Succession Resource Group launched LendingWell, a free online platform dedicated to helping independent registered investment advisors, registered representatives, CPAs and insurance agents and agencies find the right lender for their financing needs. LendingWell matches advisors with lenders for buy-outs, buy-ins, working capital, refinancing, commercial real estate, start-up and recruiting needs. Succession Resource Group expedited the launch of this new online application in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic.
“Bank financing has done a lot for the advisor M&A market and the number of options is only going to increase due to the graying of the industry, making it more complicated for advisors to find the right lender. SRG has spent years learning about these lenders to help our clients, some focused on capital to start their RIA, others focused on capital to help them retire from it. LendingWell distills years of experience into a simple interactive online tool and allows the lenders to update their information in real-time,” David Grau Jr., president and founder of Succession Resource Group. “After years of providing individualized recommendations to our clients and helping our broker-dealer, custodian and TAMP partners match their advisors with the right lender, we wanted to create something more accessible to the industry and something more reliable than a Google search or a loan broker.”
“One of our biggest concerns creating LendingWell was ensuring that the platform was easy to use, informative and protected our user’s privacy,” Anden Leesley, UX product design manager at Succession Resource Group, said.
LendingWell consolidates SRG’s experiences into one tool, providing:
- Access: Byline Bank, Live Oak Bank, Oak Street Funding, Pinnacle Commercial Capital, PPCLoan, and Salt Creek Bank are among the lenders active on the platform.
- Matching: The site uses a proprietary matching algorithm to connect users with the right loan solution(s) based on up to nine short questions and then produces matched lenders prioritized based upon their LendingWell score.
- Real-Time Connection: LendingWell allows users to request contact from any of their recommended lenders with a click of their mouse.
- Privacy: All user information remains confidential unless the user gives express consent to share with lenders.
- Detailed Information: LendingWell provides detailed lender profiles, including typical interest rate, loan term and specific bank covenants.
- Performance Rating: Verified user reviews and testimonials provide peer feedback to users seeking a specific lender.
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“Historically, advisors have contacted lenders one-by-one, spending months trying to identify lenders in our space that may or may not meet their needs,” Kristen Grau, CVA of Succession Resource Group, said. “This generally causes frustration and wastes both the advisor and lenders time, or worst case, losing the deal. LendingWell streamlines this process, creating efficiencies for all parties. We have worked with dozens of banks and plan to add more lenders to the platform but only after we know they understand the industry and have successfully completed deals.”
Succession Resource Group is a succession consulting firm specialized in helping RIAs, independent broker-dealer affiliated advisors, CPAs and insurance agents value, buy/sell/merge and develop exit strategies for their business.