Strategy

A perennial topic at our forums in recent years has been M&A activities. Of course, every attendee is expected to be the acquirer, not the acquired. All mentioned scale is a critical competitive advantage in a consolidating industry where compliance and technology demands grow exponentially. In the distant past, the definition of “scale” was simple: whatever size you’re at, doubling it within 3-5 years will provide the scale you needed, whether you’re $100MM in assets…

There is universal agreement that growth companies generally get the best multiples from the investment community, whether in financial services or elsewhere. While a lift out of a talented group of bankers will give you a growth spurt, it is the elusive, consistent growth everyone seeks. Is there a process or a system you can build into your thinking and management process to increase the likelihood of growth meaningfully? Analysis shows that there must be…

Robert Albertson’s most recent piece brings him back to his roots - he is a bear at heart. I can see his point, though. Beyond the charts and numbers, public sentiment has turned even more negative than in the past year. In addition, public behavior - consumer and business alike - has changed markedly. Spending is down across the board, open jobs are down dramatically, and unemployment is up meaningfully as well. Major metro market…