Slideshow 10 M&A Deals That Shaped RIAs in 2011

2011 may be remembered for its Walls Street thrills and spills, but the merger and acquisition deals made a huge mark on Main Street and the RIA business.

National aggregator and private equity firms accounted for a vast majority of the top deals.

Here’s a look at 10 of the most significant deals in the RIA sector in the past year.

When Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services snapped up Securities America last summer, it snagged a combined $65 billion in assets under management and administration with the deal.

Wells Fargo decided that Parthenon Capital Partners made a better fit for H.D. Vest Financial Services, its former IBD unit. The latter two agreed, and sealed a deal with $28 million in AUM.

First Allied’s new owner Lovell Minnick Partners has empowered the IBD to go out, look for strategic partners that will shore up its service offerings to advisors. First Allied brought some $23 billion in assets to that deal.

Expect firms like Avalon, with their wealth management expertise, to keep getting snapped up by savvy buyers like Carlyle Group.

The $1.6 billion that Reed, Conner and Birdwell brought to the table was enough for MetWest to sign on the dotted line.

United Capital is intent on giving RIAs a reliable template for success and with $1.6 billion in AUM, Zirkin-Cutler Investments was well on the way.

The Colony Group built a huge name and $1.3 billion business serving clients. Focus Financial’s backing will help it take its business to other U.S. regions.

Hufford Financial Advisors brought a very respectable $900 million in assets to the table in a deal with Focus Financial.

Although United Capital was busy rounding up RIAs in 2011, it promises that RIAs like Peak Capital Investment Services, with its $600 million in AUM, won’t have to sign away their independence.

Burns Advisory pulled in a $600 million AUM business when it and Executive Financial Group came to terms on union.