Buy Side & Sell Side Advisory: What Institutions Should Know

Whether you run a corporation, non-profit, or another type of institution, your financial decisions carry significant consequences. Determining the best course of action—whether that’s acquiring a new company or raising capital to fund a new initiative—can be a complex process.

Fortunately, you don’t need to navigate these crucial decisions alone. Leveraging the right buy-side and sell-side advisory services can help you make informed choices and execute strategic transactions with confidence.

So, what are buy-side and sell-side advisory services? And which ones are right for your institution’s goals? Below, we’ll break down their differences and offer tips for selecting the best advisory team for your needs.

Buy-Side vs. Sell-Side Advisory: What’s the Difference?

Buy side and sell side are two types of financial advisory services that help institutions navigate complex transactions and strategic decisions. Let’s take a closer look at what each type has to offer.

What Are Buy-Side Advisory Services?

Buy-side advisory services focus on the acquisition of assets, investments, or companies. They help institutions make informed decisions about which opportunities to pursue, how much to invest, and how to structure their transactions for maximum benefit.

Institutions that want to expand their portfolios, acquire new businesses, or explore investment avenues often rely on buy-side advisors to:

• Evaluate potential acquisitions or mergers
• Identify investment opportunities in private markets, structured products, or real estate
• Perform due diligence to assess opportunities’ risks and potential returns
• Structure transactions to maximize their value

Partnering with an experienced buy-side advisory team can help your institution uncover the best opportunities, mitigate risk, and ensure that every investment or acquisition aligns with your long-term goals.

Read More: What Institutions Need to Know Before Starting the Merger and Acquisition Process

Buy-Side Examples

To illustrate how buy-side advisory services work, let’s take a look at three real-world examples:

• Regional bank expansion – A regional bank wants to expand its geographic reach by acquiring a smaller community bank in an adjacent state. The bank’s buy-side advisory team helps evaluate potential targets and assess their financial health and risk profiles. After selecting the best match, the advisory team structures the acquisition and aligns the terms with the regional bank’s long-term goals.
• Corporate strategic investment – A corporation wants to acquire a minority stake in a promising fintech startup. Its buy-side advisory team rigorously evaluates the startup’s financials, growth potential, and regulatory compliance. After that, it structures the investment terms to maximize strategic value for the corporation while minimizing risk.
• Non-profit endowment growth – A university foundation wants to diversify its endowment by investing in private equity and real estate. Its buy-side advisors identify attractive investment opportunities, perform rigorous due diligence, and recommend investment options that best align with the foundation’s risk tolerance and long-term objectives.

As you can see, buy-side advisory services enable institutions to confidently pinpoint and pursue the best opportunities available.

What Are Sell-Side Advisory Services?

While buy-side advisors focus on acquisitions, sell-side advisors help institutions monetize their assets, raise capital, and execute strategic transactions, such as equity offerings, structured financing, mergers, and divestitures. They do so by assisting with the following steps:

• Market positioning and deal pricing – Sell-side advisors ensure institutions’ assets are valued appropriately and properly positioned to attract the right buyers or investors.
• Investor outreach and relationship management – Sell-side advisors connect institutions with potential investors, maintain those relationships, and manage communications.
• Regulatory and compliance oversight – Sell-side advisors help institutions navigate their legal requirements, disclosures, and reporting obligations.
• Coordination with stakeholders – Sell-side advisors align institutions’ underwriters, legal teams, and internal teams to facilitate seamless transactions.

Read More: The Most Common Mistakes Made When Preparing a Private Company for Public Markets or Strategic Sale

Sell-Side Examples

Here are some sell-side examples to showcase the value of these advisory services:

• Corporate capital raise – A corporation wants to raise funds to launch a new division. Its sell-side advisory team structures an equity offering and conducts investor outreach. It also handles the back-end regulatory compliance and coordinates with the company’s legal and underwriting teams.
• Bank divestiture – A regional bank decides to divest one of its non-core lending portfolios. Its sell-side advisors help position the assets, identify potential buyers, and negotiate terms to maximize the transaction’s value.
• Non-profit fundraising via structured notes – A large non-profit aims to raise capital for a long-term infrastructure project using structured notes. Its sell-side advisors assist with market positioning, investor communications, and compliance to achieve the most favorable financing terms.

