For Owners Considering a Sale
How We Work
You built your firm once. You will likely sell it only once. We have sat on every side of that table — advising sellers, evaluating firms from the buyer's seat, and, in our founding principal's case, building, scaling, and selling an RIA of his own.
That experience shapes everything about how we work. A sale is not a transaction to us; it is the moment your life's work passes into new hands. So we build the entire process around what owners actually care about — finding the right partner, realizing full value, reaching a confident close, and protecting the firm and the people inside it every step of the way.
What We Optimize For
Before the first buyer ever hears your name, we get clear on what a good outcome means to you. In our experience, four things matter most — and we hold all four at once, rather than trading one away for another.
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The right partner
We believe that when you find the right fit, value follows. The buyer who genuinely respects your culture, your team, and your clients is very often the one who pays with the most conviction — because they understand what they are acquiring and why it is rare.
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Full value
Years on the buy-side taught us exactly how acquirers build their numbers and where value is won or lost. We prepare your story and your financials to stand up to the hardest scrutiny, and we create real competition so buyers compete for you — not the other way around.
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Speed and certainty
Time is not the friend of a sale. A disciplined, well-prepared process keeps momentum high and buyers honest, and carries you to a confident close rather than a drawn-out maybe.
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A protected business
Your clients and your team should never feel a process underway. We carry the heavy lifting and shield your day-to-day, so you stay focused on running the firm while we run the sale.
Our Four-Step Process
Great outcomes are made long before a deal is signed. The work that protects your value happens up front — in preparation, not improvisation. Our process moves through four steps, each building on the last.
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01
We get you current
Industry Analysis
Most owners haven't looked closely at the M&A market since they built their firm, and the market has changed. We bring you up to speed first: where valuations sit today, how deals are actually structured, the kinds of buyers active right now, and the integration models behind them. You make better decisions about your future when you can see the whole landscape — not just a headline multiple.
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02
We unlock your value
Financial Discovery
Buyers form their view of your firm from your numbers, so we make sure your numbers tell the true story. Working alongside you, we recast your financials into a clear, defensible picture of earnings, supported by the analysis and metrics a serious buyer will expect to see. We bring Big Four–caliber accounting and diligence support to this work, so what we present holds up to the toughest quality-of-earnings review. The result is a firm valued for what it is genuinely worth.
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03
We find the right fit
Partner Identification
We don't broadcast your firm to a long list of names or fill your calendar with buyer calls that lead nowhere. From the outset we build a highly targeted list of potential partners who match the profile you care about — culture, client service, autonomy, growth, and economics — and we focus the process on the firms most truly compatible with what you've built. Fit first; value follows.
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04
We run the process, end to end
Go-To-Market
With your story prepared and the right buyers identified, we take your firm to market and manage every step: first conversations, information sharing, indications of interest, management meetings, and competing bids. We create genuine competitive tension so buyers put their best foot forward, we lead the negotiations and deliver any difficult messages, and we work hand-in-glove with your attorney and other advisors through the legal documentation, so the deal closes cleanly. You stay focused on your clients; we carry the deal to the finish line.
What We Carry, and What Stays With You
Selling your firm should not become a second full-time job. We take on the work that wins the outcome, and we keep what only you can do appropriately in your hands — always prepared and supported, never dropped in your lap.
Gorman Jones leads
- Your marketing materials and the confidential information memorandum buyers rely on
- The financial recast, the analysis, and the data behind your numbers
- The data room and the flow of information to buyers
- Buyer outreach, the bid process, and the competitive tension that drives value
- Negotiations and any difficult messages along the way
You and your advisors hold
- Every decision along the way — we'll provide insights and our honest counsel at each step, but the final call is always yours
- Your perspective on your story, your people, and your priorities — the context we use to frame your numbers and shape the partner search
- Communications to your clients and team — supported by our experience
- Running your firm, while we run the sale
Why Owners Trust Us
This is the rare process led by people who have sat in your chair. Our founding principal didn't simply advise on RIA deals — he built an RIA, acquired firms, raised capital, and sold the company he led. We've spent years on the buy-side as well, so we know how acquirers think and where to press on your behalf. And we are a family business ourselves, named for a man whose legacy shaped ours — which is why legacy, not just price, is the lens we bring to your sale.
Get in touch
The best outcomes start long before a firm goes to market. If you’re thinking about a sale, we’d love to talk. A first conversation carries no cost or obligation, and everything you share with us stays confidential.