Greg Friedman

With organic growth becoming more and more elusive, Mergers and Acquisition (M&A) activity within the RIA industry is at an all-time high. In 2019, RIA merger and acquisition activity accelerated its momentum compared to the halfway point last year, with a strong second quarter that saw 33 deals for a total of 65 for the first six months, according to the DeVoe & Co. Deal Book. While M&As may seem like “easy” growth for firms, the only easy part may be signing on the dotted line. Maintaining success by merging two firms hinges on a handful of key factors, and one of them is the careful integration of culture. In Integrating Culture in Successful RIA Mergers and Acquisitions, Greg Friedman, a veteran financial advisor, and Cynthia Greenfield, a leadership and change management coach, share their blueprint for achieving and maintaining a successful, positive work culture, tackling head-on the obstacles that may appear during an M&A event, and offering solutions based on real-world experiences. This book will show the evolution of a $2B RIA over the course of 10 years, and pull back the covers with real stories of obstacles, adjustments, and victories along the way.

With organic growth becoming more and more elusive, Mergers and Acquisition (M&A) activity within the RIA industry is at an all-time high. In 2019, RIA merger and acquisition activity accelerated its momentum compared to the halfway point last year, with a strong second quarter that saw 33 deals for a total of 65 for the first six months, according to the DeVoe & Co. Deal Book. While M&As may seem like “easy” growth for firms, the only easy part may be signing on the dotted line. Maintaining success by merging two firms hinges on a handful of key factors, and one of them is the careful integration of culture. In Integrating Culture in Successful RIA Mergers and Acquisitions, Greg Friedman, a veteran financial advisor, and Cynthia Greenfield, a leadership and change management coach, share their blueprint for achieving and maintaining a successful, positive work culture, tackling head-on the obstacles that may appear during an M&A event, and offering solutions based on real-world experiences. This book will show the evolution of a $2B RIA over the course of 10 years, and pull back the covers with real stories of obstacles, adjustments, and victories along the way.

Intersection homology is a version of homology theory that extends Poincaré duality and its applications to stratified spaces, such as singular varieties. This is the first comprehensive expository book-length introduction to intersection homology from the viewpoint of singular and piecewise-linear chains. Recent breakthroughs have made this approach viable by providing intersection homology and cohomology versions of all the standard tools in the homology tool box, making the subject readily accessible to graduate students and researchers in topology as well as researchers from other fields. This text includes both new research material and new proofs of previously-known results in intersection homology, as well as treatments of many classical topics in algebraic and manifold topology. Written in a detailed but expository style, this book is suitable as an introduction to intersection homology or as a thorough reference.

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 afirm’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.

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 afirm’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.

Thrive in a changing industry by putting your people first Advisory Leadership is a practical and highly executable guide for financial advisors and finance professionals looking to thrive in today's changing financial services industry. Written by a leading financial advisor with practice improvement expertise, this book shows you how to master the art of leadership while remaining agile and adaptable. You'll learn the seven steps you must take to keep pace and thrive amidst the industry's evolution, with clearly articulated explanations and motivational action items. The discussion covers patience, integrity, compassion, respect, consistency, encouragement, and courage—the foundations of success and continued growth—and shows you how to practice what you preach with real strategies for living the vision and being a true leader. The financial services industry is at a crossroads, between a generation on the cusp of retirement and the new generation stepping in to take its place. This transition has been called a crisis of culture, of values, and of communication, but it's really an opportunity. This book faces the changes head-on, and delivers practical solutions that start and end with your greatest resource—your people. Unlock the secrets to a people-first companySpeak openly, walk the walk, and promote personal growthReward firm-wide collaboration and a team mentalityReshape your company's DNA to thrive in today's financial environment The industry's overarching question is one of differentiation: how can your firm stand out amid the rise of robo-solutions and an unpredictable future? Advisory Leadership shows you how a people-focused company culture can elevate a firm from surviving to thriving.