By leveraging a sell-side advisory team, organizations can optimize their outcomes, navigate regulatory requirements, and ensure every transaction aligns with their strategic and financial objectives.

Read More: Capital-Raising Strategies for Credit Unions and Community Banks in 2025’s Economy

Why Do Institutions Engage Buy-Side and Sell-Side Advisors?

Navigating major financial transactions can be challenging, time-consuming, and risky for institutions of all sizes. That’s why it helps to have an experienced advisory team by your side.

Buy-side and sell-side advisors can help you approach key decisions with confidence and clarity. After all, they have the expertise, strategic insight, and network access required to ensure you achieve your goals.

Here are just a few compelling reasons why you may want to engage institutional advisory services:

1. Access to market intelligence – Institutional financial advisors are experts in market research and analysis. As a result, they can break down market trends and uncover potential opportunities for your institution that your internal team may overlook. For example, let’s say your regional healthcare system wants to acquire some smaller clinics. Buy-side advisors can help you analyze local market dynamics, patient demographics, and competitor activity in your preferred locations. From there, they can advise you on the best expansion plan.
2. Regulatory and compliance guidance – Whether you’re considering an acquisition or debt issuance to raise capital, you need to comply with all relevant regulations to avoid fines, legal issues, and reputational damage. Institutional advisors are well-versed in the intricacies of securities, banking, and corporate governance regulations, so they can help you pursue transactions while reducing your risk of penalties and other missteps.
3. Strategic planning – From divesting assets to raising funds, institutional advisors can help you structure your transactions so they support your strategic objectives. For example, they can recommend the optimal time to enter or exit a new market, help negotiate terms about an upcoming merger, or determine the best financing approach for a new project.
4. Efficient transaction execution – No matter your goals, institutional advisors can help facilitate an efficient transaction. For example, if your corporation wants to acquire a smaller company to expand its market presence, buy-side advisors can ensure legal coordination and regulatory compliance at every stage. Without their support, you’re more likely to deal with costly delays, miscommunications, and compliance risks that jeopardize the deal’s timeline and success.
5. Risk mitigation and validation – Partnering with skilled advisors allows institutions to employ robust risk mitigation, from stress-testing to contingency planning. On the buy side, advisors may evaluate prospects’ financials, market positioning, and operational risks to ensure the institution doesn’t overpay for an acquisition. On the sell-side, advisors can help price assets accurately, anticipate investors’ concerns, and reduce the risk of failed deals.
6. Enhanced credibility and investor confidence – Institutions that work with experienced advisory teams gain greater credibility in the market. Their advisory partnership signals that their decisions are grounded in rigorous analysis and strategic foresight. This professionalism often reassures investors and counterparties, fostering trust in the transaction’s integrity and boosting the likelihood of favorable terms.

Along with these crucial advantages, buy-side and sell-side advisors can free up your institution’s attention to focus on its core operations. In turn, you can pursue worthwhile opportunities without letting your day-to-day responsibilities fall to the wayside.

Read More: Institutional Financial Services That Every Company Needs

How to Select the Right Institutional Advisory Team

Choosing the right advisory team is a critical step for any institution looking to engage in major financial transactions. Whether you need buy-side or sell-side support, the right advisors can ensure a smooth, successful transaction.

