Planning
What should Boston small business owners do next?
You are reading the economic news and deciding whether to raise, sell, buy, or hold. Here are the figures you can check, the local help available, and how to pick one goal.
Drag the tiles to put the picture together.
Big decision ahead, and the numbers aren’t ready?
I’m
getting ready
to raise
You want to walk in with numbers an investor can test and a clear plan for what the money will do.
I’m planning
who takes
over
Succession planning starts with your options and what the handoff means for you and your business.
Cash is
tight before
payroll
Sales are up and the bank balance doesn’t show it yet. You need a forecast you can act on.
4
3
2
1
What you get
The numbers behind your next big decision.
The numbers behind your next big decision.
If you own or lead a business facing a raise, a sale, or a plan that has outgrown the spreadsheet, Surfside Capital Advisors offers fractional CFO, FP&A, and M&A advisory. We get you ready to raise and advise on a sale or purchase, from Boston and across the United States.
FP&A
FP&A (Financial Planning & Analysis)
Budgets, forecasts, and dashboards you can use.
For when the spreadsheet no longer answers “where are we, and what happens next?”
- An annual budget and a model built around how your business actually earns and spends
- A rolling forecast and a 13-week cash view, updated as things change
- Monthly reporting that explains what changed and why it differs from plan
- The KPIs that matter for your decisions, in a dashboard your team reviews
- Scenarios for the big calls: pricing, hiring, a new location, financing
M&A
M&A Advisory
The numbers behind a sale, a purchase, or a succession.
For when you’re thinking about a sale, a purchase, or a succession and want the numbers right before the first conversation.
Succession planning and buyer-financing analysis
- Valuation: what the business is worth today, what drives that number, and the gaps a buyer will find
- Quality of earnings: normalized EBITDA with every adjustment documented, and the working-capital analysis
- Preparation: the financial model, the historical statements, and an organized data room
- Offers and structure: each letter of intent compared on what you actually keep: cash at close, earn-outs, escrow, and seller notes
- Due diligence and closing: the buyer’s requests answered and tracked, and the closing numbers checked
CFO
Fractional CFO
Senior finance leadership on your team, part-time.
For when the business has outgrown its bookkeeping, but a full-time CFO isn’t the right hire yet.
- Monthly reporting that explains what changed, why it differs from plan, and what to do about it
- A cash plan and a rolling forecast that look ahead, not just back
- The annual budget and the plan for your next stage of growth
- A second opinion before the big calls: pricing, hiring, a new location, financing
- Numbers ready when a lender, an investor, or a buyer asks for them
M&A for RIAs
The financial side of selling, buying, or handing off an advisory firm.
For when you’re planning a succession, a sale to a larger firm, or a purchase, and the numbers have to hold up for buyers and clients.
- A valuation of the firm, what drives it, and the gaps a buyer will find
- Your earnings rebuilt the way a buyer will, normalized and documented
- The materials a buyer asks for, organized and ready
- Deal structure modeled side by side: cash at close, earn-outs, seller notes, and rollover
- A transition plan for your clients and advisors, step by step, from client notices to the custodial transfers
A forecast
you update
A forecast you update
With FP&A (financial planning and analysis), you get forecasts and KPI dashboards that track cash and margins.
Numbers that
can be tested
Numbers that can be tested
You know what kind of capital fits and go into the raise with numbers investors can test.
What buyers
will pay for
What buyers will pay for
You see what to fix before you go to market.
M&A for RIAs
M&A for RIAs. Experience inside asset managers.
If you own or lead a registered investment adviser (RIA) firm, Surfside Capital Advisors helps you plan a succession, prepare a sale to a larger firm, understand valuation and deal structure, or evaluate an acquisition. We build the valuation, the deal model, and the transition plan for your clients and advisors.
Succession planning
Compare an internal successor with a sale to an outside buyer. We model the financial choices and help you prepare the handoff.
Sale preparation
Organize your financials and diligence materials before a sale to a larger firm.
Valuation and structure
Understand what drives the value of your firm and compare payment structures, from cash at closing to earn-outs and rollover.
