Succession & Acquisitions Consultant

Job Description Summary

Job Description

Under limited supervision, uses specialized skills and extensive knowledge obtained through education and/or training and experience to develop complex and specialized succession plans to a diverse set of financial advisors. Delivers personalized one on one consulting and team consulting with financial advisors, as well as with branch managers.  Provides subject matter expertise with respect to succession strategies, FINRA 2040b, team enhanced compensation and catastrophic planning to develop a unique business succession, catastrophic or team plan for advisors.  Works independently with a large degree of autonomy in partnership with financial advisors, senior management, branch management, and other firm stakeholders to execute on succession strategies and protect advisor’s practices. May provide comprehensive solutions to complex problems or needs. Counsels financial advisors in the key components of a succession plan. Completes comprehensive technical valuations of advisor practices and therefore must have thorough understanding of valuation approaches, discount rates, internal and external drivers of valuation, cost of capital, business sustainability and client transferability and the respective impact on a practice’s valuation. Must have extensive knowledge of challenging concepts, such as equity/partial practice sales, private equity, valuation versus purchase price, application and impact of discount rate, cash flow modeling and other industry trends, with ability to share with advisors in an understandable way. Must understand risks associated with various deal structures (such as interest rate risk, attrition risk, market risk) and communicate them clearly and concisely. Must be able to complete and have thorough understanding of cash flow modeling with ability to educate advisors on illustrated impact. Extensive knowledge of financial advisor compensation, transition assistance, account splits, various compliance policies and supervision procedures is required.  Must work closely with other stakeholders, including senior division management to communicate successes, concerns and challenges that arise with aging advisors and succession planning in general. Must have extensive knowledge of financing concepts, both internal and external and educate financial advisors accordingly. Must be able to present concepts to large groups of advisors. Also work with branches, financial advisors and various PCG recruiting personnel as needed. May provide life coaching to aging advisors seeking help with notion of retirement and next life stages.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Create tailored succession solutions for financial advisors to meet their personal succession needs.

• Complete practice market value reports and present the results to financial advisors while providing context against industry and firm benchmark valuations for similar practices.

• Consult with financial advisors on practice growth alternatives by sharing the drivers of practice valuation to help maximize the value of their practices upon retirement, death or disability.

• Create individual succession strategies for financial advisors, discussing the pros and cons of each.

• Develop personal exit strategy with the financial advisors including working through the timing and developing a communication plan for clients.

• Educate financial advisors on succession strategies, FINRA regulation, exit strategies, practice valuation and payment options.

• Consult / coach financial advisors on teaming for the purpose of succession, including impact of sharing revenue prior to and post-sale.

• Will provide feedback to branch managers and/or division management on succession progress during individual and group consulting engagements.

• Prepares and delivers written and oral presentations to various levels in the firm.

• May present in front of large and small groups for conference and event presentations, workshops and divisional and/or complex meetings.  

• Supports promotional activities of the department and dissemination of succession & acquisition materials.

• Provide regional and divisional senior management monthly and/or quarterly updates on case specifics and discuss specific cases as needed.

• Serve as a subject matter expert on 2040b regulatory requirements. 

• Balances conflicting resources and priority demands.

• Review incoming catastrophic and practice purchase agreements and work with legal, compliance and supervision departments when needed to solicit feedback and ensure agreements are in line with regulatory and firm policy and guidelines.

• Conduct detailed due diligence reviews with financial advisors of potential acquisition practices and counsel them on concerns or potential challenges associated with potential acquisition candidates.

• Assist financial advisors seeking to sell their practices in executing a plan including consulting on valuation, deal structure, transition best practices, and formally documenting the deal.

• Perform duties in a highly professional manner to address and resolve conflicts or issues that arise in any and all consulting engagements with financial advisors to facilitating a positive working relationship between the field and home office.

• Consult with incoming recruits on succession best practices.

• Consult financial advisors using all tools and resources available, including benchmarking data, internal historical deal structure results, and best practices collected from previous case work, etc.

• Work in a high performing team environment, collaborating when necessary while managing multiple cases and projects with concurrent deadlines.

• Work with Succession Operations Specialists to ensure deals are documented, case work is updated and accurate, and checklist items are completed by SOS in appropriate tracking system, ensuring necessary follow through.

• Interact with external attorneys, CPAs or consultants as needed on individual financial advisor deals.

• Stay current with securities industry trends and regulations.

