RIA dealmaking races to a record pace as consolidators bulk up on scale

The RIA M&A space is barreling toward a record year, with dealmakers announcing 120 transactions in the second quarter alone and total 2026 volume on pace to reach approximately 500 deals, according to Echelon Partners' latest RIA M&A Deal Report.

The deal consulting firm's latest projection, assuming it comes to pass, would eclipse the prior high of 466 last year and mark the busiest stretch in the industry's history for change of ownership among advisory firms.

The 262 combined deals announced across the first half of 2026 already run well ahead of the 220 recorded in the same period last year. Total transacted assets under management hit $378 billion in the second quarter, while the median target size climbed 16.6% year over year to $733 million – a sign that acquirers are willing to pay up for scale even as overall deal count moderated slightly from the first quarter's all-time high of 142.

Read more: RIAs are fielding acquisition offers daily — here is how they are responding

Private equity's fingerprints are on nearly all of it. PE-backed buyers completed 91 of the quarter's 120 deals, or 75.8%, an all-time high. And the market is consolidating fast: 24 firms announced two or more transactions in the quarter, together representing 62.5% of total volume. Stratos Wealth Network led the pack with 11 deals, followed by Wealth Enhancement Group with seven and Carson Wealth with six.

Novice buyers appear to be handicapped in the ongoing free-for-all. Just 13 of the second quarter's transactions involved a buyer with two or fewer prior acquisitions – 10.8% of the total, down sharply from 37 such deals in the first quarter. Seasoned acquirers closed nearly 90% of all transactions, reinforcing what Echelon describes as barriers to entry that keep rising for anyone trying to get into the buyer's seat for the first time.

The marquee transaction for the quarter was Empower's acquisition of Milliman's $80 billion book of business, a deal that underscores the growing overlap between retirement plan services and wealth management. Echelon also highlighted LPL's purchase of the $31 billion Mariner Advisor Network alongside Private Advisor Group, as well as a wave of recapitalizations including Integrum Holdings' investment in the $35 billion Allworth Financial and General Atlantic's $150 million Series D into Farther, which pushed the tech-forward RIA's valuation past $1 billion.

A separate report from DeVoe & Company this month found that the largest, most active consolidators – including Hightower, Beacon Pointe and Savant Wealth Management, which Devoe said logged eight deals apiece in the first half – continue to overwhelmingly target sellers between $1 billion and $5 billion in assets. But at the same time, firms under $500 million accounted for 42% of consolidator acquisitions.

"Consolidators may prefer larger RIAs, but a Consolidator's scale, capital, brand recognition, and dedicated business development infrastructure allow them to compete broadly across all seller sizes," said founder and CEO David Devoe.

Read more: RIA consolidators say they want big firms — but keep buying small ones

In an earlier interview with InvestmentNews, Lou Maiuri, chairman and group CEO of AssetMark, has argued that complexity, not scale, is the real engine behind the boom, maintaining that "what's really changing the equation is what clients now expect from advice."