Build Wealth with Fractional Acquisitions

For years, I thought the only way to build wealth was by owning and operating businesses myself. I bought companies, scaled them, and exited successfully. But then I realized something: I could achieve the same financial growth—without running the day-to-day—by investing in fractional acquisitions.

This strategy has now created as much wealth for me as buying and building businesses outright. And the best part? It allows me to invest in multiple high-growth opportunities while avoiding the complexity of managing them all.

If you’re a high-income professional with capital to deploy, fractional acquisitions may be the smartest way to grow your wealth. Here’s why.

What Are Fractional Acquisitions?

Instead of buying 100% of a business and becoming the full-time owner, fractional acquisitions allow you to buy a meaningful stake—often 10-40%—in an existing, growing company.

This strategy lets you:

• Invest in cash-flowing businesses without running them
• Leverage the expertise of experienced operators
• Diversify across multiple businesses, reducing risk
• Capitalize on private market inefficiencies for higher returns

Why the Ultra-Wealthy Invest This Way

If you look at how ultra-high-net-worth individuals invest, you’ll notice a common pattern: They don’t keep all their money in stocks.

Groups like Tiger 21, a network of investors with $30M+ in net worth, allocate their portfolios like this:

• 55% in private real estate and private equity
• 29% in public markets
• 16% in other alternatives (private credit, venture capital, etc.)

Most investors only get access to publicly traded, market-efficient assets, but fractional acquisitions let you play in the same private markets as institutional investors—without needing a billion-dollar fund.

How to Invest in Fractional Acquisitions

Instead of putting $200K into one business and taking on full operational responsibility, you can deploy that same capital across multiple private deals, increasing your exposure to high-growth businesses while reducing overall risk.

Here’s what this can look like in practice:

Find high-growth, profitable companies with strong operators.

• Look for companies generating $1M+ in EBITDA with a proven growth trajectory.
• Evaluate the operator’s experience and track record.
• Ensure the business already has cash flow—you’re investing in performance, not speculation.

Structure your investment as minority equity or preferred equity.

• Minority equity gives you a stake in the upside, often with board oversight but without daily operations.
• Preferred equity can offer fixed returns with upside potential, securing your investment ahead of common shareholders.

Use a roll-up strategy for long-term value creation.

• Many of these deals roll into larger portfolios that get acquired by private equity at higher multiples.
• A business valued at 3-4x EBITDA today can be worth 7-8x once combined with similar companies.

Why This Strategy Works

The key to wealth building isn’t just about buying assets—it’s about buying the right assets in the right structure. Fractional acquisitions allow you to:

• Generate cash flow from day one.
• Own a stake in multiple businesses, reducing exposure to any single failure.
• Benefit from the same private equity strategies used by institutions.
• Invest without the burden of full-time business operations.

Conclusion

Fractional acquisitions allow investors to own high-growth businesses without running them, providing access to private equity-level returns without the complexity of full-time operations.

If you’re a high-income professional looking to deploy capital into private deals, now is the time to start leveraging business acquisitions for wealth creation.

Walker Deibel, WSJ Bestselling Author of Buy Then Build: How Acquisition Entrepreneurs Outsmart the Startup Game

PS: Want access to curated private deals with proven operators? Check out BuildWealth.com and start investing in fractional acquisitions today.

Q&A: Common Questions About Fractional Acquisitions

Q: How much time does this require?

A: Unlike full business ownership, fractional acquisitions allow you to take a passive or semi-passive role.

Q: What kind of returns can I expect?

A: Well-structured private investments typically outperform public markets. Private equity has outperformed public markets in 25 of the last 25 years. Depending on the deal structure, investors often see 10-35+% annualized returns.

Q: How do I find the right deals?

A: Want to see what I'm investing in? Sign up at BuildWealth.com or signup for my acquisition newsletter here: walkerdeibel.com. We currently have a cash-flowing credit fund open and I'll be rolling our a rollup opportunity soon.

Q: What are the biggest risks?

A: Unlike the stock market, private businesses are illiquid, meaning your capital is tied up until an exit event. That’s why there is often an "illiquidity premium" you should expect. Investing in companies with proven cash flow and experienced operators is key. Like any investment, you could lose all or some of the money you put at risk.