Private Ocean, a West Coast based wealth management firm, congratulates CEO and Co-Founder Greg Friedman and his co-author, Shaun Kapusinski, Founder of HIFON, an RIA operations network, on the recent release of The Financial Advisor M&A Guidebook: Best Practices, Tools, and Resources for Technology Integration and Beyond, published by Palgrave Macmillan.

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. A significant and often overlooked component to a successful RIA merger or acquisition is the thoughtful integration of technology. The Financial Advisor M&A Guidebook is a comprehensive guide that walks owners and operations professionals through the steps of strategy, assessment, implementation, adoption and growth, all while considering how to best inspire and galvanize a firm’s most valuable asset – its people.

"This book was born out of our mutual interest in technology and our real-world experiences with M&A transactions,” said Shaun Kapusinski. “In addition, we interviewed many HIFON firms for additional perspectives on the merging of their technology. Greg and I are incredibly proud to offer this guide for advisors considering M&A as part of their growth or succession strategy."

Early Reviews for The Financial Advisor M&A Guidebook:

  • "Many advisors are just starting to grasp the importance of technology in running a successful advisory firm. Greg has been embracing and leveraging technology for at least 20 years, and doing so in a methodical, practical way. This book offers a wealth of knowledge about how to rationalize the technologies of merging advisory firms, but there are lessons here for all practitioners.” – Joel Bruckenstein, CFP®, President, Technology Tools for Today (T3)
  • “If you’re early in the merger process, or have just completed an acquisition, you should speedily buy this book and follow what I believe is the profession’s only guide to a step-by-step approach to what is likely to be the most complex, potentially vexing challenge you will face in your business career.” – Bob Veres, Editor and Publisher, Inside Information

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.

For more information, log on to palgrave.com or visit amazon.com.

About the Authors

Greg Friedman is an innovator and advocate for excellent wealth management. He is co-founder and CEO of Private Ocean, one of the West Coast's leading wealth management firms. He’s also the former co-founder of Junxure, an industry leading CRM for advisors. Friedman is widely recognized as one of the nation’s top financial advisors. Investment Advisor Magazine named him as one of its Top 25 most influential financial advisors in 2008, 2009 and 2010. In 2008, Financial Planning Magazine included Friedman in its elite list of financial “Movers and Shakers.” In 2007, Charles Schwab honored him with its prestigious IMPACT Award® for “Best in Tech.” Friedman plays a lead role in the movement toward tighter technology integration in the financial planning industry. He was also recognized by Investment News in 2017 as an Icon and Innovator.

Shaun Kapusinski is all about operational excellence. He has spent over 15 years at Sequoia Financial Group, LLC, and is currently a Director of Operations focusing on technology and administration. Kapusinski turned his passion for operations into one of the industry’s first operations-focused study groups. In 2010, he founded HIFON, an RIA operations network linking together over 200 RIA firms across the country. Shaun’s other industry and community involvement includes being a member of The University of Akron’s Finance Advisory Board; he is a current Committee Member for the operations track at Bob Veres’ Insider’s Forum; and he is a former member of the Schwab Advisor Services Technology, Operations & Service Advisory Board. Shaun has been a speaker on various operations topics at multiple industry conferences.