September starts off with a long weekend to recognize many of the individuals who built this great country… The Laborers! The holiday is rooted in the late nineteenth century, when labor activists pushed for a federal holiday to recognize the many contributions workers have made to America’s strength, prosperity, and well-being. Without the efforts of the millions of American laborers, we certainly wouldn’t be the country we are today. Although the jobs being performed may look different today, it is still the labor force that keeps this country moving forward.
To learn more about the history of Labor Day click here.
ADS has some great events planned and some exciting news…
The Greater Cleveland Auto Dealers Association and Advanced Dealer Solutionsare teaming up to offer dealers F&I Training and Development
In the month of August, The GCADA announced ADS as the Preferred Provider for F&I Training and Development and awarded them the coveted GCADA approved badge!
Words from GCADA
‘We look forward to providing our members with a comprehensive resource for F&I training and development.’
Words from ADS
‘At ADS we are proud to offer dealers an unbiased approach to their F&I decision-making process.’ – stated Ryan Nelson, EVP of ADS ‘There are so many options for dealers today it sometimes becomes difficult to discern what is best for their specific and unique business. ADS enjoys the opportunity to present dealers with a variety of options which are all catered around exceeding the dealer’s goals and objectives.’ Nelson added.
‘We were impressed with the amount of due diligence the GCADA performed on our team, sales process, training platform, and the relationships we have with our dealers.’ – says Bob Mancuso President of ADS ‘To be awarded the Preferred Provided status for F&I Training & Development validates what we have been doing for our dealers over the last eight years.’ Mancuso went on to say.
About GCADA
The Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association (GCADA), represents over 265 new motor vehicle dealerships in a 21-county region of Northern Ohio, including franchised new car and truck, motorcycle, and recreational vehicle (RV) dealers. GCADA provides products, programs, and services to its members and produces the Cleveland Auto Show.
About ADS
Advanced Dealer Solutions is a premier dealer development agency specializing in F&I training and development, product structure, and reinsurance management.
Gina Cocking is the CEO of Colonnade Advisors and represents the 2% of women who are CEOs at financial institutions. She brings 20+ years of experience in investment banking and executive leadership to the table including experience as a CFO in multiple companies.
When Gina was recently interviewed by Ryan Nelson of the Advanced Principles Podcast, Ryan asked Gina what advice she might have for other women looking to enter the competitive and male-dominated industries like automotive, technology, and investment banking.
Gina (23:00)
“I think 15 years from now, 20 years from now, the guys better watch out. Women are going to college at a higher rate than men. Something like 60 to 65 percent of the incoming college class is female.”
The pandemic was extremely challenging to the women’s leadership movement. With schools closed and much of the infrastructure for working women disrupted, many families had to make tough decisions and compromises. Homeschooling became the norm, and many women had to shift their schedules.
So what is Gina’s top advice for women that want to make it to the top echelon of the career ladder?
Gina: (28:00):
Marry well. And I don’t mean marry wealthy.
Find a partner who supports you, who gets that your career is just as important as his career.
Throughout your lives together, know that you’re going to have to make trade-offs. There are some things that are not going to be fun, but you do them together.
If your partner supports you, you can get through it. It’s important that your partner does not feel like their career path is more important. That is the number one key to success.
About the podcast episode featuring Gina Cocking
Advanced Dealer Solutions is a premier F&I development agency specializing in the automotive, RV, and powersports industries. Advanced Dealer Solutions works to maximize the purchasing experience as well as increase F&I sales and profits as well as increase service sales and retention.
Advanced Dealer Solutions has assembled one of the most sought-after F&I training platforms in the industry. We have a passion for increasing dealer profits by providing industry-leading technology and implementing an F&I selling system that is guaranteed to elevate performance. Advanced Dealer Solutions is driven to provide dealers with products and solutions that result in increased production, profitability, customer retention, and most importantly, customer satisfaction.
Advanced Principles Podcast was created to be an outlet for like-minded individuals to share in the broader conversations on leadership, retail market updates, and incredible success stories.
Colonnade Advisors has deep experience in the automotive dealership services industry. Please see the pre-event interview series here for more information about Colonnade in the industry, M&A drivers, and more.
Colonnade Securities is a leading investment banking firm that has completed over $9 billion in M&A transactions for clients in the business and financial services industries.