Buy-side advisory
Evaluate an identified RIA: test its financials, review assumptions, and plan the transition with your compliance team.
M&A
Fernwood Investment Management, an RIA in Quincy, Massachusetts, joined CW Advisors in January 2025; Surfside Capital Advisors advised Fernwood on the transaction.
Fernwood Investment Management
- The firm
- Founded by Thomas Reilly, Fernwood serves high-net-worth clients with financial planning and investment management.
- The buyer
- CW Advisors acquired Fernwood and a second Boston-area RIA. After the deals, it had 14 offices, 119 employees, and $11 billion in assets under management.
- The closing
- The transaction closed in January 2025. Its terms were not disclosed.
Other RIA transactions we've worked on stay confidential.
The team on the Fernwood transaction
JC Morales
Founder & CEO
Surfside Capital Advisors
JC Morales founded Surfside Capital Advisors in 2015. Before that, he was chief financial officer of State Street Global Advisors, global CFO of TIAA Global Asset Management, and president and CEO of BNY Mellon Mexico. He co-founded the Latino Legacy Fund at the Boston Foundation and the Boston chapter of ALPFA.
LinkedIn
Richard Cole
Financial Services
Surfside Capital Advisors
Richard Cole is part of the Financial Services team at Surfside Capital Advisors, where he works as a fractional (part-time) CFO and M&A advisor for growing businesses. He is a former Managing Director and Global Head of FP&A at Nuveen Investments, where he directed financial planning for TIAA’s $938 billion asset manager.
LinkedIn
David Prieto
Financial Services
Surfside Capital Advisors
David Prieto is part of the Financial Services team at Surfside Capital Advisors, where he works with business owners on a sale or an acquisition, from the valuation and the quality of earnings to the deal structure and the closing numbers. He also builds the financial systems behind a deal: FP&A (financial planning and analysis), reporting, and part-time CFO work. He leads deals in the $5 million to $30 million range, builds AI-powered reporting systems, and prepares Quality of Earnings analyses.
LinkedIn
Financing
DPV Transportation secured $12 million in bank and state financing to grow its fleet; Surfside Capital Advisors served as its financial advisor.
DPV Transportation
Working together
Choose how we work with you.
Project
Focused
project
One problem with a clear answer: a cash gap you need to see coming, next year’s budget, or a valuation before a decision.
What you can expect
- A first conversation to define the problem, the deliverable, and the data we need from you
- A written scope and timeline before any work starts, so you know what you get and when
- Your numbers rebuilt and checked: the books, the cash, and what drives them
- Working sessions as the analysis takes shape, so you see it before it’s final
- A finished deliverable (a 13-week cash forecast, an annual budget and model, a valuation, or the preparation to raise capital) with every assumption written down
- A handoff your team can keep using, and the next steps in order
Fixed scope
Monthly
Fractional
monthly
Senior finance leadership every month, for when the business has outgrown its bookkeeping but not yet a full-time CFO.
What you can expect
- A fractional CFO or FP&A lead on your team, part-time, with a set rhythm of meetings
- Monthly reporting: what changed, why it differs from plan, and what to do about it
- A rolling forecast and a cash plan that look ahead, not just back
- The KPIs that matter for your decisions, in a dashboard your team reviews
- The annual budget and the plan for your next stage of growth
- A second opinion before the big calls: pricing, hiring, a new location, financing
- Numbers ready when a lender, an investor, or a buyer asks for them
Deal
Deal
support
A sale, an acquisition, or a succession, worked through step by step, from the first valuation to the day after closing.
What you can expect
- Valuation: what the business is worth today, what drives that number, and the gaps a buyer will find
- Quality of earnings: normalized EBITDA, every adjustment documented, and the working-capital analysis, ready for a buyer’s or lender’s review
- Preparation: the financial model, the historical statements, and an organized data room
- Offers: each letter of intent compared on what you actually keep: cash at close, earn-outs, escrow, seller notes, and the working-capital target
- Negotiation: the numbers behind every term, so you know where to hold and where you can give
- Structure: asset or stock sale, seller financing, earn-outs, and rollover, modeled side by side
- Buyer financing: whether the buyer’s financing (a bank, an SBA loan, a seller note) is realistic, and what it means for your timeline
- Due diligence: answers to the buyer’s requests, prepared and tracked so the timeline holds
- Closing and after: the closing numbers and the working-capital adjustment checked, and a transition or succession plan for what comes next
Per transaction
How it works
Your situation first. Then your plan.
