RIA M&A Deal Volume Breaks Records in 2024
Mergers and acquisitions in the wealth management sector climbed in 2024, with announced deals up 14% to 366, per ECHELON Partners, a U.S. investment bank specializing in wealth deals. The fourth quarter was the year’s peak, logging 125 deals compared to 95 in the fourth quarter of 2023. High-profile transactions included the UAE-backed acquisition of CI Financial for $8.6 billion and Bain Capital’s $4.5 billion takeover of Envestnet.
Source: ECHELON
“With ample well-capitalized buyers, it remains a seller’s market, particularly for firms with strong organic growth and niche expertise,” Dan Seivert, managing partner and CEO at ECHELON, said in his firm’s report.
“Despite rising M&A activity, the market remains fragmented, attracting diverse capital providers. This influx is set to heighten competition for quality assets, driving valuations higher,” he wrote.
The average assets under management per M&A transaction dipped to $1.4 billion in 2024 from $1.7 billion in 2023. However, 2024 set a record with 11 deals exceeding $100 billion in assets.
Other notable M&A deals in 2024 included Hightower Advisors’ majority stake in NEPC, TPG’s minority stake in Creative Planning, KKR’s takeover of Janney Montgomery Scott, the BlackRock and JPMorgan Asset Management partnership with Dynasty Financial Partners, the Allianz X and Constellation Wealth Capital deal with AlTi Tiedemann, and Pathstone’s acquisition of Hall Capital Partners.
Seivert noted fierce buyer competition among sponsor-backed strategic firms chasing add-on acquisitions. Meanwhile, private equity firms kept targeting platform investments. Private equity played a role in 71% of the 366 transactions tracked by ECHELON in 2024, up from 62% in 2023.
Consolidation in wealth management persists, with strategic buyers leading the charge, accounting for roughly 70% of transactions in 2024. Wealthtech M&A surged in 2024, with 138 deal announcements—up from 104 in 2023—marking a 37.2% year-over-year increase.
Looking to 2025, Seivert predicts another “robust” year for wealth management M&A. He highlights advisors’ succession planning and the advantages of scale as key factors bolstering the sector’s resilience against short-term market swings and interest rate shifts.
Seivert noted that wealth managers are branching into “adjacent verticals” like accounting and trust services. In 2024, Cerity Partners acquired FB&D LLP, an accounting firm serving high-net-worth clients, and F L Putnam purchased Darwin Trust Co.