We are delighted to announce Advanced Dealer Solutions was presented the 2021 Agency Growth Award from Axiom Product Administration. We were able to spend some time working with part of the Axiom team learning about different product updates and going through processes. We also found ourselves taking some time to get to know each other a little better through friendly and competitive gaming.
It is hard to believe we are already in the month of August! The recent heat waves across the country surely reminded everyone we are in the dog days of summer! Hopefully, everyone was able to find some comfort near a pool, lake or in the comfort of their air-conditioned home.
ADS is excited to make a few big announcements…
View our newsletter to see all the exciting things happening soon!
Ryan Nelson interviewed Colonnade Advisors CEO and Managing Director Gina Cocking on Advanced Principles Podcast. Colonnade Advisor’s provided a summary of the first episode together to hit the highlights of the conversation.
This interview highlights the important role that Colonnade Advisors plays for their clients when they embark on the process of selling their company, raising capital, or seeking to acquire another company.
Colonnade Advisors has deep experience in the automotive dealership services industry. They publish Quarterly Updates on the Auto F&I sector with information on dealer profitability and recent transactions.
In this most recent interview, Gina and Ryan cover the following questions:
What makes Colonnade unique as an Investment Bank/Advisor? (6:00)
How Colonnade Advisors brings specific value to the transaction process (13:00)
What is the difference between a Private Equity firm and an Investment Bank? (15:00)
How the pandemic created shifts in the auto industry and auto-related M&A (20:00)
What makes Colonnade unique as an Investment Bank/Advisor? (6:00)
Their focus is on industry dynamics, business models, valuation metrics, accounting issues, and participants. They maintain a dialogue within their extensive network of owners, investors, and buyers in their target sectors.
Gina:Our focus goes back over decades. In the early 2000s, we worked with Mepco on its sale to Independent Bank. Mepco had two lines of business: 1) insurance premium finance and 2) vehicle service contract (VSC) finance. We worked closely with Mepco on both lines of business to create a successful outcome for their owners and team.
We became experts in the insurance premium finance industry and the leading advisor on transactions in this space. We are the leading investment bank in the United States in insurance premium finance. We’ve done 28 transactions in the insurance premium finance industry.
Through our work with the team at Mepco, we also got to know the vehicle service contract (VSC) space. After a decade of working with our clients at Mepco and Independent Bank, we assisted with the sale of Mepco’spayment processing business to Seabury Capital Group.
We also work with finance companies in the automotive sector: subprime lenders, near-prime lenders. We closed a transaction last fall for OpenRoad Lending, a direct-to-consumer marketer of auto loan refinancing.
We’ve been doing a lot in auto finance. This has taken us into data analytics, especially on the direct-to-consumer side. Direct-to-consumer marketing is all about data and data analytics. We have now worked with a number of data analytics companies and marketing companies associated with the automotive space.
How Colonnade Advisors brings specific value to the transaction process (13:00)
Gina: We have pattern recognition, and we’re rarely surprised.
Every transaction’s different. There’s always something new. When things are new and different, we have the skill set to navigate the situation.
What differentiates us from our competitors in this space is the tenure, institutional knowledge, and experience of our senior bankers.
At other Investment Banks, team members float through the different groups. They don’t stay long enough to develop industry and institutional knowledge. Their junior teams turn over. More importantly, they don’t have anything but transactional experience.
What is the difference between a Private Equity firm and an Investment Bank? (15:00)
Gina: The Private Equity (PE) firms have a pool of capital to invest in one or more companies. Their goal is to become the owner of a company. They’ll negotiate and buy a company so that the company is then part of their portfolio, which they’ll eventually sell and hope to make two to three times their money.
Most private equity folks have gone through investment banking at some point in their careers. What’s different about what they do is that they’re managing other people’s money.
In investment banking, we are advisors on either the buy-side or the sell-side. Sometimes I’ve had people say, “Well, you’re kind of like a real estate agent.” My answer: “Not really.” There are business brokers that are more like real estate agents, however.
We are there to work with the (client) company side-by-side. If they’re selling, we help them prepare for the sale and go through the process. That includes getting to know the company so well that we can tell their story almost as well as they can. We help them to articulate their story: Where they have been, where they are today, and where they’re going.
