Tailor-made, Boutique Firms Fit Well into Business
Smaller cos assemble the best team for each problem, providing more effective solutions across disciplines
– Written by Maulik Vyas
Mumbai: A wave of boutique firms has emerged in professional services, investment advisory and the legal field, positioning themselves between the top end of the market dominated by the Big Four, bulge-bracket investment banks and elite law firms and the fragmented landscape of smaller players at the lower end, offering specialised expertise with a personalised approach.
Started by professionals well known for their expertise, firms such as Dhruva Advisors (Dinesh Kanabar), Veritas Legal (Abhijit Joshi), Arpwood Capital (Rajeev Gupta), Archeus Law (Ranjit Prakash), Katalyst Advisors (Ketan Dalal) and White Oak Capital Management (Prashant Khemka) have built strong reputations by marrying deep expertise with a high – touch advisory model, free from the bureaucracy and transactional nature of big firms.
Abhijit Joshi, founding and managing partner of law firm Veritas Legal, said there had always been a gap between a service provider and a trusted advisor; and in a growing market, that gap presented a significant opportunity. “There is a size at which opportunity is optimal. But size and distinctiveness are not the same – depth in a specialised area is far more critical than breadth across every area,” said Joshi. “In the age of artificial intelligence, clients will increasingly seek experienced hands-on matters for a more tailored and solution-oriented approach, and boutique firms are positioned for this need.”
Dinesh Kanabar of Dhruva Advisors, a premier tax consulting firm, said, “When founded Dhruva, we had certain critical thoughts in mind which we have followed – first, we want to focus on our core competence, such as taxes and regulations, rather than a general service provider: This allows us to use our experience and expertise on issues which are inherently complex.” He further said. “We want to be independent and free of conflicts, a factor which our clients value.”
Such firms have carved out a niche in the sector and are offering high-quality tailor-made solutions. “We chose to specialise in M&A (mergers and acquisitions) because it is the least cyclical and most differentiable investment banking product,” said Rajeev Gupta, founding partner, Arpwood Capital. “Our bankers’ role is to devise value creation possibilities for clients by understanding each sector’s fundamental strategies and competitive positions of players. This requires analytical depth and long hours….the underlying culture takes years to build.”
Large law and accounting firms have clear strengths – scale, expertise and brand credibility. But they are becoming increasingly impersonal and difficult to navigate.
While these firms offer multi-disciplinary skills, many companies are now turning to boutique firms to helm complex transactions. The smaller firms can assemble the best team for each problem, providing more effective solutions, said industry experts.
“In large firms, there are too many silos, which lead to ‘fragmented’ advice (as opposed to integrated advice) and size aspects also lead to impersonal approach as well as lack of senior partner attention. It is these limitations of large firms that boutique firms can fill in, to a large extent,” said Ketan Dalal, founder of Katalyst Advisors.
The past decade has seen a steady rise in boutique firms, as promoters and companies in high-impact, sensitive areas sought deep involvement, long-term engagements and a streamlined approach, avoiding the need to deal with multiple professionals within large firms.
“Structuring of transactions and succession planning and family settlements usually involve dealing with Indian promoters, who usually are more comfortable dealing with senior professionals with significant experience,” said Dalal. “Also, partly due to confidentiality, they prefer dealing with smaller firms, which also can turn around things much faster than larger set-ups can do. This is a key need which boutique firms can fulfil.”
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[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]Smaller cos assemble the best team for each problem, providing more effective solutions across disciplines
– Written by Maulik Vyas
Mumbai: A wave of boutique firms has emerged in professional services, investment advisory and the legal field, positioning themselves between the top end of the market dominated by the Big Four, bulge-bracket investment banks and elite law firms and the fragmented landscape of smaller players at the lower end, offering specialised expertise with a personalised approach.
Started by professionals well known for their expertise, firms such as Dhruva Advisors (Dinesh Kanabar), Veritas Legal (Abhijit Joshi), Arpwood Capital (Rajeev Gupta), Archeus Law (Ranjit Prakash), Katalyst Advisors (Ketan Dalal) and White Oak Capital Management (Prashant Khemka) have built strong reputations by marrying deep expertise with a high – touch advisory model, free from the bureaucracy and transactional nature of big firms.
Abhijit Joshi, founding and managing partner of law firm Veritas Legal, said there had always been a gap between a service provider and a trusted advisor; and in a growing market, that gap presented a significant opportunity. “There is a size at which opportunity is optimal. But size and distinctiveness are not the same – depth in a specialised area is far more critical than breadth across every area,” said Joshi. “In the age of artificial intelligence, clients will increasingly seek experienced hands-on matters for a more tailored and solution-oriented approach, and boutique firms are positioned for this need.”
Dinesh Kanabar of Dhruva Advisors, a premier tax consulting firm, said, “When founded Dhruva, we had certain critical thoughts in mind which we have followed – first, we want to focus on our core competence, such as taxes and regulations, rather than a general service provider: This allows us to use our experience and expertise on issues which are inherently complex.” He further said. “We want to be independent and free of conflicts, a factor which our clients value.”
Such firms have carved out a niche in the sector and are offering high-quality tailor-made solutions. “We chose to specialise in M&A (mergers and acquisitions) because it is the least cyclical and most differentiable investment banking product,” said Rajeev Gupta, founding partner, Arpwood Capital. “Our bankers’ role is to devise value creation possibilities for clients by understanding each sector’s fundamental strategies and competitive positions of players. This requires analytical depth and long hours….the underlying culture takes years to build.”
Large law and accounting firms have clear strengths – scale, expertise and brand credibility. But they are becoming increasingly impersonal and difficult to navigate.
While these firms offer multi-disciplinary skills, many companies are now turning to boutique firms to helm complex transactions. The smaller firms can assemble the best team for each problem, providing more effective solutions, said industry experts.
“In large firms, there are too many silos, which lead to ‘fragmented’ advice (as opposed to integrated advice) and size aspects also lead to impersonal approach as well as lack of senior partner attention. It is these limitations of large firms that boutique firms can fill in, to a large extent,” said Ketan Dalal, founder of Katalyst Advisors.
The past decade has seen a steady rise in boutique firms, as promoters and companies in high-impact, sensitive areas sought deep involvement, long-term engagements and a streamlined approach, avoiding the need to deal with multiple professionals within large firms.
“Structuring of transactions and succession planning and family settlements usually involve dealing with Indian promoters, who usually are more comfortable dealing with senior professionals with significant experience,” said Dalal. “Also, partly due to confidentiality, they prefer dealing with smaller firms, which also can turn around things much faster than larger set-ups can do. This is a key need which boutique firms can fulfil.”
Read Online: