Brandon Kawal reflects on the RIA M&A shift from gold rush mentality to an institutional arms race.

In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, David Armstrong, editorial director for Informa Connect’s Wealth Management Group, talks with Brandon Kawal, partner at Advisor Growth Strategies, about remaining buoyant in the M&A market despite the challenges of 2022. According to Kawal, factors such as ongoing interest from external investors and demographic changes have helped sustain activity. He emphasizes the significance of meeting the needs of both sellers and buyers, particularly in terms of succession planning and potential partnerships.

Specifically, David and Brandon discuss:

• How deal structures are shifting toward greater use of equity and why.
• The premium placed on firms that incentivize current next-generation advisors for long-term growth.
• The private equity equation, and the avenues toward liquidity. 
• What predicted growth means for private market investments.
• How partnerships emerge as a solution to mitigate affordability constraints in internal succession plans.

Resources:

• RIA Edge Podcast

Connect With David Armstrong:

• Website: WealthManagement.com
• LinkedIn: WealthManagent.com
• LinkedIn: David Armstrong 
• Twitter/X: @djamesarmstrong
• LinkedIn: Informa

Connect With Brandon Kawal:

• LinkedIn: Brandon Kawal 
• Website: Advisor Growth Strategies

About Our Guest: 

Brandon leads client engagements, thought leadership, and research. He is tasked with bringing insight, creativity, and analytical know-how to collaborate with and help our clients reach new heights.

Brandon enjoys writing about industry challenges and trends, especially all things millennial.  He authors and leads the annual M&A research for “The RIA Deal Room” which was recognized as the Industry Research Initiative of the Year in the 2021 Wealth Management Industry Awards.  Brandon has contributed to major industry publishers such as Wealth Management, Barron’s, Citywire, and ThinkAdvisor. Brandon has been recognized as a ThinkAdvisor Luminary in Dealmaking and Growth.

Brandon resides in Phoenix and, thus, always roots for the Sun Devils. Brandon will always be a Californian at heart. He enjoys spending quality time with his wife, Kristi, and chasing his two young daughters and young son.

A former New York Mets baseball player, Brandon never misses watching a game. He also enjoys water sports, traveling with his family, and a well-crafted microbrew.

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Foster’s firm, Angeles Wealth Management, has a 40% compound growth rate without tapping the M&A markets by fostering a “culture of storytellers.”

In this episode of the RIA Edge Podcast, David Armstrong, editorial director for Informa Connect’s Wealth Management Group, talks with Jon Foster, president and CEO of Angeles Wealth, a firm that caters to individuals with investable assets ranging from $10 million to $100 million, bridging the gap between boutique advisory services and full-scale family offices. 

Foster shares his approach to this class of clients, prioritizing an “open architecture” service model, structuring unique investment opportunities in the private markets that put the advisor on the same side as the client, and his concerns over trends on the broader RIA market around short-term capital funding and market fluctuations. And if you’re applying for a job with Angeles Wealth Management, the one question you do not want to ask. 

Specifically, David and Jon discuss:

• How Angeles Wealth’s managed a 40% compounded growth rate over recent years without tapping the M&A market.
• Why his first filter for hiring employees is to look for people who are natural “storytellers,” genuinely enjoy meeting people and can showcase the firm’s capabilities and client outcomes.
• Why the firm prioritizes organic growth over mergers and acquisitions, recruiting advisors with knowledge of estate planning, philanthropy and generational family dynamics. 
• Using family discussions around philanthropy to unlock dynamics and spot potential red flags in multi-generational wealth. 
• How Angeles brings alternative investments to clients with either a fund-of-funds or as a co-investor and explains how he came to the unique decision to not charge management fees on client assets that get called into the strategies, in favor of a performance fee after the fund’s harvest period. 
• The benefits of retaining an “open architecture” when it comes to finding outside service providers—as opposed to bringing many of those services in-house—and why he never asks or expects a referral back from any outside estate attorney or service provider.
• How culture is key for recruiting talent, and the one question that job candidates ask that ensures they will not be hired.

Resources:

• RIA Edge Podcast

Connect With David Armstrong:

• WealthManagement.com
• LinkedIn: WealthManagment.com
• LinkedIn: David Armstrong 
• Twitter/X: @djamesarmstrong
• LinkedIn: Informa

Connect With Jon Foster:

• LinkedIn: Jonathan R. Foster 
• Angeles Wealth Management

About Our Guest: 

Jonathan is responsible for executive leadership of Angeles Wealth Management. Jonathan has over 30 years of experience in wealth management as both a client advisor and in senior management positions. 

Prior to co-founding Angeles Wealth, Jonathan was President of two related companies, Carson Wealth Management Group, one of the nation’s premier full-service wealth management firms, and Peak Advisor Alliance, the largest independent coaching and consulting service focused on financial advisors. Jonathan is also the former Head of Wealth Management for E*Trade Financial, and CEO of Howard Capital Management. 

Jonathan received an MBA in Finance from Northeastern University, and is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma International Honor Society. He received his BA in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was captain of the varsity squash team and an All-American.

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