B. Riley Financial Business Model Canvas

External counsel and auditors ensure transaction integrity and regulatory adherence, a critical function for B. Riley given its mix of advisory, wealth and principal activities. Expert legal and accounting partners accelerate diligence, documentation and closings, shortening deal timelines and improving certainty. They reduce legal and compliance risk across advisory, wealth management and principal investing, and specialized advisors bolster complex restructurings and special situations in 2024.

Partnerships expand B. Riley's distribution and underwriting reach, supporting mid‑market ECM/DCM syndicates and shared bookrunning. Relationships with asset managers and credit funds tap a global institutional investor base exceeding $120 trillion in 2024, improving execution certainty. Market data partners (Bloomberg ~325,000 terminals) and legal/audit advisors shorten timelines and reduce transaction risk.

Wealth & Asset Management delivers portfolio construction, financial planning and discretionary mandates driven by product selection across equities, credit, alternatives and SMAs, supporting tax-aware, goals-based strategies. Client onboarding, suitability assessments and periodic reviews are integrated into workflows to support outcomes. B. Riley Financial reported FY 2024 revenue of approximately $1.3 billion, underscoring scale of advisory capabilities.

B. Riley Financial originates and syndicates equity, debt and hybrid financings, provides M&A and restructuring advisory across the middle market, and manages wealth, asset management and principal investing with active trading and risk hedging. FY2024 advisory and wealth revenue approx $1.3 billion; FY2023 capital deployment/trading revenue reported $1.78 billion. Research and institutional sales support distribution and deal flow.

Firm capital—including $7.4 billion of total assets and equity—backs underwriting, lending, and principal investments, enabling multi‑stage deal underwriting. Balance‑sheet flexibility enhances client confidence, reflected in access to $2.0 billion in committed credit lines that scale transaction capacity. Prudent risk limits and capital allocation frameworks protect returns and support resilient ROE targets.

Bankers, advisors and wealth managers drive M&A, capital markets and wealth origination; 2024 group revenue about $2.04 billion. Firm capital ($7.4 billion total assets/equity) and $2.0 billion committed credit lines support underwriting and principal investing. SEC/FINRA licenses, broker-dealer/RIA platforms and proprietary research underpin compliant execution and deal flow.

B. Riley investing firm capital alongside clients signals conviction and, per 2024 industry surveys, institutional allocators increased co-invest allocations to about 15% of PE commitments, demonstrating demand for aligned exposure. Co-invest fee structures—often fee-only or reduced carried interest—align fees with outcomes and can lower blended client costs by 100–200 basis points in practice, sharing upside and fostering long-term relationships.

Full-service advisory+balance-sheet support speeds execution for issuers, targeting middle-market deals ($10M–$1B annual revenue) and improving certainty of close.

Founder/sponsor-tailored processes and lean teams shorten diligence; sector focus reduces time to close.

Co-invest alignment (2024: allocators ~15% of PE commitments) and fee saves ~100–200 bps share upside.

Long-term wealth partnerships at B. Riley (RILY) center on scheduled ongoing reviews, rebalancing, and planning checkpoints aligned to lifecycle strategies from liquidity to legacy, with transparent reporting and fee clarity embedded in client dashboards. Multi-generational relationship management leverages dedicated family-office capabilities and coordinated succession planning across investment, tax, and estate specialists.

Dedicated coverage teams deliver sector and sponsor coverage, creating consistent touchpoints across advisory, capital markets, and valuation services.

Relationship managers coordinate cross-sell to capture synergies, sustain pipeline momentum, and drive senior engagement on complex deals.

White-glove execution with 24–48 hour NDA turnarounds, board-ready materials, and post-close integration oversight preserves deal value.

Ongoing wealth partnerships use scheduled reviews, transparent dashboards, and multi-generational planning to maximize retention.

Thematic conferences and webinars connect issuers and investors, with B. Riley leveraging sector-focused panels to showcase expertise and deal case studies; industry event pipelines accounted for a rising share of advisory mandates in 2024 as live events regained momentum. Targeted attendance drives lead generation—conversion of qualified leads into mandates after follow-ups typically outpaces digital channels. Follow-up processes convert interest into signed engagements through curated outreach and deal teams.

Primary origination runs through a direct salesforce of over 300 coverage bankers and advisors (2024), combining in-person and virtual pitching to secure mandates. Secure client portals and DocuSign (serving over 1,000,000 customers in 2024) speed onboarding and diligence. Thematic live events regained momentum in 2024 and, with referral networks, drive warm leads that convert ~4x cold outreach. Syndication via B. Riley Securities broadens institutional placement.

Institutional investors—asset managers, hedge funds (global AUM about 4.2 trillion USD in 2023 per Preqin), insurers (global insurance sector assets ~36 trillion USD in 2023 per Swiss Re) and credit funds—seek research-driven allocation opportunities and liquidity. They lead demand in new issues and secondary markets and prioritize differentiated origination for yield and risk-adjusted returns. B. Riley targets these flows with bespoke origination and market-making solutions.

Founder-led sponsors, PE firms, institutions, HNW/UHNW and distressed creditors use B. Riley for M&A, financing, origination, wealth and restructuring solutions with emphasis on speed and certainty. PE dry powder ~2.5T (2024); institutional flows drive new-issue demand; HNW>1,000,000, UHNW>30,000,000 (2024). Restructuring demand elevated in 2024, prioritizing recoveries and fast resolution.

Technology, Data & Infrastructure drives recurring costs: market data terminals like Bloomberg cost about 27,000 USD/seat/year while OMS/EMS deployments commonly run 500,000–2,000,000 USD upfront plus licences; analytics, CRM and client portals add 1,000–3,000 USD/seat/year. Cloud hosting and disaster recovery account for rising OpEx as financial firms allocated roughly 11% of revenue to tech in 2024. Continuous upgrades and cybersecurity—average breach cost ~4.45M USD—sustain edge.

Compensation, success‑based payouts and equity align pay with deal outcomes and retention. Regulatory, legal and compliance drive material fees (2023 legal/professional: 61.3M) and ongoing surveillance costs. Tech, data, cloud and cybersecurity (industry tech spend ~11% revenue in 2024; avg breach cost ~4.45M) plus training (~1,300 per employee, 2024) are rising fixed/variable expenses.

Management and advisory fees on roughly $40 billion AUM as of 2024 generate steady recurring revenue for B. Riley, with blended fee rates typically in the 0.5–1.5% range. Performance fees on eligible hedge and alternative strategies provide upside during outperformance, materially boosting segment margins in strong years. Wrap and platform fees on advisory portfolios and custodial services add predictable scaled revenue, while financial planning and consulting revenues capture fee-for-service growth from high-net-worth clients.

M&A retainers $10k–$100k/month, success fees typically 1–3% of deal value; board/valuation retainers and equity kickers add upside. AUM ~ $40 billion (2024) drives management fees ~0.5–1.5% with performance fees on alternatives. Trading/principal gains, dividends and carried interest produce variable realized/unrealized income; interest, lending and commitment fees supply steady financing revenue.