Merger-and-acquisition activity among registered investment advisors contracted in the third quarter, snapping a seven-quarter streak of record volume, according to DeVoe & Company's latest deal book. The San Francisco-based investment bank counted 77 announced transactions from July through September, down from 93 in the same period a year earlier. Despite the quarterly pullback, the 244 deals announced through the first nine months of 2026 remain slightly ahead of last year's record-setting pace.
The decline is less a signal of fading appetite than a reflection of which sellers are stepping forward, the report argues. DeVoe attributes the slowdown to decisions made months earlier, noting that banker-led sales typically take about six months from decision to announcement, while do-it-yourself processes can stretch 12 to 18 months. That lag means the current data captures owner sentiment from a period marked by turbulence.
Within that window, the Cboe Volatility Index spiked three times: after tariff announcements in April 2025, on concerns over AI valuations in November 2025, and when the U.S.-Iran conflict erupted in March 2026. "The volatility and distraction created by tariffs, the war with Iran, gasoline price surges and other economic shocks caused some advisors to pause before moving forward with a sale," said David DeVoe, founder and CEO of DeVoe & Company. "That hesitation is now emerging in our transaction data."
The firm expects the same lag to work in reverse, projecting more than 15 client closings over the next six months. Third-quarter volume also edged up from 74 deals in the second quarter, a softer decline than preliminary data released in late September had suggested.
Smaller sellers stall, mega-deals surge
The pullback was concentrated among smaller, founder-led firms. Sellers with $100 million to $500 million in assets completed 87 deals through September, representing 36% of the market—a share on track for the lowest full-year figure on record. Meanwhile, firms above $500 million now account for 64% of transactions. Mega-sellers with more than $5 billion in assets completed 41 deals, already surpassing any prior full-year total and capturing a record 17% of the market. Average seller assets, excluding mega deals, reached $1.02 billion, with the median seller at $625 million.
Consolidators tighten grip
Consolidators—serial acquirers built around M&A—announced 129 deals, or 53% of the market, up from 45% in 2024 and 49% in 2025. RIAs acting as buyers took 29% of deals, while other buyers, including private equity firms, broker-dealers, and banks, fell to 18%, their smallest share since 2014. Wealth Enhancement Group leads the acquirer table with 16 transactions, followed by Hightower Signature Wealth with 15, 12 of which involved firms already in its network as it moved partners into its integrated W-2 channel. Savant Wealth Management has announced 10 deals, and Beacon Pointe Advisors and Corient each completed eight.
Independent broker-dealers are also expanding their footprint. LPL Financial has acquired more than 75 practices since launching its Liquidity & Succession program in 2021, the report notes. In April, Cetera formed Cetera Planning Partners, an employee-advisor RIA that launched with roughly $19 billion in assets under advisement. These moves echo broader trends in the wealth management industry, such as Citi's record asset inflows and BlackRock's strong ETF inflows, as firms scale up.
To match 2025's record 322 transactions, the industry needs 78 deals in the fourth quarter—a level achieved in each of the past two years, when Q4 produced 81 deals. "The slowdown is real, but the forces driving RIA M&A have not gone away," said Gordon Ross, president of DeVoe & Company. "Owners still need succession solutions, firms still need scale, and well-capitalized buyers are still pursuing acquisitions."
