Case study: Overcoming acquisition complexity and driving RIA growth

Acquisition complexity is one of the biggest challenges RIAs and financial advisors face, requiring firms to find common ground and chart a new way forward.

Summit Peak just finished its third acquisition in three years. To the outside world, the firm is a major success story. And from a growth perspective, they have been.

The problem is that internally, they are somewhat disorganized. Different advisory teams under the Summit Peak umbrella are doing their own thing. They are operating independently, using disparate technology solutions and different investment approaches.

To cut through the chaos and simplify things, they have hired a new COO, Sydney. The leadership team backs her, but she knows that things won’t be easy. She wants to find some common ground across the teams and then chart a new path forward.

Quotes from the team

CFO, Ernie: We have exhibited excellent financial discipline. But from an operational standpoint, we have work to do.

CEO Charles: Sydney is empowered to use both the carrot and the stick when needed.

COO, Sydney: In my first 100 days, I’m mostly listening rather than talking. Before I make sweeping changes, I want to understand the pros and cons of what teams are doing today. After that period, it is full steam ahead towards a unified vision for the firm.

Administrative Assistant, Oliver: When clients call in, it takes forever to get them to the right person. We need to rethink how we triage things.

Client Service Manager, Cara: It’s probably going to be a bit painful. But I know that this work will ultimately pay off in a big way, leading to a better client experience and tighter operations.

Market Strategist, Mary: I can’t wait until we simplify and consolidate our investment framework. It’s going to be a win-win-win – better for clients, better for our team operationally, and better from a legal and compliance standpoint.

Advisor, Ava: When we joined, we were told we could continue doing things the way we have always done them. Candidly, I’ve been through this stuff before. Command-and-control from the center is a nightmare. So I would advise folks to take a light touch – what we have in place now works!

Questions to consider

1. What recommendations do you have for the new COO in her first 100 days?
2. Has your firm ever made any acquisitions? Or have you been acquired yourself? What did you learn in those situations?
3. When you have a conflict at your firm, how do you resolve it? For example, have you ever had a situation where people disagreed on how to use your CRM? What happened?
4. Where is your firm flexible (allowing people to do things their way), versus where is your firm locked down (ensuring that people do things the same way)? Is there anything you would like to change in the coming year across these categories?