• Engage legal support regularly to discuss and debate agreement language, FINRA rule interpretation, legal concepts related to succession planning, acting as advocate for financial advisors.

• Perform other duties as assigned.

Knowledge of:

• Financial markets & Products

• Concepts, practices and procedures of the securities industry

• Performance or actions necessary for advisor and branch professionals to acquire, sell and refine their business. .

• Working structure, policies, mission and strategies of the organization

• Operational processes and procedures of assigned functional areas

• Business succession and catastrophic plan structures.

• Business acquisition analysis and valuation procedures.

• FINRA applicable regulations.

• Independent contractor sector and employee financial advisor sector in the securities industry.

• Practice management tenets and processes.

Skill in:

• Effectively communicating with financial advisors, senior management, and other internal as well as external parties in a manner that ensures clear understanding of all facts and alternatives.

• Gathering and analyzing detailed financial information and data.

• Active listening.

• Critical thinking.

• ·Operating standard office equipment and using required software applications to produce correspondence, reports, electronic communication, spreadsheets, and databases.

• High order reasoning and decision-making to make prudent recommendations.

• Detail orientation to ensure the accuracy of reports, correspondence and databases.

• Presenting to large groups for purpose of providing education in a clear and concise manner.

• Organization to manage multiple engagements with concurrent deadlines

Ability to:

• Analyze data and communicate results in a clear and concise manner.

• Be a Self-starter, given limited direction and supervision.

• Be responsive and reliable while adhering to principles of excellent customer service.

• Organize, prioritize, manage, and track multiple detailed tasks and assignments, including those delegated, to complete work efficiently. 

• Work collaboratively in a team environment where projects will be assigned and completed with interaction and coordination with other team members.

• Independently manage and complete multiple projects and tasks.

• Attend to detail while maintaining a big picture orientation.

• Maintain interest in investment advisor and/or financial planner services and products.

• Use appropriate interpersonal styles and communicate effectively and professionally, both orally and in writing, with all organizational levels. 

• ·Interpret and apply policies and identify and recommend changes as appropriate.

• Establish and communicate clear directions and priorities. 

• Make professional presentations to individuals and large groups.

• Use mathematics sufficient to analyze numerical data, ratios among percentages and rates of change in trend analysis.

• Handle stressful situations and provide a high level of customer service in a calm and professional manner.

• Work under pressure on multiple projects/deals concurrently and meet deadlines in a fast-paced work environment with frequent interruptions and changing priorities.

Educational/Previous Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree (B.A) from four-year college or university with a minimum of five (5) years of securities industry experience, including direct interaction with Financial Advisors. 

• ~or~

• An equivalent combination of experience, education, and/or training as approved by Human Resources. 

Licenses/Certifications:

• SIE required provided that an exemption or grandfathering cannot be applied.

• Series 7 License, or ability to obtain within 6 months. We highly prefer candidates that have already obtained series 7 license. 

• Ability to obtain Registered Corporate Coach (RCC) or applicable coaching designation within 1 year.

Education

Bachelor’s: Business Administration, Bachelor’s: Economics, Bachelor’s: Finance

Work Experience

General Experience - 6 to 10 years

Certifications

s7 - General Securities Representative Examination - Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)

Travel

Less than 25%

Workstyle

Hybrid

The total compensation for this position includes base salary or wages, and may include components such as additional compensation (cash or equity), discretionary bonuses, or commissions. This position is eligible for a benefits package that may include medical, dental, and vision; life insurance; critical illness insurance and accident insurance; disability benefits; retirement savings; paid time off (including vacation, holidays, and sick leave); and parental leave.  Eligibility for benefits and specific offerings may vary based on position and employment status. To view more details of the benefits offered, visit Myrjbenefits.com.

At Raymond James our associates use five guiding behaviors (Develop, Collaborate, Decide, Deliver, Improve) to deliver on the firm's core values of client-first, integrity, independence and a conservative, long-term view. 

We expect our associates at all levels to:
•  Grow professionally and inspire others to do the same
•  Work with and through others to achieve desired outcomes
•  Make prompt, pragmatic choices and act with the client in mind
•  Take ownership and hold themselves and others accountable for delivering results that matter
•  Contribute to the continuous evolution of the firm

At Raymond James – as part of our people-first culture, we honor, value, and respect the uniqueness, experiences, and backgrounds of all of our Associates.  When associates bring their best authentic selves, our organization, clients, and communities thrive. The Company is an equal opportunity employer and makes all employment decisions on the basis of merit and business needs. 

#LI-JM1