Here are five questions to ask prospective advisories during your search:

1. “What experience do you have with transactions like ours?” – Ask candidates for specific examples of past buy-side or sell-side deals that are similar in size, industry, or complexity to yours. This can help you determine whether the advisors have relevant experience navigating similar regulatory and operational environments.
2. “How do you approach due diligence and risk assessment?” – Ask about each advisor’s research and analysis process. Buy-side advisors should highlight their financial modeling, market analysis, and regulatory compliance, while sell-side advisors should outline their asset valuation, investor targeting, and transaction structuring processes.
3. “How do you communicate throughout the transaction process?” – Consistent communication is crucial during any major financial transaction. Thus, you should ask each prospect about their reporting frequency, progress updates, and strategies for addressing unexpected challenges.
4. “What is your fee structure?” – The ultimate goal of any successful transaction is to make money. As such, you want to have a clear understanding of what you’ll pay to engage your buy-side or sell-side advisory team. Ask how each candidate charges for their services. Whether they employ flat fees, retainers, or success-based compensation, make sure their fee model’s incentives align with your institution’s goals.
5. “What networks and resources do you bring to the table?” – Some institutional advisors offer more robust resources than others. If you’re on the buy-side, ask if your prospects offer access to off-market investment opportunities or specialized industry contacts. If you’re on the sell-side, see which advisors have long-standing relationships with institutional investors, underwriters, and secondary market participants.

Read More: Financial Advisor Fee Structures: Comparing Flat Fee and AUM

These questions can help you narrow down which advisory team is the best fit for your goals. You can also check candidates’ client references and case studies to confirm their claims.

By doing your due diligence upfront, you can evaluate potential advisors with care, build a partnership that supports your long-term goals, and position your institution for success in every transaction.

Alden Investment Group: Institutional Buy-Side and Sell-Side Advisory Services

If your institution is ready to pursue strategic transactions, Alden Investment Group can offer the institutional support you need. As a full-service financial services firm with decades of experience, we provide both buy-side and sell-side advisory services.

Our buy-side offerings include:

• Asset management and advisory – We provide institutions with tailored investment strategies, regulatory guidance, and internal reporting support.
• Value-added securities – We offer access to specialized loan sales, structured credit bonds, pooled securities, and other differentiated offerings that can enhance your yield while managing risk-based capital.
• Subordinated debt – We assist institutions in issuing subordinated debt with our expert market analysis, investor outreach, and strategic timing.
• Equity raises – We support institutions through best-efforts deals, selling group participation, board presentations, and localized market insights.
• Strategic product distribution – We provide mutual funds, structured products, and private placements to help institutions diversify and manage risk.
• Trading services – We execute equities, ETFs, options, fixed income, and municipal securities. We also offer access to specialized affiliated trading firms.
• Private placements – We structure and launch investment vehicles in real estate, commodities, hedge funds, alternative strategies, and tax-advantaged investments.

On the sell-side, our services include:

• Investment banking and advisory – We provide expert guidance on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, corporate restructuring, due diligence, transaction structuring, and regulatory compliance.
• Capital raises – We connect institutions with high-net-worth and institutional investors to facilitate public and private financings.
• Corporate valuations and fairness opinions – We deliver independent, objective analyses to guide institutions’ strategic transactions and recapitalizations.
• Broker-dealer services – We conduct rigorous research on capital offerings and security product sales to optimize institutions’ selling opportunities.
• Product distribution and wholesaling – We offer mutual funds, structured products, and new issue notes to strengthen institutions’ portfolio diversification and capital protection.
• Trading and listed securities execution – We execute equities, ETFs, bonds, options, mutual funds, and municipalities on discretionary and non-discretionary bases.

Most importantly, our seasoned advisory team provides tailored solutions and hands-on support every step of the way. By partnering with Alden Investment Group, you’ll benefit from our deep sector expertise, differentiated investment opportunities, and proven ability to deliver results across both buy-side and sell-side transactions.

Want to learn more about our comprehensive buy-side and sell-side institutional financial services? Reach out to Alden Investment Group today!

Sources:

Investopedia. Buy-Side vs. Sell-Side Analysts: What’s the Difference?
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/financialcareers/11/sell-side-buy-side-analysts.asp

Investor.gov. The Laws That Govern the Securities Industry.
https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/investing-basics/role-sec/laws-govern-securities-industry