Acquisition Trend Hochman Cole was acquired by MAI Capital Management in November 2021, illustrating ongoing consolidation of mid-market RIAs in the Chicagoland area. This creates a sales opportunity to engage with MAI and similar acquirers for integration services, onboarding platforms, and back-office support. Consider outreach to MAI or other acquired RIAs as potential clients for technology, asset management tooling, or compliance solutions.

Boutique Model As a boutique with a limited, high-touch client base, there is demand for scalable client onboarding, CRM, and marketing automation that preserves personalized service. Propose white-labeled onboarding workflows, secure document exchange, and CRM solutions tailored to RIAs to enable growth without sacrificing service quality.

Retirement Focus Retirement planning for individuals and small businesses indicates opportunities in retirement plan consulting, planning software, and SMB plan administration. Explore partnerships on SEP-IRAs or small business 401(k) solutions, and offer planning tools and analytics to expand offerings.

Small Firm Needs With a small team (2-10 employees), outsourcing of back-office operations, compliance, cybersecurity, and IT modernization is a natural need. Offer managed services for regulatory reporting, security assessments, cloud optimization, and marketing technology modernization to support growth.

ETF Exposure Past investment in the SPDR S&P 600 Small Cap ETF suggests openness to ETF-based strategies. Present ETF research, product partnerships, and distribution support to broaden client portfolios and enhance investment options.