News & FAQs

New RIA aggregator on the block, Transcend, formed by execs from Mercer and Budros, Ruhlin & Roe, partners with Lincoln Investment to invest in growing fee-only RIAs.
Transcend Partner Group, a new consolidator of registered investment advisors led by two seasoned RIA executives, has partnered with Lincoln Investment Planning, a hybrid RIA and broker/dealer to fund and bring to market a new wealth management platform for fee-only RIAs.
Scott Rister and Paul Stetz are taking the helm of Transcend Partner Group, which is backed by broker-dealer Lincoln Investment.
There’s a new RIA aggregator on the block, and it’s hired a pair of top executives from RIAs associated with mega-firms to get it rolling.
Scott Rister and Paul Stetz are taking the helm of Transcend Partner Group, a newly launched RIA acquirer backed by independent brokerage firm Lincoln Investment.
You must first start with an honest evaluation of where you are today, how you got to where you are and, most importantly, where you want to be in the future. Status quo is most likely not a viable option given the growing number of investors looking for professional assistance, a general shortage of talent in the industry, and the competitive scale and wealth management services larger organizations are offering in market today.
At Transcend we believe there are several key components to any potential transaction that must be considered, starting with these five:
- Firm Valuation: Getting the best price today may not align with other priorities, but you should know and receive a fair market price for your organization.
- Deal Structure: Upfront cash versus an earn out and longer-term capital participation. The details here are important.
- On-going Operations: The level of autonomy and support in decision making and daily operations, access to resources, potential impact on the client experience, and other policies and procedures that could be disruptive to your organization.
- Longer-term Opportunity: The potential for a “second bite of the apple” for current owners, and the opportunity for high-potential talent to lead and become owners.
- Culture: Ultimately the most important factor, as long-term culture will determine the success—and relative happiness—of the organization. This isn’t about the numbers or what is on a piece of paper, but the trust and alignment of values that individuals and organizations live out daily.
What is most important is making an informed decision and then putting a plan in place. You absolutely have options. However, fewer than 35% of RIAs have actionable succession plans, and if this pandemic has taught us one thing it is that anything is possible and, therefore, we need to be prepared. Depending on talent, internal succession plans can take five plus years to be feasible as they require both a skill set and financial commitment. And they will require a willingness on the part of founders and owners to sell at a significant discount during this time of record-high valuations and assume the counter-party risk associated with financing an internal transaction.
Our goal is to first understand where the firm has come from and what your vision is for the future of the current owners, your team, and your clients. We’ll then discuss the pros and cons of the options that are available to you and our vision for how best to compete, attract, develop and retain talent. We’ll also talk about how to best serve investors in this rapidly evolving segment of financial services and determine if there is a path forward together.
Unless yours is one of the few firms that has already been sold to a 3rd party—regardless of whether you are a first-, second- or third-generation owner—there is a transaction in your future. It may be three months or three years from now but, with the valuations in the market today, every firm should have a succession plan in place and be thinking about and planning for the next transaction.
At Transcend Partner Group, we provide solutions that allow current owners to realize the value of what has been built while also providing support and an opportunity to continue to grow the business, serve clients, and provide leadership and financial opportunities for current and future leaders.