Prior to the “Great Recession” of 2008-2009, and for the past few years, M&A transactions were supported by robust equity and credit markets. While credit options to assist small and middle-market M&A transactions (typically defined as transactions with deal sizes between $5 million and $200 million) and succession planning in the asset & wealth management industry have always been limited, since the fourth quarter of 2008 access to financing has been more challenging than ever.