Intro; Foreword; Preface; Acknowledgements; Disclosures; Contents; About the Authors; List of Tables; 1 The M & A Landscape and Technology's Role; Broken Records: The Current M & A Landscape; Technology: A Key Component of M 2 Aligning Your Technology Strategy; Communication: Your Most Powerful Tool; Breaking the Ice; Initial Cultural Considerations; How Size Matters: Big Fish vs. Little Fish; The Role of Operations; People, Processes, and Technology; People; Who's in Charge Here?; Process; Technology; Friedman's 5: The Tech Integration Players; Wildcards: Expecting the Unexpected
An Outside PerspectiveCreating an Inventory; Project Planning; Taking an Inventory; Assessing the Technology; Make an Outline; A Step Past Tech; Reality Check; Change Management During Assessment; Wildcards: Avoiding the Snags; You're Short on Time; Your Counterparts Aren't Available Enough; You Can't Come to an Agreement; Key Takeaways; Greg's Final Word; 5 Getting Started with Implementation; Leadership Through Organization; Project Management; Managing Timelines; There Are No Perfect Recipes; Jumping In, Feet First; Start to Meet Internally; Systems Integration
Culture IntegrationConnect on a Personal Level First; From the Start, Spend Time Together; A Real-Life Example of Cultural Integration Challenges; Takeaways from This Example; Wild Cards; What If You Can't Come to an Agreement on a Particular System or Procedure?; What If You Get More Time with the New Advisors (the "Higher-Ups") Than the New Operations and Technology People?; What If You Don't Have Specialized Tech Point-Person?; Ongoing Projects or Everything Else Already in Motion; Time for a Tech Cleanup?; Other Matters to Consider; Real-Life Examples; Key Takeaways; Greg's Final Word
Good, Old Fashioned Human NatureShort-Sightedness; Subsets and Silos; Mavericks; Toxic Employees; Distractions, Delays and Discouragement; Flexibility; Capacity; There Are No Shortcuts; Key Takeaways; Greg's Final Word; 3 Setting Your Integration Timeline; Leading the Charge; Events to Help Shape Your Timeline; Six Key Milestones of Tech Integration; Putting It Together; Why Timing Matters; Two Steps Back, One Step Forward; Key Takeaways; Greg's Final Word; 4 Inventory and Assessment: How Your Technology Stacks Up; How Involved Should You Be?; Operations at the Helm; Who's Involved?
Start with Your Vendors and CustodiansSurvey of All Systems; Necessary Hardware; Critical Systems; Other Important Software; Ancillary Software; The Company Website; How Do You Decide What System to Use and When to Begin Using It?; Functionality, Support, Maintenance, and Cost; Do We Want One System ASAP?; Executing the Integration Plan; Triage; Current Projects; Custodial Involvement; Coordinating a Comprehensive Implementation Plan; Policy and Procedure Integration; Open Communication About Upcoming Changes; A Real-Life Example of Policy and Procedures Integration Challenges
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With M & As in the RIA space increasing, many firms are rapidly changing hands with little to no expert guidance on how to successfully execute a merger or acquisition. In 2017, a record number of M & A deals closed in the advisor space - 168 transactions, or a 22% growth over 2016. Aside from a fifth straight year of record highs in M & A activity, the size of the acquired firms has also increased, with average acquisitions involving wealth managers exceeding $1.01 billion in assets under management. For many advisors, it only takes a handful of missteps during a merger or acquisition to jeopardize their business, but with so much unknown, advisors need a guidebook for success. A significant and often overlooked component to a successful RIA merger or acquisition is the thoughtful integration of technology. This comprehensive guide walks you through the steps of strategy, assessment, implementation, adoption and growth, all while considering how to best inspire and galvanize a firm's most valuable asset - its people. Combining the real-life experiences of a life-long financial advisor with the expertise of a 15-year operations director and founder of a large RIA ops network, this book takes real M & A experiences of the financial services industry and offers best practices, tools and resources to help advisors make smart decisions about technology integration that elevates the firm's goals and solidifies its future success.--