RIA M&A could hit an all-time high in 2026, says FP Transitions

This year has been a busy one for RIA M&A activity, and could even hit an all-time high, according to valuation and succession planning firm FP Transitions.

Speaking to InvestmentNews at the Schwab IMPACT event in Boston this week, Eric Godes, FP Transitions’ senior M&A consultant explained that his company has had 100 new opportunities over the last 100 days. This marks a record for FP Transitions.

“We’re actually seeing an escalation in M&A activity,” he said. “We think there's a very real possibility we can hit an all-time high for 2026.” Godes also noted that FP Transitions’ pipeline is up 30% over the course of this year.

As for what is driving all this activity, the FP Transitions M&A consultant pointed to a number of factors. “It’s a lot of the same reasons that have been percolating for the last few years - aging advisors, lack of succession plans, advisors that have hit a plateau,” he told InvestmentNews. “And then the one that's most interesting to me is advisors that got into the business to be advisors that realize now they're not advisors so much.”

Godes explained that some advisors, as their firms have grown, now find themselves in the role of small business owners, which not everyone relishes. “They want to go back to being an advisor - after they build their business for a while, they're also the head of HR, compliance, IT, and everything else,” he said.

Other companies are also noticing vibrant M&A activity. During the third quarter, RIA M&A almost reached a record level, according to data released recently by Echelon Partners. The quarter, which was marked by 125 wealth management deals, was the second-busiest that Echelon Partners has recorded.

FP Transitions has been busy ramping up its efforts to support RIA M&A. “We also have what we think is one of the top benchmarking programs in our industry,” Godes told InvestmentNews. “It takes it to another level.”

The Portland, Oregon-based company launched the Estimated Value Index in April, giving would-be sellers a benchmarking tool designed to provide a faster, clearer view of advisory firms’ value relative to their peers.

More recently, it introduced a compensation benchmarking tool within its FP Insights platform, giving advisors a comprehensive snapshot of base pay, bonuses, benefits, and other pieces of the compensation puzzle.