Your situation first. Then your plan.
The first 30 minutes are yours: you tell us what is changing, we ask questions, and you get an honest read on whether we are the right help.
You talk,
we listen
You talk,
we listen
Free 30-minute consultation: what’s changing and what’s at stake for you. No pitch.
See where
you stand
See where
you stand
You see the model, the cash, and the numbers behind the decision, before any plan.
Build your
plan with us
Build your
plan with us
Forecasts, reporting, and controls, built with your team until you can run them.
Keep
the systems
Keep
the systems
You keep the models, the systems, and a team that knows how to run them.
What you can expect
You’re heard first
Your first call is about your situation. No pitch.
A straight answer
If we’re not the right help for this, you hear it from us.
Senior people
You work directly with senior people from your first call.
Your call
Free, with no obligation. Every next step is your decision.
About Surfside
Advisors who’ve done it before, on your side of the table.
If you face a raise, a sale, or a plan that has outgrown the spreadsheet, Surfside Capital Advisors offers fractional CFO, FP&A, and M&A advisory from Boston, across the United States, in English or Spanish. Founded in 2015, it is led by JC Morales, Founder & CEO, with Richard Cole and David Prieto on the Financial Services team.
$100M+
$100M+
In closed deals since 2025
In closed deals since 2025
100
100
Advised companies
Advised companies
30+
30+
Years of experience
Years of experience
18
18
Active CFO / FP&A engagements
Active CFO / FP&A engagements
Active engagements as of October 23, 2026.
Prefer to write first? Use the form on the contact page, or find Surfside on LinkedIn.
Insights
Plain reading before a big decision.
Articles on planning, getting ready to raise, and selling a business.
Financing
Do you really need outside capital? Four questions to answer first
Raising money changes a business in ways that are hard to undo. Four questions show whether you need outside capital, and what to fix first if you are not ready.
“Anticipation is power.”
Daren Bascome
,
Managing Director, Proverb
Questions
Questions owners ask before we start.
Questions owners ask before we start.
What is FP&A, and who needs it?
What is FP&A, and who needs it?
FP&A means financial planning and analysis. We build the forecasts and KPI dashboards that track your cash and margins, and show you which levers to pull.
What does succession planning involve?
What does succession planning involve?
Compare a sale, a family transfer, or a management buyout. We model the financial options and help you prepare the handoff.
Do you raise capital for us?
Do you raise capital for us?
No. We get you ready to raise: the financial model, the story, and the data room investors expect. You lead every conversation with investors. We don’t contact or introduce them, and we don’t handle money or securities.
What does a fractional CFO do?
What does a fractional CFO do?
A fractional CFO is a senior finance leader who works with you part-time. We build your forecasts and KPI dashboards, set up monthly reporting, and help you make the decisions that follow.
Do you advise RIA firms on a sale or succession?
Do you advise RIA firms on a sale or succession?
Yes. RIA means registered investment adviser. We prepare the numbers, the valuation, and the materials a buyer asks for.
Are you an investment adviser or a broker-dealer?
Are you an investment adviser or a broker-dealer?
No. Surfside Capital Advisors is not a registered investment adviser or broker-dealer. It doesn’t solicit or introduce investors, sell securities, or recommend buying or selling them. We advise you on the business and its numbers.
How do engagements work?
How do engagements work?
Three ways. A focused project solves one defined problem, with a written scope and deliverable. Fractional monthly is a part-time CFO or FP&A lead with a set rhythm of meetings. Deal support works a sale, an acquisition, or a succession step by step, from the first valuation to the closing numbers. The first consultation is free, with no obligation.
Can we work in Spanish?
Can we work in Spanish?
Yes. We work in English or Spanish, so you can talk through your numbers, your plans, and your decisions in whichever language is easier for you and your team.
Didn’t find your question? Bring it to your free consultation.
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