INDEPENDENT M&A ADVISORY

The advisor who knows the math
controls the conversation.

Independent valuation, offer evaluation, and transition advisory for financial advisors managing $20 million to $100 million in assets. No recruiting. No conflicts. Every engagement principal-led.

Request A Confidential Conversation

$20M - $100M
Advisor AUM Range

100%
Principal - Led Execution

18 Years
in Corporate Finance & M&A

THE APPROACH

Clarity before urgency.

Most advisors engage representation after a decision has already been forced. A partner exits, a health event compresses the timeline, or a buyer surfaces with an offer that expires in ten days. By then, the advisor is negotiating from a position they did not choose.

In many cases, the right outcome is staying exactly where you are.
Just staying there on purpose.

EQB Strategy operates upstream of that moment. The objective is to ensure that when a decision arrives, the advisor has already modeled the economics, stress-tested the structure, and preserved optionality.

  • Practice Valuation

    Adjusted revenue multiples derived from actual practice data. Client demographics, concentration risk, recurring revenue mix, growth trajectory, and owner dependency. A defensible range, not a speculative number.

  • Offer Evaluation

    Competing LOIs decoded in parallel. Cash at close, earnout structure, clawback provisions, tax treatment, and restrictive covenants. The terms that determine whether a 3x multiple is actually a 2x outcome.

  • Succession Architecture

    Formal transition structures designed to convert practice value into realized liquidity. Internal successors, buy-sell agreements, minority equity sales, and phased exits that survive contact with reality.

  • Platform Economics

    Total cost-of-platform analysis: grid rates, TAMP fees, ticket charges, revenue sharing, and hidden constraints. For advisors in the $20M–$100M range, the delta between perceived cost and actual cost is often $40,000 to $120,000 annually.

  • Tax Structure

    Transaction-level tax planning integrated with entity design and deal architecture. Goodwill allocation, installment sale treatment, capital gains optimization. Structured before the deal, not reconciled after.

  • M&A Advisory

    Buy-side and sell-side representation structured around the advisor's long-term interests. Counterparty diligence, negotiation strategy, and deal terms engineered to protect what has been built, not to maximize transaction volume.

Two sides of the same decision

WHO THIS IS FOR

Evaluating a Transition

$20 million to $100 million in AUM, generating $200K to $1M in annual revenue. Buyers have made contact. You may be five years from stepping back or 35 and pressure-testing whether your platform can support the next phase.

  • What is my practice worth and what is driving the multiple?

  • What am I paying my platform in total cost, and what would I retain elsewhere?

  • How do I evaluate competing offers without being sold?

Advisor-side representation. Not recruiting.

Building Through Acquisition

You want to acquire a $15 million to $40 million book from a retiring advisor, bring on junior partners, or consolidate under one platform. The economics must be modeled before the first conversation.

  • What should I pay for a book of business, and how should it be structured?

  • What does adding a second advisor actually cost my margins?

  • Can my current platform support the growth I am planning?

Acquisition strategy. Succession from the other side of the table.

If you are looking for a guaranteed multiple, a platform recommendation, or a fast answer…
this is not the right engagement.

  • "I've worked with Josh in advisor-facing strategy and valuation discussions and have always appreciated his thoughtful, structured approach. He asks the right questions, digs into the details, and focuses on practical outcomes rather than theory. Anyone considering working with him should expect a clear process, honest feedback, and someone who understands both the economics and the human side of advisor transitions."

    Rob Emrich III, Founder & Managing Partner, Acruence Capital

  • "Josh Curtis is the rare operator in advisor-side M&A who combines sharp valuation judgment with real stewardship. He runs an exceptionally clean process, communicates with clarity, and protects the advisor's interests without theatrics or noise. If an advisor wants a serious outcome handled with integrity from first conversation to close, Josh is someone I would recommend without hesitation."

    Trey Taylor, Managing Partner, Threadneedle, the Taylor Family Office

  • "Our firm has been engaged alongside several of Josh's advisory clients, and while each situation was uniquely structured, the experience was consistent. Clear communication, well-prepared clients, and measurable results. That level of consistency is rare from advisory firms in this space. We have and will continue to refer business to EQB."

    Ryan Leggett, CEO, The Anchor Group

  • "Josh listens. He cares about what matters most to his clients. He works hard. And he always, always acts with the utmost integrity and discretion. You can trust Josh to do what is right, not what is merely expedient."

    Tim Richardson, Founder & CEO, Enliven

HOW IT WORKS

A process built for precision, not volume.

01

Confidential Conversation

What you are navigating. A transition, an unsolicited offer, a succession question, or a concern about your platform economics. No engagement letter. No obligation.

02

Valuation & Analysis

Practice data modeled against current market comparables. A defensible valuation range, a total platform cost analysis, and an objective assessment of available options. No predetermined outcome.

03

Ongoing Advisory

EQB remains engaged as your situation evolves. Decisions rarely arrive on schedule. When the moment comes, the work has already been done.

ABOUT

Josh Curtis

Eighteen years at the intersection of corporate finance, tax strategy, and M&A. Advising on deal structure, cost optimization, and practice economics for advisors managing $20 million to $100 million in assets.

EQB Strategy is principal-led. No team, no associates, no handoff. When you engage the firm, you work directly with the person who builds the model, runs the analysis, and sits across the table during negotiation.

This is not a recruiting practice. The firm represents advisors exclusively.

Evaluating a transition?

All consultations are confidential and carry no obligation.

REQUEST A CONFIDENTIAL CONSULTATION

Or contact directly at: Joshua@EQBStrategy.com