by Matt Sonnen | Sep 15, 2020 | COO Best Practices
As I declared when we launched the COO Roundtable podcast in late 2018, “Every advisory firm struggles with the goal of providing high-touch service to a larger and larger client base in a scalable and efficient fashion. It is the COO’s job to execute the...
by Matt Sonnen | Sep 8, 2020 | M&A
If the collective vision for investment philosophy—who will be managing the portfolios and choosing what the best investments are for client portfolios—cannot be agreed upon, there is no reason to continue down the M&A path. It has been well documented that...
by Matt Sonnen | Aug 25, 2020 | COO Best Practices
Below is a long, harrowing, frustrating, and oftentimes sad recount of my recent interaction with Microsoft support for our son’s Xbox. As you will see, this experience has scarred me for life. I can’t imagine any RIA putting their client through such an...
by Matt Sonnen | Jul 28, 2020 | M&A, Operations and Technology
With RIA M&A activity at a frenzied pace, much has been written about how to best value an RIA business. Typically, a multiple is applied to either revenue or cash flow (profits). In my humble opinion, profits are all that matter. If two...
by Matt Sonnen | Jul 21, 2020 | COO Best Practices, Operations and Technology
Every year, we recommend RIA leaders take time over the summer, when things inevitably slow down a bit, to take stock of not only their technology stack, but their policies, procedures, and various workflows built into the firm’s use of technology. As employees...