OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE
Selling when your RIA has more than one owner
A solo owner decides to sell. A multi-owner firm discovers what it agreed to years earlier. The operating agreement usually governs, and it usually says more than the partners remember.
The buy-sell agreement governs, whether you like it or not
Most partnership and LLC agreements contain provisions on transfer of interests, valuation on departure, rights of first refusal, and mandatory buyouts on death or disability. If yours was drafted at formation and never revisited, it may value the firm on a formula that bears no relationship to what an acquirer would pay.
Rights of first refusal change the process
A ROFR gives existing owners the right to match an outside offer. That is protective, but it also means you may need to run the outside process first to establish a price — and your partners will see the terms. Sequencing matters.
Minority owners and drag-along provisions
A drag-along lets a majority compel minority owners into a sale. Without one, a small holder can stall a transaction or extract disproportionate value. Buyers ask about this early because it determines whether they can actually acquire the whole firm.
Getting aligned before you go to market
The most common failure is partners with different timelines: one wants liquidity now, another wants five more years. That is resolvable — Sell & Secure and Sell & Grow style structures exist precisely for it — but it is far cheaper to resolve before a buyer is in the room.
Not legal advice. Your operating and buy-sell agreements control. Have counsel read them before you approach anyone.
Partners on different timelines?
Structures that let one owner exit while another keeps building are covered in depth on our sister resource.
Sell My RIA Practice is an authorized lead-generation partner of buyAUM. buyAUM compensates us only if a transition is completed. Sellers are never charged a fee at any stage. Nothing on this site is legal, tax, or compliance advice.