More than 100 advisory practices with $57 billion in assets under management under the private equity-backed RIA consolidator are deploying existing technology in new ways as the coronavirus rules out face-to-face meetings, according to Salameh. She joined Chicago-based Hightower last year after tenures with Private Advisor Group and TD Ameritrade.
Goldman Sachs warns that U.S. businesses will not see earnings growth in 2020, as a result of the coronavirus. We check in with dealmakers on the potential impact on mid-market M&A. Arsenal buys healthcare search and communications firm. Audax, HarbourVest and Genstar named top three most active PE firms in U.S. deals.
Chris Mier, CFA of Loop Capital, says fiscal policy needs to achieve more at present and believes we are at a comfortable point in the credit cycle. Despite that conviction, he says the coronavirus will serve to slow growth. John Hallacy hosts.
As the COVID-19 virus spreads globally, many U.S. financial institutions are said to be taking steps to protect employees and minimize disruption. But only a handful are sharing specifics, to avoid contributing to any public panic.
In an interview with Senior Editor Tobias Salinger, Salameh explains the increasingly crowded marketplace for RIAs and why the pandemic doesn’t necessarily mean M&A deal volume will decline significantly. She also sheds light on how advisors are helping clients adjust to staying at home.
Advisors are sending clients puzzles and board games as one of several ways to engage around non-financial topics or, as the title of one planner’s webinar puts it, “How to keep your sanity during the coronavirus,” Salameh says. Video messages are also a substitute for in-person interactions.
Hightower assists advisors through the challenging time with services like automated marketing and online chats. Salameh’s team is also teaching them how to use Zoom and Webex Teams for webinars.
“And then we have some advisors who have really embraced doing prospect webinars, where they’re sharing in social media and inviting others to join them for almost open office hours to ask questions around things that are pertinent to them during this pandemic,” she says. “It’s really been an embracing of technology that was always available to them but they may not have used it in light of the fact that they were meeting person-to-person prior to these two months, which feels like two years for many of us.”