Financial Services Firm Valuation
29 valuation methods · 43 industries · Results in under 10 minutes
In short
Financial services firms are valued on what drives their earnings: an insurance agency on its commissions, a wealth manager on the fees its assets earn, a payment processor on its take rate, and a bank or lender on its book value and the return it earns on it.
How businesses in this sector are valued
VA values each kind of financial firm on its own economics. An insurance agency is valued on the commissions its book of policies earns as it renews. A wealth manager is valued on the fees charged on the assets it manages. A payment processor is valued on its take rate, the share of each payment it keeps. A fintech lender is valued like a lender, on its loan book and the spread it earns after losses, and a bank on its tangible book value and the return it earns on equity, because deposits are funding, not debt. A private equity portfolio company is valued on the model for its own industry. Each result sits alongside comparable companies and precedent transactions.
Guides in this sector
Insurance Brokerage
Value an insurance agency or brokerage on its commissions, with premium retention, new business, contingent commission and the producers read as buyers do.
Wealth Management & RIA
Value a registered investment adviser or wealth manager on its recurring fees, with client assets, retention, organic growth and margin read as buyers do.
Payments Processing
Value a payment processor, ISO or payment facilitator on net revenue after interchange, with volume, take rate and merchant retention read as buyers do.
Fintech
Value a fintech on what it is: a lender on what its loan book earns after credit losses and operating costs and on tangible book, a fee business on net revenue and take rate.
Banks & Depository
Value a community bank or credit union on price to tangible book justified by its return on equity, with credit quality, capital and efficiency.
Private Equity
Value private equity portfolio companies on the model for each one's industry, with add-backs, net debt and exit timing read the way sponsors read them.
Value your business in under 10 minutes
- 1.Upload your financial statements, or type the figures in.
- 2.Confirm the add-backs and the industry details the model asks for.
- 3.Get a valuation range, the methods behind it and a PDF memorandum.
Further reading
Is a Business Worth 3 Times Profit? When It Is 2x, When It Is 5x, and Which Profit Counts
Is a business worth 3 times profit? Often, if the profit is SDE. When 2x or 5x applies instead, which profit counts, and what diligence does to the price.
How Much Is a Business Worth With $500,000 in Sales? The Revenue Ladder From $100K to $3 Million
Revenue does not set a price, earnings do. See what businesses at $100K, $200K, $300K, $500K, $1M, $2M and $3M in sales are worth at 10%, 20% and 30% margins.
Business Valuation Methods Explained: DCF vs. Comps vs. Precedent Transactions
The five business valuation methods professionals actually use (DCF, comparable companies, precedent transactions, SDE/EBITDA multiples, and asset-based), when each wins, and how they combine into one defensible number.
Frequently asked questions
How is an insurance agency valued?
On the commissions its book of business earns as policies renew. Retention, the mix of commercial and personal lines, and dependence on individual producers all affect what a buyer pays.
How is a wealth management firm valued?
On the fees its assets under management earn, adjusted for client retention, organic growth and the share of revenue billed as fees. VA's wealth model values the fee stream rather than the assets themselves.
Why is a bank not valued on EBITDA?
Deposits are how a bank funds itself, not debt in the usual sense, so enterprise value and EBITDA do not describe it. Banks are valued on tangible book value and the return they earn on it.
How is a payments company valued?
On its take rate: the share of each payment it keeps as revenue. Total payment volume matters only through the revenue it produces.
As featured in
Value your business
Get a valuation range with the methods behind it and a PDF memorandum in under 10 minutes.
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How trucking, air charter, marine, rail, cold chain and warehousing companies, freight brokers and distributors are valued, and what moves the value.
Energy & Infrastructure
How solar, wind and storage projects, regulated utilities, data centers, mines and environmental services companies are valued, each on its own model.
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How farms and agricultural businesses are valued: land at market, biological assets and the operating business, without counting the same acres twice.
Aerospace & Defense
How aerospace and defense manufacturers, space hardware makers and government services contractors are valued, and what moves the value.
Last reviewed September 26, 2026 against VA's valuation models.