KOVRENT
For founders

Selling your RIA to a buyer who builds on it.

We buy from founders 55 and older who built an SEC-registered investment advisory (RIA) or wealth management firm with $100M to $700M in assets and have no funded succession plan. We buy 100 percent of the firm. Founders can take part of the price in Kovrent equity or sell for all cash. The name stays on the door and the team keeps their seats.
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The buy-box

Eight criteria. If you fit six, call.

The buy-box is where most of our deals come from, not a gate. Under 55, a younger firm, or a structure that does not fit the template: if you want to sell and the business is sound, call anyway.

Registration
SEC-registered RIA
Assets
$100M to $700M
Sweet spot
$100M to $700M
Owner
Typically 55 or older
Successor
No funded succession plan
Revenue
Fee-based, recurring
Process
Off-market preferred
Stake
100 percent. No minority positions.
What we buy, and what we pass on
No funded succession plan

Five situations. Every one is a firm we buy.

“No named successor” describes one firm in four. The other three have a successor problem that looks different. All five fit.

No successor at all
What it looks like
Founder holds the top relationships personally. Nobody has been named or offered terms.
Why it fits Kovrent
The classic case. Founder sells, stays for the transition, takes cash or cash plus Kovrent equity.
Successor named, no capital
What it looks like
A G2 runs the book and has been promised the firm. Neither side can finance the buyout, and every year of growth makes it harder.
Why it fits Kovrent
Kovrent funds what the internal buyout could not. Founder is paid in full at close. G2 runs the firm and earns Kovrent equity through an equity-track seat.
Successor named, terms never written
What it looks like
Everyone assumes the G2 takes over. There is no signed agreement, no price, no date.
Why it fits Kovrent
Kovrent writes the terms both sides have avoided. The G2 stays in the seat with a path on paper.
Internal buyout stalled
What it looks like
A partial sale happened, or a note was signed, and it is not working. The founder is still the last stop at 68.
Why it fits Kovrent
Kovrent buys 100 percent, retires the note, and finishes the transition the firm started.
Estate or disabled owner
What it looks like
The founder died or cannot work. A spouse, estate, or interim lead now owns a fiduciary business.
Why it fits Kovrent
A fast, clean buyer with the team kept in place. Confidential, no process, fast and diligent.
If you’re the G2: For RIA SuccessorsHow the deal is paid: Our Model
What we don’t buy
Partial sales or minority stakes
We buy the whole firm or we do not buy it. A growth check with a board seat is a different business, and it is not ours.
Concentration
When a handful of relationships carry the book, the firm is a person, not a business. We can still talk. The structure looks different.
The ninety day exit
If you want to be gone by spring, we are the wrong buyer. Clients need to see you for a while after the paperwork.
The live auction
Four bidders and a banker-run process is not where we do our best work. We would rather be early than highest.
Revenue that walks
If the relationships leave when you do, there is nothing to buy. We will tell you that on the first call rather than the fifth.
How a deal works
Six steps
First conversation
Fifteen minutes. We ask about the firm and the timeline, you ask whatever you want, and nothing gets sent afterward unless you ask for it.
The math
You send financials under NDA. We come back quickly with a range and show you how we got there.
LOI
If both sides want to proceed. A written number with the structure spelled out: cash, Kovrent equity, any earnout, any note, your role and timeline. One page. See Our Model for how each part works.
Diligence
Thorough, not slow. Request list fixed before day one. You’ll know every request before we send it.
Close
Cash lands the day we sign. If equity is part of your deal, it issues the same day.
Integration
Back office moves onto shared infrastructure. Clients, team, and brand stay exactly where they are.
Insights for founders

Written for the person who owns the firm.

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Questions founders ask first
What size firms does Kovrent acquire?

SEC-registered RIAs with $100M to $700M in assets. Our sweet spot is $100M to $700M.

I’m under 55, or my firm doesn’t look like the typical one. Should I still call?

Yes. The buy-box describes where most of our deals come from, not a rule. A 48-year-old founder who wants a partner, a younger firm without a traditional structure, or an owner who simply wants to sell for their own reasons can all fit. If the firm is SEC-registered, fee-based, and has a team worth keeping, the first call is fifteen minutes and we will tell you quickly whether it is a fit.

Do I have to leave when I sell?

No. Some founders stay for years, some transition in twelve months. The timeline is part of the deal and you help set it.

Will my team keep their jobs?

Keeping the team is core to our model. We buy firms because of the people serving the clients, and our deals are structured around continuity, not cuts.

How confidential is this really?

Nothing leaves the four partners without your written consent. We do not run your name past lenders, we do not maintain a marketed pipeline, and we do not announce closed deals until the founder approves the words.

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A first conversation. No banker, no process, no pitch deck.

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Referral partners

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