in marketing
  • Marketing is still a new frontier for many leaders of wealth management firms. What are some good resources for advisors who want to become more educated about all of the options and innovations available to accelerate their marketing?

Resources:

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The RIA Edge Podcast: The Difference Between Good and Great Growth: Cambridge Inc.’s Jeff Vivacqua

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While scores of RIAs continue to experience growth, despite headwinds in the markets and economy, some firms are growing more strategically than others – and this strategic growth is exponentially more valuable according to Jeff Vivacqua, President of Growth & Development at Cambridge Investment Research.

In this episode of the RIA Edge podcast, Mark Bruno, Managing Director at Informa Wealth Management, speaks with Jeff about the drivers of high-quality growth and how RIA firm leaders can create processes and guidelines that will generate repeatable growth through M&A and organic strategies. Specifically, Mark and Jeff explore:

  • Areas of opportunity for advisors to accelerate the growth of their businesses organically 
  • How will the future drivers of growth differ from the previous, more traditional drivers of growth?
  • The firms that are growing the fastest – and the most consistently – what are they typically doing right? How are they thinking about, and investing in marketing, strategically?
  • What role will M&A play in Cambridge’s future growth and development?

Resources:

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The RIA Edge Podcast: An Inside Look at an RIA Edge 100 Firm: RMB Capital’s Don Bechter

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RMB Capital has become one of the largest and most successful RIA firms in the wealth management industry – with its own, at times, under-the-radar approach to growth. A strategic approach to M&A, organic growth and management of all things capital has fueled the firm’s success over the years, landing RMB on the inaugural RIA Edge 100 list of the industry’s top firms. 

In this episode of the RIA Edge podcast, Informa Wealth Management’s Mark Bruno interviews Don Bechter, Managing Partner of RMB, about the primary contributors to the firm’s growth since inception. Specifically, Mark and Don discuss:

  • What role M&A has played in accelerating RMB’s growth and reach
  • How RMB has created a scalable, repeatable strategy for growing through both marketing and business developments
  • New roles and development programs that RMB has added to help the firm continue to grow and attract new talent

Resources:

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RIA Edge Podcast: The Rise of Alternatives in the RIA Channel: Brookfield’s David Levi

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With heightened market volatility and uncertainty significantly impacting client portfolios over the last year, RIAs have been leaning more on alternative investments to present their clients with new sources of return, income and downside protection. 

In this episode of RIA Edge, David Levi, Managing Partner at Brookfield and Head of Brookfield Oaktree Wealth Solutions, shares his perspective with Informa’s Mark Bruno about the rise of alternatives in the RIA channel and the increased number of alternative offerings now directly available to high-net-worth investors. Specifically, Mark and David discuss:

  • Macro-challenges and opportunities across the RIA landscape – What are the most successful RIAs doing to drive growth, attract and retain clients in a challenging market
  • Why alternatives, why now: How alternatives have shifted from institutional to individual investors and the major driving forces behind this shift 
  • What types of problems are advisors largely looking to solve now that has prompted a heightened interest in a broader set of alternative investment options? 
  • How advisors can now access new real estate, infrastructure and private credit offerings for their clients

Resources:

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The RIA Edge Podcast: One-on-One with AlTi CEO Michael Tiedemann

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The RIA Edge Podcast: One-on-One with AlTi CEO Michael Tiedemann

At the start of 2023, Michael Tiedemann and his namesake wealth and asset management firm – Tiedemann Advisors – completed one of the largest and most unique mergers to-date in the wealth management industry. Tiedemann combined his firm with Alvarium Investments and the Cartesian Growth Corp., a Special Purpose Acquisition Company, to form Alvarium Tiedemann, or AlTi, a publicly traded firm with more than $60 billion in AUM and one of the largest publicly traded wealth managers on the globe. 

In this episode of the RIA Edge podcast, Tiedemann goes behind the deal with Mark Bruno, Managing Director of the Informa Wealth Management Group, to discuss the strategy and vision behind the deal. Specifically, Mark and Mike discuss:

  • The growth opportunities public markets present to AlTi, given its position as both a wealth and asset management company
  • How AlTi is evaluating growth opportunities moving forward, both through M&A and organic growth strategies
  • How AlTi defines “quality growth” and assigns value across the wealth management market
  • The role technology can play in creating scale and unlocking new growth opportunities

 Resources:

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RIA Edge Podcast: Wealth Enhancement Group’s Jeff Dekko: The True Drivers of RIA Growth

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When Jeff Dekko took the helm at Wealth Enhancement Group, it was a regional player with roughly $600 million in assets. Fast forward to 2023, and WEG is now one of the largest players in the RIA space with more than $60 billion in assets under management and a rapidly growing national footprint. 

While WEG has grown considerably through M&A, organic growth has played an important role in the company’s rise as well. In this episode of RIA Edge, Mark Bruno, Managing Director at Informa Wealth Management, speaks with Jeff Dekko, CEO of Wealth Enhancement Group, on how to build a solid foundation for scalable growth. 

