M&A deal volume among RIA firms declined for the second straight quarter in Q2 of 2024, according to the ECHELON Partners 2Q24 RIA M&A Deal Report that was released on Monday.
There were a total of 75 transactions announced for the quarter. “While this is a lower total than those of the last three quarters, it is somewhat expected as Q2 is historically the least active period” of the year, the report said.
There are also “key signs for optimism” based on the Q2 results, according to the report.
Among those signs, the quarter’s transactions increased 15.4% relative to the same quarter in 2023. Also, this was the second most active Q2 on record. The annualized deal total for the first half of 2024 indicates that the industry is on pace to exceed 332 transactions for the year, representing a 3.4% increase compared to 2023.
During Q2, strategic acquirers, primarily RIAs, and financial acquirers, primarily private equity firms, announced 84% and 16% of the quarter's total deals, respectively. Private equity firms were involved in 70.7% of the quarter’s transactions, either directly or as a sponsor.
Standout RIA deal announcements in Q2 included the merger of Focus Financials’ partner firms Buckingham Wealth and The Colony Group, which formed a $115 billion platform, and Cerity’s acquisition of Agility, a $15 billion Denver-based OCIO.
Notable deals by financial acquirers included Advent’s and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority’s minority investment in Fisher Investments, along with GTCR’s deal to take AssetMark, a TAMP with $117 billion in assets, private.
Several larger deals in Q2 helped push the average deal size to historic levels, the report said, including the Cerity acquisition and Sanctuary Wealth acquiring tru Independence, a $12.5 billion TAMP. The second quarter’s average AUM per deal rose to about $2.3 billion, up from $1.8 billion in Q1.
Wealthtech M&A activity more than doubled, with 33 deals announced in Q2, compared with 13 in the first quarter.
Jeff Berman, Contributing Editor & Reporter at Wealth Solutions Report, can be reached at jberman@wealthsolutionsreport.com.
