"Investment Banking is 10% Financial Analysis and 90% Psycho-analysis" – André Meyer  This blog is about the "other 90%"…

The “naive” advisor

11/22/2010  | 

The “naive” advisor is a convenient partner for hard headed clients. He is 100% loyal to his master, drinks his words and lends them his “credibility”. The “naive” advisor is not concerned by accounting, economics or logic. He tailors financial theories to his client’s wishes, so that he can serve him better. He sees his role in packaging the messages uttered by his client in order that it might confuse the other party into accepting his win-lose proposition.

The “naive” advisor never loses his cool as business is unemotional. He is on a mission to sell whatever his client wants.  Whether it’s in his best interest or not, is none of the “naive” advisor’s concern. He is paid to support his client not to argue with him.  If the point doesn’t get across, the other party is to blame. Probably, too stupid to understand.

The naive client loves the “naive” advisor for his fighting spirit. The “naive” advisor likes the naive client for his culpability, dependence and naivety.  The longer the “naive” advisor fights and loses, the more the naive client depends on and pays him. Their joint defeats bond them together in eternal friendship.

István Préda

István Préda

IMAP MB Partners, Managing Partner

István Préda founded IMAP MB Partners (formerly: Magánbankár Kft.) in 2002. Since then, he supervised more then two dozen successful M&A deals and more then a hundred enterprise valuations. Before striking out on his own, István was head of corporate finance with ABN AMRO in Hungary. Between 1995 and 1997, István was an Associate Banker at the EBRD in London and in Budapest. Between 1991 and 1994, he worked as auditor with KPMG in London. In 1994, he qualified as a  Chartered Accountant (ACA) in England and in 1997, he earned his financial analyst (CFA) charter form the CFA Institute of Charlottesville, Virginia. Since 2007 has been a board member of IMAP. In 2006, he founded Firm Value / Cégérték / Valoarea Firmei and founding author of M&A Hungary blog.

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