We then prepare written documentation, called a Confidential Information Memorandum (CIM). We identify the potential buyer universe. We contact those buyers. We negotiate with buyers. We answer all their questions. We deal with thousands of documents in the data room.
We negotiate the terms of the transaction. We work closely with the attorneys on all the transaction documentation. We’ll provide our industry perspective and our business knowledge, but we’re not attorneys. We help get the deal to close. One of the important things is we keep the deal on task. It’s all about not letting people lose focus, keeping the deal going, and getting it to close.
In investment banking, we are paid a success fee upon the close of the transaction. Whereas a private equity firm is buying the company (and gets paid on the subsequent sale of the company after growing its value).
How the pandemic created shifts in the auto industry and auto-related M&A (20:00)
Gina: Everybody freaked out in the Spring of 2020. But we’ve worked with some visionary companies where we’ve been able to create some fantastic win-wins.
We had a deal that was supposed to close at the end of March 2020. The buyer put it on hold but worked with us to restructure the deal with an earnout. The transaction closed, the seller hit all their earnouts, and it was a fabulous deal for all.
Let’s talk specifically about the Auto F&I side: administrators and agencies. While everyone dipped in the spring of 2020, performance improved in the second half of the year, and then 2021 was a fantastic year. This was not as predicted, considering the supply chain issues. Fewer cars were being sold.
Why the fantastic year? The dealers are hyper-focused on making money when they can. The dealerships realized that F&I is uber important to the long-term profitability of the dealership. Dealers are selling more F&I products with every car. That has benefited the administrators.
Consumers have also had great experiences with these products. They’ve had claims paid out on their vehicle service contracts. They’re telling their family and neighbors, “It’s really a good product.” We have finally seen the maturity in the F&I industry that this is a peace of mind product. It’s not just a product that a dealership is trying to push onto a consumer; it’s a valuable product.
2022 has been a great year for Administrators. The dealerships are profitable, and they’re also getting better at selling products. We’ve started a new phase.
Colonnade Securities is a leading investment banking firm that has completed over $9 billion in M&A transactions for clients in the business and financial services industries.
Advanced Dealer Solutions is a full-service, dealer development agency focused on automotive, RV, and powersports dealers across the United States. Please contact 844-320-3722 or [email protected] for any inquiries.
We hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend and found time to honor and recognize all who have, and are serving this great country of ours!
The more things change, the more they stay the same…
Another month has come and gone and it feels like the story of the last year and a half just continues to repeat itself.
– Inventory concerns, check. – Staffing issues, check. – EV adoption rate questions, check. – Inflations concerns, check. – Industry consolidation, check – Global/social unrest, yep, check that one as well!
Dealers persevering and finding ways to win, CHECK, CHECK and CHECK!
The month of May brings us to the eve of summer, and later this month, many Americans will celebrate Memorial Day with friends and family around a lake, at a barbecue or watching a parade.
For a huge swath of the country that endured a long, cold, wet winter, summer cannot come soon enough and hopefully May brings us the sunshine and warmth we have been anxiously awaiting since late October 2021.
Typically the warmer weather and sunshine bring increased vehicle sales. Summer sales, new model introductions, etc. all lead to more customers purchasing new, or new to them, vehicles. Although most dealers are still dealing with little to no inventory, there have been some signs of improvement. Many questions remain about what the new normal will be, and when we will all settle into it. For now, dealers continue to enjoy demand outweighing supply.
With increased volume, specifically F&I production, means dealers are generating more F&I reserve dollars than ever before. And for many dealers, participation in their F&I underwriting profit, or reinsurance, is seen as a retirement plan, or a method to generate capital to help fund their business. We have worked with too many dealers through our careers who are placed into structures that are clearly not the best option for them and their goals. Please take a moment to read through the article on navigating the myriad of options available to dealers today.
And last, but not certainly not least, Happy Mothers Day to all the amazing and wonderful mothers in each of our lives.
To read our full newsletter follow the link https://mailchi.mp/advdealer.com/may-newsletter
And just like that, the first quarter of 2022 has come and gone. Hopefully you are more than a quarter of the way to your annual goals. We at ADS are excited about how the year has started, and even more excited about our outlook over the next nine months.
The month of March marked a comeback of sorts. After a couple years off due to the pandemic a few key events made their way back to our calendars. First, we spent some time with our valued partners at NAE in beautiful Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. We enjoyed relaxing and catching up with so many dear friends on all the happenings over the last couple years.
We hope you all have the same optimistic outlook our team has for the remainder of the year. If there is anything our team can do to support you and your goals, please don’t hesitate to reach out to one of our very talented team members.
Today’s dealers can choose from a plethora of options when looking at participation structures and which may be the right fit for them and their business. Unfortunately, many of the individuals providing dealers information are ill-informed or have inherent biases when presenting what they feel is ‘best’ for their prospect or customer.
Retro, CFC, ARC, ReinsuranceX, NCFC, DOWC, AOWC, DOWC Hybrid, Dealer Obligor, and on, and on, are all being floated around by-product and structure representatives as the ‘best’ choice for the dealer.
Dealers are growing frustrated with the misinformation in the marketplace and are not sure where to turn for unbiased, reliable information.
Participation structures are filled with pros and cons, and there is no ‘One Size Fits All’ solution available. Below are a few tips when evaluating a new participation structure or looking into what you have in place today:
Always seek the advice of a qualified tax professional.
There could be a variety of financial implications (positive and negative) when choosing a structure.
As a note, a sales rep is rarely, if ever, a qualified tax professional no matter how many fancy words they throw out there.
Don’t step over dollars to pick up dimes.
No matter how good a participation structure performs, it will never outrun the effects of partnering with a bad F&I provider and giving up PVR or product sales.
Too many dealers suffer from poor in-store performance while clinging to the fact they have their own ‘warranty company’.
The $400 additional PVR or more dealers can get from partnering with the right company will have a greater financial impact than what they think they are going to get from the current structure.
Decide what is most important to you.
Several providers have limited solutions available and no matter the dealers’ needs, their structure is magically a perfect fit!
Appetite for risk, products available for participation, cash availability, control of investment manager and assets, estimated annual production, etc. are all important factors and can be overlooked in the excitement of the moment.
Who are the shareholders going to be and why?
There may be alternative ways to allow GM’s, etc. to participate in the structure without issuing them shares.
How much involvement do you want to have?
Are you looking for a turn-key solution?
Annual financial audits, exposure to regulators are some of the ‘gifts’ dealers are surprised with after engaging certain structures.
Ask the ‘right’ questions.
What are the ‘fees’?
In the world of participation structures, the term ‘fees’ can become very subjective.
Fees are important. What if you could have an extremely low, or no admin fee, but then found you had a ceding fee greater than 25% with the premiums being ceded only quarterly and split 75% earned and 25% as written.
Maybe that’s ideal for you, but maybe not.
Maybe you want an all-inclusive fee and no ceding fee.
Ask how much of the remittance is being ceded and when is it ceded?
Those are much better questions than, ‘what are my fees’?
What are the minimum trust balance requirements?
What expenses if any, are associated with loans from surplus?
Are there annual fees beyond annual tax filings and license renewals?
If so, what are they for and how much are they?
Who is on your team?
A proper participation structure has a great team behind it.
A dealer who has clearly defined goals of what they expect out of their participation structure.
In-store training & development to increase production.
A provider with access to numerous structures to evaluate.
An administrator to set appropriate reserves and provide detailed, transparent reporting.
An asset manager to execute your investment strategy for your primary and surplus accounts.
A leading accounting and actuarial firm to help navigate the formation, annual tax filings, etc.
A servicing team to monitor loss ratios, reserves, production, additional products, etc. on an ongoing basis.
An insurer with the right CLIP to provide you with the structure you are looking for.
Stay informed.
I run into too many dealers who know they have a reinsurance position, but have no idea how it is performing, how it is structured, or the investment returns.
A properly structured and managed position could generate large sums of underwriting profit and investment income.
Don’t just set it and forget it…
Monthly cession and bank statements as well as in-depth quarterly reviews should be part of the servicing teams’ cadence in the management of the position.
At the end of the day, the right structure coupled with the right partnership can yield significant returns for you as a dealer. Make sure you are asking the right questions to the appropriate people before making a final decision. If you have questions about how ADS can support your in-dealership goals as well as exceed your long-term participation goals, please reach out to us to schedule a review of your goals, current structure, etc.
