4 rules for merging your practice

When advisers weigh mergers and acquisitions, they need to make sure that whatever they think they’ll be doing after the deal is written into the contract.
That was the advice of Mark Germain, CEO of Beacon Wealth Management.
“Make sure it’s in the paperwork,” said Germain, whose firm is in the due diligence process of a transaction. “That’s what’s going to determine what you do on the Monday after the papers are signed.”

“We had very specific criteria,” said Sherri Daniels, who sold her Florida investment firm to Banyan Partners, where she’s now an executive VP and principal. “We needed thought leadership, we needed capital and we were looking to build a footprint across the nation.” Having clear goals helped her find the right partner, she said, adding that she’d had discussions with a couple of potential partners.