Dealmaking amongst registered funding advisory companies reached a report tempo within the first half of 2026, however the business’s most acquisitive patrons more and more consider that the decade-long run-up in valuations has come to an finish.
RIA funding financial institution DeVoe & Firm tracked 167 transactions within the first six months of the 12 months, up 13% from 148 in the identical interval final 12 months. On the identical time, not one of the sizable patrons surveyed anticipated valuations to climb additional whereas one fifth forecasted a decline in costs.
The newest information got here regardless of a cool off within the second quarter as transactions fell 20% to 74 offers from 93 as sellers pulled again amid market volatility in March and April. Regardless of the dip and lofty valuations, the report advised that the tempo was nonetheless more likely to proceed even when pricing had reached a peak.
“The underlying drivers of RA M&A haven’t modified,” DeVoe & Co. Chief Govt David DeVoe stated in a press release. “Consumers nonetheless have capital to deploy, sellers nonetheless face the identical progress and succession challenges, and we count on transaction exercise to stay traditionally robust.”
Consolidators, who’re serial acquirers and sometimes have personal fairness backing, accounted for half of the full transactions within the first half. In response to DeVoe’s tally, Hightower Signature Wealth, Savant Wealth Administration and Beacon Pointe Advisors topped the ‘most energetic acquirer’ listing for the primary half of the 12 months, with eight offers every. Different energetic patrons included Wealth Enhancement, EP Wealth and Cerity Companions.
These had been among the many companies primarily forecasting that valuations had hit a ceiling as 82% of consolidators anticipated costs to stay flat. Whereas it might be wishful pondering, nearly 75% stated that vendor expectations have turn out to be much less real looking.
“Valuations have been at an all-time excessive for 4 years now,” DeVoe wrote in an e-mail. “The overwhelming majority of consolidators (over 80%) anticipated valuations would stay flat each this 12 months and final. So the brand new improvement is that zero consolidators count on that valuations may improve, down from 8% final 12 months.”
Arax Funding Companions Chief Govt Haig Ariyan stated that patrons have gotten extra discerning reasonably than merely paying much less.
“Consumers have gotten extra selective, not much less keen to pay,” Ariyan stated in a press release. “Distinctive practices with robust natural progress, sturdy shopper relationships, and gifted groups stay extremely wanted and will proceed to command premium multiples.”
A larger portion of huge companies gave the impression to be on the promoting block as companies with greater than $5 billion below administration account for 30 transactions, up 76% from the identical interval final 12 months.
In the meantime, companies managing between $1 billion and $5 billion accounted for one more 42 transactions, sustaining roughly 1 / 4 of total deal quantity. DeVoe stated these mid-to-large RIAs stay the first goal for consolidators, with 46% saying they’re centered on buying companies in that measurement vary.
Smaller RIAs managing between $100 million and $500 million continued to symbolize the biggest share of sellers at roughly 35% of all transactions whereas mid-sized companies accounted for about one-fifth of offers, based on the report.
Though personal equity-backed consolidators stay dominant, RIAs themselves accounted for nearly a 3rd of all offers finished within the first half of the 12 months, based on DeVoe.
“Their exercise displays each rising ambition and rising sophistication, as extra RIAs construct the capital construction, management depth, and acquisition capabilities required to compete for sellers,” the funding financial institution stated, calling them a “extra formidable and constant pressure within the purchaser panorama.”
Different patrons together with personal fairness companies investing straight, banks and broker-dealers, represented 19% of transactions, down barely from a 12 months earlier. They nonetheless accomplished 31 acquisitions, three greater than within the first half of 2025. Greater than half of these offers concerned sellers managing greater than $5 billion in property.