Specifically, Mark and Jeff discuss:

  • What value the Wealth Enhancement Group can deliver to firms it acquires, and how it differentiates in a competitive buyer’s market
  • What is driving the overall M&A market in 2023
  • How to build a framework for scalable growth
  • The importance of constantly changing and updating marketing and growth strategies based on the businesses and client needs – as well as market opportunities

Resources:

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About Our Guest:

Jeff has more than 20 years of business experience in marketing, technology, operations and finance. He is responsible for overall leadership, growth and development of Wealth Enhancement Group. Jeff began his career with General Mills, Inc., where he served in a variety of marketing management positions. In 1994 he joined Recovery Engineering, Inc., where he was instrumental in the development and branding of the PUR water filtration system. Jeff was a key member of the team that successfully sold the company to Procter & Gamble for a 100% premium over market value. Through his work in technology and management consulting firms, Jeff has helped numerous organizations realize greater levels of success. Jeff provided consulting services to Wealth Enhancement Group before being asked to join the organization as CEO in 2003.



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RIA Edge Podcast: Emigrant’s Karl Heckenberg: Behind the Scenes of RIA M&A

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While M&A activity levels across the industry have generally cooled in recent months from a record pace, the minority investment market is heating up and continues to re-shape the RIA landscape.  

In this episode of RIA Edge, Mark Bruno, Managing Director at Informa Wealth Management, speaks with Karl Heckenberg, CEO and President of Emigrant Partners, on the rise of minority investors and how they are deploying capital, resources and intelligence to drive growth in challenging markets. 

Specifically, Mark and Karl discuss:

  • What are the characteristics of an ideal minority investor and partner
  • How are minority deals structured
  • Where are M&A activity levels currently at and where will they go in 2023  
  • How post-deal integration impacts the success of a merger or acquisition

Resources:

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About Our Guest:

Karl Heckenberg is the President and CEO of Emigrant Partners and its affiliated company Fiduciary Network. In addition, he sits on the Board of Managers of the aforementioned companies. Karl has worked in financial services throughout his entire career and has previously worked for Merrill Lynch, A.G. Edwards & Sons, Wells Fargo and Charles Schwab. He also serves on the boards of Sarasota Private Trust Company, New York Private Trust Company and Cleveland Private Trust Company, and is Vice Chairman of Emigrant Bank. Karl was raised in the Washington, D.C. area and graduated from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.



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RIA Edge: AssetMark’s Natalie Wolfsen and Adhesion’s Barrett Ayers

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Whether you are looking to buy, sell or build a partnership with another company, finding the right fit for your vision is essential.

In this episode of RIA Edge, Mark Bruno, Managing Director at Informa Wealth Management, speaks with Natalie Wolfsen, CEO of AssetMark, and Barrett Ayers, CEO of Adhesion Wealth, on their recently closed merger – highlighting their motivations for the deal, as well as their long-term vision. 

Specifically, Mark, Natalie, and Barrett discuss:

  • Why AssetMark and Adhesion Wealth decided to enter a partnership
  • How outsourcing is improving growth rates for RIAs
  • What RIAs should consider when buying, selling or considering a partnership to grow their businesses

Resources:

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About Our Guests:

Natalie Wolfsen is the Chief Executive Officer at AssetMark. Prior to being named CEO, she led the strategy and execution for AssetMark teams spanning digital channel development, corporate strategy, thought leadership, marketing, and product development. Natalie has more than 20 years of leadership experience across six financial services organizations, where she directed teams who collectively brought to life more than 50 financial services products, platforms, and programs, including the design of one of the industry’s first-ever mobile trading platform.

Barrett Ayers joined Adhesion Wealth in 2004 and is one of the original founders of Adhesion Wealth. As President of Adhesion Wealth, Barrett oversees the strategic direction and long-term growth plans for the organization. During his time at Adhesion Wealth, Barrett has overseen the firm’s Product, Relationship Management, Investment Consulting, Model Management, and Portfolio Management groups.

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RIA Edge Podcast: Savant’s Brent Brodeski: How M&A is Accelerating the Evolution of Advice

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M&A activity has re-shaped the wealth management industry in recent years – but it also accelerating the evolution of the business, and ultimately access to financial advice. 

In this episode of RIA Edge, Mark Bruno, Managing Director at Informa Wealth Management, speaks with Brent Brodeski, CEO of Savant Wealth Management, about the firm’s inorganic and organic growth, as well as its objective to extend advice to millions of new investors. 

Specifically, Mark and Brent discuss:

  •  How Savant Wealth evaluates potential acquisitions and what a good fit looks like
  •  Where the overall industry is currently in the M&A cycle
  • The difference between return on investment and return on “impact”
  •  What do RIAs need to attract more talent in the future

Resources:

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About Our Guest:

Brent is the CEO and a founder of Savant. He has been involved in the financial services industry since 1988 and previously taught investment and finance courses at Rock Valley College, Rockford University, and Northern Illinois University. Brent earned a bachelor of science degree in finance and economics and a master’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in accounting from NIU. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, and a Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA®).



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