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Registered investment advisory firms continued to be hot targets for mergers and acquisitions in the first half of 2025, and wealth management firms, often backed by private equity money, are turning up the heat. Notable recent examples include LPL Financial acquiring Commonwealth Financial Network’s $285 billion in assets in March and Osaic acquiring CW Advisors and its $13.5 billion in assets in June.
The last three quarters have produced the most RIA M&A deals on record, with 125 deals in the final quarter of 2024, 118 deals in Q1 2025 and 102 deals in Q2 2025. In all, 2025 is projected to set a record number of deals and top last year by at least 13%, according to a report by consulting firm Echelon Partners.
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Echelon and a similar report by consulting firm MarshBerry tracked an increase in wealth management firms’ M&A since 2020, as buyers scaled up their presence in national and regional markets and sought to expand their services to RIA firms’ clientele.
M&A deal sizes are also growing, as Echelon found 155 transactions so far this year involving at least $1 billion in assets under management, already beating 2021’s record of 145 $1 billion-plus AUM deals.
From 2021 to 2023, insurance brokerages closed the majority of M&A deals, but wealth management firms led M&A activity last year and continue to do so. MarshBerry found private equity-backed wealth acquirers made up 72% of wealth management M&A both last year and in the first half of this year, reflecting a steady increase in PE-backed deals, up from 52% of total transactions in 2020.
A Sellers’ Market
Given the increased financial activity, Barnaby Audsley, a senior vice president at Echelon Partners, wrote in an email that advisory firm owners should weigh the potential upside of an M&A deal.
“We field calls weekly from new entrants seeking to gain a foothold in this attractive market,” Audsley wrote. “We can confidently say there has never been a better time for advisers to consider a transaction.”
John Orsini, director of MarshBerry’s wealth advisory division, says business owners eyeing retirement in the next five to seven years should consider selling alongside alternatives like internal succession. His clients go through a pro forma process to determine their needs, their company’s current value and their potential financials if they are acquired.
If firm owners decide to sell, Orsini says the M&A process generally lasts nine to 12 months. Orsini says sellers need to mentally prepare for a sale and consider much more than the asking price.
“In the past it was, ‘Let’s take the biggest check. Whoever pays the most must like us the most,’ Orsini says. “Kick the tires and get under the hood to evaluate what will be the best fit.”
Sellers should reflect on what traits their ideal partner would have and which companies could be a good cultural fit for theirs, Orsini says.
“Some [buyers] will say, ‘Come on over and throw the blazer on. We’re going to fully integrate.’ That can be really appealing to a subset of sellers,” Orsini says. “Others are looking for a strategic partner to accelerate growth. Then there’s everything in between: ‘We have things pretty nailed down, but in this area, we’re looking for real leadership.’”
Firm owners should also consider whether the cash and equity from a transaction could help them achieve their long-term goals.
“Would you rather own all of a grape or a large portion of a watermelon?” Orsini says. “That growing business, with maybe a [smaller] percentage of the total equity, is beneficial to everyone.”
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