It turns out RIA mergers and acquisitions can slow down.
The consulting and valuation firm DeVoe & Co. on Thursday released data suggesting M&A deals among RIA buyers and sellers are slowing quarter-over-quarter for the first time since late 2024. DeVoe found that 72 RIA purchases had been announced in this year's third quarter by Sept. 22, a 19% drop from the same period in 2025.
Unless deals pick up significantly by the end of Q3 on Wednesday next week, the RIA industry will witness the end of a record-breaking run, marking the first time the deal total fails to set a quarter-over-quarter record in nearly two years. The last quarter without a record-breaking increase, according to DeVoe's data, was Q3 of 2024, which tied the deal tally for the year-earlier period with 65 completed transactions.
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Demand remains as external events weigh on deals
Founder and CEO David DeVoe believes the decline does not signal weakening demand for RIA purchases. Instead, the slowdown more likely stems from general economic circumstances, though not those dominating headlines at the moment.
DeVoe noted that announcements of acquisition deals often lag behind actual decisions to sell by anywhere from six to 18 months. So RIA M&A numbers are better seen as a lagging indicator of economic worries among buyers and sellers.
"Over 23 years, I've been tracking RIA M&A activity and seeking to understand what drives the numbers," DeVoe said. "Historicall we've seen that when there are sustained periods of volatility or material declines, M&A does slow."
DeVoe said developments earlier this year and last — tariff hikes, the war with Iran, rising gas prices — likely had a direct effect on RIA owners' willingness to sell. Such variables don't necessarily complicate the economics of M&A deals, he said. Rather, advisors find themselves devoting more hours to quelling client anxieties during such times and have less to devote to selling their firms.
"That's a natural gravitational force for this industry," DeVoe said. "And we think that's exactly what happened here."
That's not to say external economic events have no direct influence on M&A deals. Rising interest rates, in particular, can cause many of the private equity firms behind some of the biggest industry transactions more reluctant to buy. The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rates by a quarter percentage point last week and has hinted further increases could be needed to tame inflation.
"I think for the immediate term, it'll potentially be a drag, but probably just a slight drag on M&A activity in the near term," DeVoe said about the recent rate hike.
Even before the release Thursday of the partial third-quarter data, RIA deals were showing signs of slowing. The year started with a bang, with 93 transactions recorded in the first quarter — showing a 24% increase from the year-earlier period and tying the all-time quarterly record set in the third quarter of 2025.
By the second quarter of 2026, the number had decreased to 74, which was just one deal more than the number recorded in the same period last year.
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RIA valuations may also be slowing their upward climb
Deals may not be the only economic gauge of the RIA industry showing signs of slowing down. So too could RIA sales prices.
Results of DeVoe's May survey of 11 large RIA buyers revealed doubts that the average firm sale price
Similar to DeVoe's conclusions, a recent M&A report from Fidelity Investments suggests that the pace of RIA deals is flagging. Fidelity found that the total for transactions in the first half of the year, 120,
At the same time, certain types of firms were more likely to be bought. Deals for firms with more than $1 billion in client assets, for instance, were up by 6% in the first half, Fidelity found.
Corey Kupfer, a lawyer specializing in M&A work for registered investment advisors, said he thinks the early days of RIA acquisitions were marked by a series of "land grabs" by firms eager to establish a presence by buying up as many firms as possible. Firms have also become slower to complete deals.
"The [letters of intent] are coming a little slower, due diligence process can go a little longer," Kupfer said. "I think it's just because some of these buyers have just slowed their process a little bit. They're becoming a little more careful and selective. We haven't had any deals die. But if the deals are even running 30 or 45 days slower, what that means is that the numbers are going to be lower."
Kupfer said larger firms tend to have a number of appealing attributes. One is often a strong track record with so-called organic growth. This refers to its ability to bring in revenue from new clients and assets and not rely exclusively on returns on invested assets.
Large firms are also more likely than smaller rivals to have extensive executive teams and stables of younger advisors who can one day take over a firm when the current leaders retire, he said. With firm valuations still running high, buyers are being careful to choose firms that justify the purchase price.
"With more competition and multiples going up, the quality of a firm and size of a firm matters a lot more," Kupfer said.
