During AM&AA's Chicago Conference, each exhibitor was afforded the opportunity to record a short interview to discuss their services. Click the link below to catch a glimpse of my somewhat clumsy attempt to share how Burch & Company assists middle-market intermediaries and bankers who may have opportunities to advise on deals involving securities. More information and videos of actual sessions from the conference may be found on AM&AA's website: www.amaaonline.com
Burch & Company's Senior Compliance Officer, Amy Hughes, will be presenting as part of a panel discussion next month at the M&A Source's Fall Conference in Phoenix. The panel, "Life after the Series 79 - Working with a Broker-Dealer," is scheduled for November 15th and is to be moderated by Dolliver H. Frederick, CBI, M&AMI, of Frederick Capital Corporation. Other panel participants include Fred G. Jager, CBI, M&AMI of Hunter Wise Financial Group; Brian Marks, Partner, Knopman Financial Training; and George A. Petrulis, CBI, M&AMI, of Kensington Services, Inc.
Burch is excited that Ms. Hughes will have the opportunity to discuss with conference attendees not only the licensing process for investment bankers looking to obtain the Series 79 in order to provide securities-related advisory services on M&A engagements, but also provide insight as to what you may expect once you become licensed. Burch will also be an exhibitor during the conference, should you wish to stop by our table. For full conference details and schedule, please head to M&A Source Website . If you would like to contact Burch directly to discuss the investment banking securities licensing process and our firm's ongoing requirements and processes, please contact our President, Randy Burch, at 816.842.4660.
If you are heading to Chicago for this July's AM&AA Conference, please either stop by the Burch & Co. table on WED July 20th at the Cocktail Reception or anytime THUR July 21st; or contact us at 816-842-4660 to set up a meeting. Amy Hughes will be representing our firm at the event and will be able to discuss our broker-dealer's Series 79 licensing platform for middle-market M&A advisors and investment bankers. Linked here is the conference agenda: AM&AA July 2011 Agenda, and for more info, you may always go to amaaonline.org
If you are attending the M&A Source Expo next Wednesday, May 11th in New Orleans, please make effort to meet our President, Randy Burch. Randy will be in attendance to discuss with any interested parties the broker-dealers services we offer to M&A professionals. For more details on the Expo, head to: M&A Expo Details & Schedule. We hope to see you in the Big Easy!
Burch & Company currently has registered approximately 70 Middle-Market Advisors/Bankers with our broker/dealer (comprised of about 30 groups), enabling them to be in full compliance when engaged in M&A deals that involve securities. Located throughout the country, these individuals are Independent Contractors with Burch and are able, in most instances, to maintain their own identity in engagements.The attached map will be fully updated soon to reflect all current branches, but in the meantime, click on the link above to view a sampling of some of our registered persons' locations.
Are you an experienced middle-market intermediary considering getting your securities license? If so, there are currently two routes you may take: One is to form your own broker/dealer. The second is to register under an existing broker/dealer. Here, I will speak on the latter. Burch & Company, Inc. is an broker/dealer whose membership agreement with FINRA allows us to provide financial advisory services for sell-side and buy-side mergers and acquisitions. Thereby, we may register M&A professions as Independent Contractors under our existing broker/dealer platform. Once these individuals become qualifed (meaning they pass all required exams), they may then be in compliance when assisting their clients in transactions that have any securities components - stock, debt, notes, etc. To learn about this process, step by step, take a look at the attached white paper. The document discusses not only the initial licensing process, but also ongoing regulatory requirements you should expect as a registered individual and estimated costs (any references to the Series 62 or Series 7 in the following linked document should be replaced with the Series 79, as the prior are no longer sufficient for Investment Banking Activities). Please feel free to contact me with any questions. Download Securities Licensing White Paper
Burch & Company, Inc.
4151 N. Mulberry Drive, Suite 235 Kansas City, MO 64116
816-842-4660
For those parties who believe that the outdated and narrow Paul Anka letter serves as a green light for acting as a Finder in capital raising, debt placement or M&A deals without becoming registered as a broker/dealer ("BD") or becoming a registered agent of a BD, it may be time to reconsider.
Last month the SEC issued the attached Denial of No-Action Request to Brumberg, Mackey & Wall, P.L.C.("BMW"). In the BMW letter, as it has come to be known, SEC staff states that “the introduction to [the company] of only those persons with a potential interest in investing in [its] securities implies that BMW anticipates both ‘pre-screening’ potential investors to determine their eligibility to purchase the securities, and ‘pre-selling’ [the company’s] securities to gauge the investors’ interest.” The staff also stated that “the receipt of compensation directly tied to successful investments in [the company’s] securities by investors introduced to [the company] by BMW (i.e., transaction-based compensation) would give BMW a ‘salesman’s stake’ in the proposed transactions and would create a heightened incentive for BMW to engage in sales efforts.” Download SEC- denial of no action_BMW
I've also attached a discussion titled "Use of Finders in Securities Transactions," authored by Wayne Lee, a member of the Corporate and Securities Practice in Greenberg Traurig's Tyson Corner office.
Though Anka wrote the famous words "I did it my way," I wouldn't recommend doing it his way in 2010.
Advise on or facilitate debt or equity offerings through a private placement or public offering or to advise or facilitate mergers or acquisitions, tender offers, financial restructurings, asset sales, divestitures or other corporate reorganizations or business combination transactions
I am not aware of any third-party study material that is available as of today, however, Securities Training Corp, www.stcusa.com has communicated that they will have written material available in DEC and then both classroom and online training to begin in JAN 2010. FINRA's study outline is posted ( Series 79 Study Outline) and the test does look to be...comprehensive, though also more relevant to the actual functions of Investment Bankers & M&A Group than were the Series 7 or 62.
Remember: FINRA is allowing for individuals to opt in if they have or earn the Series 7 or Series 62 prior to May 2010. Last week I "opted in" the Series 79 license on behalf of most Individuals licensed with Burch who engage in Investment Banking Activities. The approval of this license was immediate, therefore these individuals now hold the new Series 79 license and will not have to sit for the exam.
Its all about Nevada...
Our President, Randy Burch, will be heading west to Reno NOV 18th & 19th, 2009, to attend the Fall M&A Source Conference. He will be at table 25 if you would like to stop by and discuss our securities licensing services for middle-market intermediaries or the newly effective Series 79. There will be a Securities Licensing Update on Wednesday the 18th at 10:30AM. Here is a link to the complete conference schedule: M&A Source Fall 09 Schedule
I will be heading to Vegas in January for the AM&AA Conference. The event is being held at Aria and takes place Jan 12th-14th: AM&AA Conference Info. Stop by and see me at our table (no, not the black jack table - I've learned my lesson there) to discuss how our broker/dealer platform may work for your group.
All posts contained herein are not intended to constitute legal advice. You should consult your own attorney to determine whether your activities would require you to register as a broker-dealer under federal or state law. Any third party posts found on this blog should not be considered to represent my views or the views of Burch & Company, Inc.
