3. Do you have the team in place to support the acquisition?
If you are taking on the adviser as part of the purchase deal then there is likely to be a set period of time before he or she eventually retires from the business.
Is it achievable to convert the clients to proposition in that time period, with the support team currently in place?
Do you have capacity within your existing support team; do you need to recruit more staff or outsource certain services?
If you recruit, is there a requirement for that member of staff once the acquisition conversion has completed?
In this case, you will want the Firm’s advisers to meet with the clients prior to the adviser leaving to ensure continuity of service. More importantly, you do not want clients to be leaving in the period following acquisition.
And finally, if your existing advisers are taken up with the acquisition clients then they may be spending less time on their own clients and opportunities.
In summary, in conjunction with your Due Diligence process, take some time to think about:
- What processes you have in place to convert assets.
- What training the new adviser may require – this may not necessarily be technical but ‘selling’ your proposition.
- What team and/or outsourced services need to be in place to deliver.
- The timescale to convert clients. Can this be done within the timescale the new adviser will be in the business?
Once you have this process in place, this can be repeated for future acquisitions and refined, where possible.
About Tracey Underwood
Tracey is the owner and founder of PACE Solutions. The business provides support for financial planning firms by focusing on operational practices including; recruitment, compliance, processes, client proposition and business strategy. This is achieved not only through a consultancy process but by hands on implementation to ensure that firms achieve effective results that would otherwise not be achieved through consultation only.
