The fourth quarter of 2020 saw a record 69 mergers and acquisitions of registered investment advisory firms, according to Echelon Partners.
The record RIA dealmaking in the fourth quarter resulted in transactions posting an all-time high in 2020 for the eighth consecutive year — 205 deals occurred through Dec. 22, up from 203 in 2019.
“This is an impressive rebound, given the 162 total deals forecasted for 2020 at the end of the second quarter, which was the slowest period for RIA M&A in roughly four years,” said Mark Bruno, a managing director at the firm.
The firm’s RIA M&A Deal Report for the fourth quarter also found that average assets under management per deal increased 23.7% in 2020 from 2019.
The size of firms that were acquired in 2020 also hit a record high of $1.8 billion.
[More: The hunt for mega RIAs]
The $71 billion firm’s latest tuck-in lands as middle-market sellers face rising buyer selectivity and steeper equity demands
Executives allegedly sold while key revenue metric was inflated.
The advisor, Gregory W. Ricker, started his career in the securities industry in 1995.
The four-partner Georgia RIA joins the integrated Carson Wealth channel, deepening the $66 billion mega-RIA's Atlanta M&A footprint
The $9 billion practice’s move into Hightower’s W-2 channel continues a string of internal conversions in a record-pace year for RIA M&A
Knighthead Life entered the market with a competitive MYGA. A strong launch earned advisor confidence and paved the way for FIAs.
As AI makes financial information more accessible than ever, Lana Hock explains why human judgment, trust, and empathy remain the qualities clients value most in a financial advisor
