Minority investments in RIAs shift toward smaller firms, DeVoe data show

Minority investment activity in the RIA sector is holding steady at elevated levels – but the firms attracting that capital look increasingly different from years past, according to the latest read from DeVoe & Company.

Minority transactions accounted for 15% of total RIA deal activity in the first quarter of 2026, comprising 14 transactions. That figure closely tracks the 14% share DeVoe logged for all of 2025 and continues a multi-year climb that has seen annual minority deal volume more than double since 2023, from 20 transactions to 48.

But the more telling development is not the volume – it's the direction of the capital. Investors who once concentrated their attention on large and mega RIAs are now moving down-market, DeVoe said with firms managing less than $2 billion in AUM emerging as a primary target.

The numbers tell a sharp story. In 2023, just four minority transactions involved sub-$2 billion firms. That inched up to six in 2024. Then, in 2025, 20 of 45 total minority transactions – nearly half – fell into that category. The seven sub-$2 billion minority deals announced in the first quarter of 2026 already surpass the full-year 2024 total for that segment.

Dedicated platforms have helped drive that activity. Elevation Point closed four minority transactions in 2025 and has added two more so far in 2026. Constellation Wealth Capital completed six deals in 2025, with one reported this year as of March. Summit Financial, which struck seven minority deals last year, has yet to announce any for 2026.

The appeal of smaller firms extends beyond entry price, the report notes. Many sub-$2 billion RIAs are founder-led businesses facing a familiar cluster of pressures: constrained growth capital, technology gaps, and succession affordability challenges. Those conditions make minority investment a potentially useful tool – one that can address strategic gaps without requiring a full transfer of ownership.

A recent example is Harbor View Private Wealth, which launched as Elevation Point made a minority investment in a $1.3 billion breakaway team from UBS. The deal reflects a broader pattern of minority investors backing emerging platforms early in their development.

The down-market trend in minority activity contrasts somewhat with findings from Echelon Partners covering the 2025 deal season. Looking at the $1 billion-and-above segment specifically, Echelon found minority investments represented 16.2% of all transactions in that tier – a 42.3% decrease from 2024. Echelon also noted that the 10 largest minority transactions of 2025 averaged over $186 billion in assets each, driven largely by structured investments from private equity in large RIAs. 

Read more: Echelon Partners: Billion-dollar RIA deals boomed in 2025

Whatever the size of the deal, DeVoe urges founders to comb through the terms carefully. The report noted that "ownership percentage does not equal control," warning that governance rights, board composition, and contractual provisions can give investors substantial influence over acquisitions, leadership transitions, and future liquidity events – even when holding a minority stake.

"In a number of cases, firms have experienced investors dictating actions or vetoing leadership proposals," the DeVoe report said. "It is critical to find the right partner, and read the fine print."