Is Now the Right Time for Practice Acquisition?

With the financial services industry potentially going through a new round of regulatory changes in 2017, some advisors are already embracing change. Growth-focused advisors are on the lookout for a strategic move that can improve their competitiveness.

So what's the right path forward for you? One answer is practice acquisition. Acquisition can be a great way to improve your balance sheet, acquisition specialists at Ameriprise Financial say.

Here are four reasons you should consider a practice acquisition in 2017:

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, staff and systems in place, an acquisition can help improve your profitability. 

“Any acquisition is an opportunity to streamline your business. In addition to adding revenue, you can mitigate your cost of serving each client," says Marcie Vinson, Vice President Experienced Advisor Recruiting Operations and Practice Acquisitions, Ameriprise Financial. "We can help you make sure you have the right infrastructure in place to make a successful acquisition.”

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.

It's a great time to take advantage of the support that broker-dealers are now offering advisors pursuing an acquisition.

“We routinely work with advisors throughout the sourcing process, including search,” says Vinson.

Even if you've already identified a practice you'd like to acquire, working with a turnkey partner can take some of the due diligence, valuation, financing and paperwork off of your plate, allowing you to retain focus on your clients. A turnkey partner like an experienced broker-dealer can even help you with final on boarding.

“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 an experienced broker-dealer can give you a broad array of options, including helping establish exit strategies for existing management, to ease transition of ownership and help retain key talent.

“We've learned to support advisors through the process,” says Vinson. “Done right, an external practice acquisition will lay the groundwork for future organic growth.”

Learn more about the practice acquisition resources and support Ameriprise can offer you at joinameriprise.com.

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Learn more about the practice acquisition resources and support Ameriprise can offer you at joinameriprise.com.

Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC. &Copy; 2017 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All rights reserved.