Background
Todd Fries writes on the valuation
of insurance organizations for IRMI.com.
As a partner at the BVA Group (BVA), Mr. Fries is the coleader of the
firm's valuation practice and is involved in overseeing all aspects of the
firm's service lines, which, in addition to valuation services, also
include financial advisory and dispute resolution services.
Mr. Fries has 20 years of valuation, litigation support, and financial
advisory services experience. He has conducted hundreds of valuation analyses
for fair value, tax, and other purposes for clients operating in property and
casualty, life, and health insurance segments, as well as across a broad range
of other industries, including health care, energy, manufacturing,
distribution, and technology.
Mr. Fries is frequently involved in assignments performed for private equity
or private equity-backed clients for a variety of purposes including
mark-to-market accounting, purchase price allocations, goodwill impairment
testing, and valuations relating to incentive stock compensation. He has deep
experience with the valuation of derivative securities and entities with
complex capital structures that include multiple tranches of equity or
equity-like securities.
Mr. Fries also has deep experience in BVA's litigation support practice
where he is involved in the determination of lost profits, lost business value,
unjust enrichment, and/or reasonable royalty calculations in matters involving
commercial litigation including intellectual property infringement, breach of
contract/duty, and valuation-related disputes. He has testified and/or
presented in mediation proceedings on multiple occasions in matters involving
business valuation, lost profits, and lost earnings.
Throughout his career, Mr. Fries has been involved in numerous financial
advisory engagements such as fairness opinions and solvency opinions. He also
frequently leads the team engaged to assist in situations where former business
partners are looking to unwind their existing relationship through a buyout of
one or more of the partners. His experience in this area ranges from friendly
buyouts to litigated disputes. Drawing on this experience, Mr. Fries cochairs
the firm's transaction advisory opinion committees.
Before joining BVA, Mr. Fries was a senior valuation/litigation practitioner
for a national financial consulting company. Prior to that, he was employed as
a meteorologist.
Mr. Fries received a master of business administration from Texas Christian
University where he graduated with honors and a bachelor of science in
meteorology and agriculture journalism from Texas A&M University. He holds
the Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA) designation from the CFA
Institute and the Accredited Senior Appraiser designation. He is a member of
the American Society of Appraisers, CFA Institute, Dallas Society of Chartered
Financial Analysts, and the Association for Corporate Growth.
BVA is a nationally recognized litigation, valuation, and financial advisory
firm that has a reputation for providing valuable insight and responsive
service to clients seeking guidance regarding complex financial issues. The
firm was founded in 1974 to pursue a simple but powerful purpose: to empower
others through its expertise in valuation, economic damages, and corporate
finance issues.
BVA has advised on numerous insurance-related valuation consulting projects
including litigation consulting, acquisitions, sales, and valuation of
businesses for purposes including mergers and acquisitions, tax planning, and
estate and gift taxes. His work has involved agencies, brokers, and financial
institutions, with personal lines and excess and surplus lines and other
specialty market providers including nonstandard auto, health care, workers
compensation, and administrators.