Dustin Mangone is the Director of Investment Advisor Services of PPL Loan, a firm based out of Texas that facilitates conventional bank loans to financial advisors. Dustin's firm uniquely enables financial advisors to access bank lending—a traditionally difficult source of debt capital in the advisory industry—for financing various transactions, including RIA and independent broker-dealer acquisitions, internal succession plans, and other growth initiatives. This approach provides vital support for advisors looking to expand or transition their businesses.

Listen in as Dustin shares how his firm partners with banks to provide loans to financial advisors purchasing advisory firms, enabling sellers to receive the purchase price upfront and increasing loan amounts as advisor repayment success grows. He discusses the key financial metrics used to determine loan amounts for mergers and acquisitions, such as the buyer’s capitalization and the selling firm’s recurring revenue, and explains how these loans support both full purchases and partial buy-ins during internal firm successions. Dustin also touches on current trends in advisory firm valuations, the differences between conventional bank loans and Small Business Administration loans, and the continued robust financing opportunities for advisory firm transactions, underscoring the inherent stability of these businesses due to their long-term client relationships.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/395

Christi Van Rite is the Founder of White River Consultants, a firm that provides administrative family office services to 17 ultra-high-net-worth households. Christi, whose firm is on track to generate nearly $1.5M in revenue this year, offers her insights into the complexities of managing extensive personal finances. You'll learn about the four primary pillars of Christi's services—personal bookkeeping, payroll for household employees, property management, and information and document management—and how each of these plays a role in maintaining financial order and security.

Join us as we delve into Christi's journey from a traditional financial advisor to a leader in administrative family office services. You'll hear about her strategies for managing the financial needs of complex client households, the importance of using a client-owned tech stack for flexibility, and the role of robust referral pipelines in growing her business. Christi also shares her approach to curating, onboarding, and training specialized team members, managing risks associated with serving high-dollar families, and why she believes this niche is a fulfilling career path for financial advisors.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/394

Alex Lewis is the owner of Blackbridge Financial, a hybrid advisory firm based out of South Carolina that oversees approximately $330 million in assets under management for 415 households. At just 29 years old, Alex boldly acquired his firm through a multi-million-dollar loan, stepping in as the successor to the founder. Over the past four years, he has transformed the business by overhauling the staff, technology, and service structure—nearly doubling the firm’s AUM in the process.

Listen in as Alex shares how he gained trust and smoothly transitioned into ownership by increasing his client-facing roles and negotiating a seller-financed purchase, setting the stage for financial challenges that included managing a hefty initial loan payment. You'll learn how his firm categorizes clients into five service tiers, tailors experiences with personal touches like preferred beverages, and expands the team to uphold a high-touch service model, ensuring each advisor manages no more than 150 clients. We also discuss Alex’s career shift from public accounting to financial planning, his strategic fee adjustments that reinforced client trust, and his use of influential business strategies from books to continuously refine and grow the firm he envisioned.

For show notes and more visit: https://www.kitces.com/393