Pick your capital markets or M&A advisor the way you’d pick a co-founder, not the way you’d pick a caterer. The right partner shapes your valuation, your deal structure, and how much of the company you still own in three years. With more law firms, corporate finance houses, and boutique advisories now actively courting SMEs for LEAP listings and private raises, founders have more choice than ever — and more ways to choose badly.
Why the field is getting crowded
Recent reporting has ZICO, one of the region’s established legal and corporate advisory groups, eyeing the LEAP Market as a growth area. That’s a useful signal, not because one firm’s plans matter to your business directly, but because of what it tells you about direction of travel: LEAP and adjacent fundraising work is becoming a real line of business for firms that previously focused on Main Market and ACE Market mandates.
That’s good news for founders in one sense — more competition among advisors usually means sharper pricing and better service. But it also means the market will fill with firms pitching LEAP listings, pre-IPO structuring, and fundraising support who are new to the segment, learning on your file, or treating a small-cap SME mandate as a stepping stone to bigger work. All three types are active in the market. The difference between a good advisor and a bad one rarely shows up in the pitch deck — it shows up eight months into the process, when the deal structure needs adjusting and the “senior partner” who won the mandate hasn’t been in a meeting since kickoff.
We’ve already covered the mechanics of what it actually takes to list on Bursa’s LEAP Market and the broader question of whether LEAP or a private raise suits your business. This piece is about the decision that comes right after: once you know you’re raising or listing, who do you actually hire to get you there?
What a bad advisor choice actually costs you
Founders tend to underweight advisor selection because the fee looks like the only variable. It isn’t. The real costs of a poor-fit advisor show up as:
- Delay. A firm unfamiliar with LEAP’s sponsor requirements or a fundraising process outside its usual playbook adds months you didn’t budget for — months in which your numbers age, your market window narrows, and your team’s attention stays split.
- Structural mismatch. An advisor who defaults to whatever structure they know best — not the one suited to your business — can leave you with a cap table, tax position, or governance setup that constrains your next round or your eventual exit.
- Valuation leakage. Weak negotiation on your behalf, or an advisor more focused on closing the deal than closing it on your terms, shows up directly in the price you get or the equity you give away.
- Relationship damage. Sponsors, underwriters, and investors remember advisors who overpromised. If your firm has a reputation problem in the market, you inherit it for the length of the mandate.
None of this is hypothetical. It’s the most common pattern behind a stalled raise or a listing process that’s gone quiet — usually because the original advisor didn’t have the depth the mandate actually required.
Comparing advisor types
| Advisor type | Strength | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Boutique corporate finance house | Deep focus on SME-scale deals, often faster and more founder-accessible | Smaller team — check who’s actually doing the work, not just who pitched you |
| Law-firm-led advisory arm | Strong on compliance, disclosure, and regulatory risk | May be less commercially aggressive on valuation and deal terms |
| Big-four or large accounting network | Credibility with institutional investors, robust due diligence process | Higher fees, junior staff on day-to-day execution, less flexibility on structure |
| Independent M&A advisor / broker | Personalised, incentive-aligned if fee is success-based | Reputation and track record harder to verify — ask for references directly |
No category is automatically right. A LEAP listing with straightforward compliance needs might suit a law-firm-led team well. A trade sale with complex earn-outs and buyer negotiation might need an independent M&A advisor who’s done exactly that deal shape before.
Questions to ask before you sign anything
Ask these before the engagement letter, not after:
- Who specifically will run my file day to day? Get the name, not the firm’s brand. Ask how many other live mandates that person is carrying.
- How many LEAP listings or deals of this size has your team closed in the past 24 months? Not the firm’s total track record — the relevant team’s recent, comparable experience.
- What’s your fee structure, and what triggers payment? A firm paid heavily upfront regardless of outcome has less skin in the game than one weighted toward success fees.
- What happens if the deal takes longer or falls through? Get this in writing. Retainer-only arrangements with no defined scope are where costs creep.
- Can I speak to a past client whose deal closed in the last year? Not a testimonial on a website — an actual conversation.
If an advisor is cagey about any of these, that’s information too.
Fee structures and where incentives misalign
Retainer-heavy fee models reward activity, not outcomes — you can pay for months of “progress” with nothing to show. Success-fee-heavy models align incentives toward closing, but watch for advisors who push you toward the fastest deal rather than the best one. The healthiest structures blend a modest retainer (covering real out-of-pocket work — due diligence coordination, document preparation) with a success fee tied to completion at agreed terms, not just completion. Ask specifically whether the success fee changes if valuation or deal terms fall below a threshold you set together upfront.
When to walk away mid-process
Founders often feel locked in once an advisor is engaged, even when the relationship isn’t working. It’s worth walking away if: the named lead has been replaced without consultation, the firm can’t explain a proposed structure in plain terms, deadlines slip repeatedly without clear reasons, or your instructions are being reinterpreted rather than followed. An advisor relationship that isn’t working six months before a listing or close rarely fixes itself in the final stretch.
This decision connects directly to the exit-route question many founders are also weighing — if you haven’t settled whether a sale, succession, or listing is the right path at all, that choice should come before the advisor search, not after. Our related piece on choosing the right exit route for your Malaysian SME is a useful starting point.
Frequently asked questions
Should I use the advisor who quoted the lowest fee?
Not automatically. A low headline fee often hides scope gaps — disclosure documents, sponsor liaison, or post-listing compliance support that get billed separately later. Compare total expected cost across the full mandate, not just the initial quote.
Can I use one advisor for both fundraising and eventual exit planning?
Sometimes, but check for genuine capability in both areas rather than assuming continuity is automatically better. A firm strong on capital raising isn’t always strong on M&A negotiation, and vice versa — ask directly about their track record in each.
How early should I start vetting advisors before a LEAP listing or raise?
Start conversations six to nine months ahead, even if you’re not ready to engage. This gives you time to compare firms without time pressure, and most reputable advisors will meet informally before any commitment.
Is it a bad sign if a firm is new to LEAP mandates but experienced elsewhere?
Not necessarily — capable teams often move into new listing venues. What matters is whether the individuals on your file have handled comparable regulatory processes before, even if not LEAP specifically. Ask them to walk you through how LEAP’s requirements differ from what they’ve done previously.
Choosing the right advisor is one of the highest-leverage decisions in any fundraising, listing, or exit process — and it’s a decision worth pressure-testing with someone outside the pitch. Book a free strategy call with OMO to work through your options before you sign with anyone.