William H. Frazier, ASA
— W. H. Frazier & Co., Inc.

W.H. Frazier & Co., Inc. is the name I have selected for my new business. At the moment, I am the only employee so the services offered are those skills that I have in my repertoire. On September 30, 2018, I retired from Stout Risius Ross, LLC after a very enjoyable six years. In 2012, Stout acquired Howard Frazier Barker Elliott, Inc., the firm I co-founded with Alex Howard, Don Barker and Charlie Elliott in 1991. The four of us trace our valuation roots in Texas back to the old-line regional investment banking firms of Underwood Neuhaus & Co., Inc. and Rotan Mosle, Inc.  I remain “of counsel” with Stout and will continue to work with them in appraisal assignments and some tax controversy matters.

My new firm will concentrate in three areas:

1. Transition consulting with family-owned operating businesses. Especially with smaller businesses, my 43 years of experience in valuing, financing, selling and advising family businesses can make a difference in helping the company achieve its market valuation goals which are a key component of a successful transition.
2. Valuation report assessment. The strength of a taxpayer's position in an estate or gift tax filing depends to a large extent upon the valuation report attached to the file Oftentimes, the practitioner responsible for the filing will be faced with using a report from a firm with which they have had little experience. As a measure of assurance, a second set of trained valuation eyes assessing the report makes imminent sense in this case. Because of my deep experience in this area, I can handle such assignments efficiently from a time and cost standpoint.
3. Dispute services. This relates to expert consulting, appraisal and testimony for disputes in trusts, estates, probate and basically anywhere business value is the area of contention.

Dispute Services

My 43 years of valuing, financing, selling and advising family-owned businesses gives me the skill, experience and perspective to provide highly effective testimony in such areas as: ​

Commercial, Corporate and Family Litigation ​

1. Contract Disputes
2. Shareholder Disputes
3. Trust and Probate Disputes
4. Divorce

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Bankruptcy and Distress ​

I have testified in Bankruptcy Court and acted as the court appointed broker in the sale of a company in Chapter 11. I have prepared solvency opinions and testified about solvency in court. I have also valued many insolvent entities over the years. I have been engaged to determine cancellation of debt amounts, worthless stock attestation, and the fairness of prices offered in “down rounds” by private equity firms holding positions in distressed companies.

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Securities Litigation Relating to Best Efforts Offerings ​

While this is a narrow field, I do have good experience in this regard and have testified about this subject twice. From 1975 to 1985, I worked in the corporate finance department of two regional investment banking firms in Houston, Texas. Such activities included working on private placements and underwritten public offerings of securities. From 1975 through 2001, I also worked on merger and acquisition transactions which were all conducted on a best efforts basis. From about 1977 to 2013, I held series 7 and 63 securities licenses. From about 1995 through 2013, I also held the series 24 license (General Securities Principal).