What CFA does

Corporate Finance Associates Worldwide (CFAW), founded in 1956 and headquartered in greater Los Angeles (Laguna Hills/Aliso Viejo, California), is an independent, partner-owned international investment banking firm serving middle-market businesses. It provides six integrated service lines: Sell Side Advisory, Buy Side Advisory, Capital Markets, Market Value Assessment, Exit Planning, and ESOP Transactions. The firm operates a federated model in which 34 member offices across the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, and South America are separately owned legal entities, coordinated by the Delaware-incorporated parent Corporate Finance Associates Worldwide, Inc. Each office is led by senior Managing Directors who are predominantly former entrepreneurs, CEOs, or bulge-bracket investment bankers, and who provide hands-on engagement from inception through closing.

CFAW's revenue model is professional-services driven: advisory and success-based fees are earned on completed M&A, divestiture, recapitalization, financing, ESOP, and valuation mandates, with fees negotiated on a transaction-by-transaction basis against deal complexity and size. Securities activities are conducted through Corporate Finance Securities, Inc., a wholly-owned FINRA-registered broker-dealer, with affiliated broker-dealers in India (Mata Securities) and the US (Silver Oak Securities). Demand generation is relationship-led, drawing on referrals from CPAs, attorneys, wealth managers, and prior clients, supplemented by thought-leadership publications and a multi-channel corporate web presence. The core technology stack is human capital and process expertise — proprietary features are none, patents are none, and APIs/integrations are none — with no disclosed AI or data-product capabilities.

Customer mix spans privately held and mid-cap public companies with enterprise values typically between $10 million and $250 million, with a deeper lower-middle-market presence ($2M-$100M) in select offices; named engagements span consumer (Jiffy Lube, 7-Eleven, Subway, J.Jill), logistics (3PD Logistics), manufacturing (National Semi Trailer), and healthcare (Guardian Health), among 100+ industries served. The firm has completed thousands of transactions since 1956, with select offices reporting 100+ transactions (Milan, over €1B in value) and select principals reporting 200+ transactions since joining CFAW (e.g., Jim Zipursky).

Name

CFA

Legal name

Corporate Finance Associates Worldwide, Inc.

Website

https://cfaw.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1956

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Corporate Finance Associates Worldwide is a partner-owned, independent investment banking firm founded in 1956 that provides sell-side, buy-side, capital markets, valuation, exit planning, and ESOP advisory services to middle-market businesses across 34 offices in 13 countries through senior banker-led engagements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Middle-Market M&A Advisory

NAICS

Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Finance Advisory (Strategic Finance, Capital Structure & Recaps) (FSAEAGAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Finance & Capital Advisory (BPAHADAB), Capital Markets Advisory (IPO Readiness, SPAC, ECM/DCM Advisory) (BPAHAOAL)

Keywords

• Mergers and acquisitions advisory
• Middle market investment banking
• Sell-side advisory services
• Business valuation services
• Exit planning advisory

Headquarters

HQ city

Laguna Hills

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices25 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. M&A Advisory Services: CFA generates revenue through advisory fees on completed M&A transactions. The firm serves middle-market businesses in restructuring, divestiture, merger, acquisition, or recapitalization transactions. Fees are typically success-based, earned upon transaction closing.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CFA is an investment banking firm that provides mergers and acquisitions advisory, capital markets, and financial advisory services to middle-market businesses. The firm specializes in sell-side representation, buy-side representation, exit planning, business valuation, and ESOP transactions for companies with enterprise values typically between $10 million and $250 million, operating through a 34-office global network of senior principals.

Product overview

Corporate Finance Associates (CFAW) is an investment banking firm offering a unified suite of middle-market M&A advisory services. The core offering consists of six integrated service lines: Sell Side Advisory, Buy Side Advisory, Capital Markets, Market Value Assessment, Exit Planning, and ESOP Transactions. These services are delivered through a network of 34 worldwide offices with senior principals providing hands-on expertise throughout the transaction lifecycle. CFAW combines the resources of a larger bank with the focused attention of a boutique firm, serving privately owned and mid-cap public companies seeking to buy, sell, or recapitalize businesses.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sell-Side Advisory
• Buy-Side Advisory
• Capital Markets Advisory
• Exit Planning
• Business Valuation
• ESOP Transactions

Quantifiable outcome

• Thousands of successful transactions completed since 1956
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• International Business Law Consortium (IBLC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCFAW is a member of the International Business Law Consortium, which provides access to buyers and sellers from around the world for cross-border transactions.
• Corporate Finance Securities, Inc.coreOthersFINRA member broker-dealer providing securities services for CFAW transactions. Peter Heydenrych served as founding Chairman.
• Silver Oak Securities, Inc.coreOthersFINRA/SIPC member securities firm providing brokerage services for Nebraska and Central Texas offices. Unrelated entity to Corporate Finance Securities.
• Mata Securities India Private LimitedcoreOthersAssociated securities company supporting CFA India operations, providing corporate finance, wholesale debt broking, and mutual fund distribution services.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Houlihan Lokey:

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cfatweet
• Facebookfacebook.com/corporate.finance.associates
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/corporate-finance-associates

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CFA