How do I sell my insurance or financial advisory firm without my representatives finding out?
Off-market and NDA-gated. Nothing is publicly listed and nothing carries your name. Early materials use a reference code instead of your firm name, and buyers see identifying details only after signing an NDA you have approved by name. Representative and client details are shared later still, once a buyer is committed. You decide when your representatives, staff and clients are told, which matters in a sector where unsettled producers can leave and take relationships with them.
What is my insurance or financial advisory firm worth?
A firm is priced off normalised earnings, meaning the accounts adjusted for owner-specific costs so a buyer sees the real earning power. What moves the number most is how much income is recurring, such as renewal commission and advice or asset-based fees, whether client relationships sit with the firm or follow individual representatives, reliance on a few top producers, and the compliance record. Owner-operated firms in Singapore typically change hands at roughly 2.5 to 3.5 times normalised EBITDA, with up to about 5 times only for larger firms with firm-owned, recurring income and competing buyers. We give you a written valuation under NDA, for a fixed fee credited against our success fee if you sell with us.
Who buys insurance brokerages and IFA firms in Singapore?
Mostly larger financial advisory and broking groups adding representatives, clients or a specialism, regional and international firms seeking a licensed Singapore presence, and senior advisers or management teams buying the firm they help run. Some private equity-backed platforms also consolidate advisory firms. Buyers read the same book very differently depending on how much of it they expect to keep, which is why approaching several quietly usually beats accepting the first approach.
Do I need MAS approval to sell my firm?
Usually, yes, in some form. A change in who controls a licensed financial adviser or a registered insurance broker generally needs MAS approval, and the regulator will usually look at whether the incoming owners are fit and proper. The exact requirements depend on your licence, the size of the stake changing hands and how the deal is structured, so check the position with your lawyer at the start. Most buyers make regulatory approval a condition of completion, so the timetable should allow for it from the outset.
What does Clearmere charge to sell an insurance or financial advisory firm?
Our sale fee is success-based and paid on completion: no sale, no fee. A written valuation is a separate fixed fee, agreed and paid before we start, and credited in full against our success fee if you sign with us within 6 months and the sale completes. The first conversation, a short questionnaire and our written recommendation on which valuation fits are free and carry no obligation.
Why do buyers ask for earn-outs or clawbacks tied to client retention?
Because the risk they fear most is paying for clients and representatives who then leave. Part of the price is commonly deferred, or adjusted to how much of the book or the recurring income is retained over an agreed period after completion. That is normal in this sector, but the terms decide what you actually receive: the measurement period, how retention is counted, and what happens if the buyer changes products or the team. We negotiate those terms carefully and aim to maximise what you receive at completion.
