RIA mergers and acquisitions set a quarterly record with 94 transactions in the July-to-September period, surpassing the previous high of 81 in the 2024 fourth quarter, DeVoe & Co. reported Wednesday.
Third-quarter activity started with 32 deals in July, decelerated to 25 in August and shot up to a near-record 37 in September.
“Quarter after quarter, RIA M&A continues to heat up,” David DeVoe, his firm’s founder and CEO, said in a statement. “With Q3 setting a record, 2025 is on pace to surpass all previous annual totals.”
Sellers are growing in size, the report said. Midsize and large firms account for more than half of all transactions, pushing assets under management of average sellers close to 2021’s record highs.
Private equity-backed consolidators represent the majority of activity, fueling the industry’s consolidation, DeVoe said.
This year is shaping up to be a landmark one for RIA M&A, DeVoe & Co. said. If the current pace continues, the industry could easily exceed 300 transactions, setting an annual record.
The DeVoe RIA M&A Deal Book focuses primarily on the acquisitions and mergers of more than 5,000 RIAs registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and only on transactions of $100 million or more in assets under management to optimize the statistical accuracy of the firm’s reporting and screen out SEC-registered hedge funds, independent broker-dealers, mutual fund companies and other companies that do not operate as traditional RIA firms.
Researchers also exclude the “advisors joining RIAs” category unless there are important developments.
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