The U.S. registered investment adviser market recorded its most active first half for mergers and acquisitions, extending a consolidation cycle that is increasingly defining how private wealth firms finance growth, manage succession and compete for affluent clients.

Berkshire Global Advisors counted 225 announced transactions involving U.S. wealth management firms with at least $100 million in assets during the first six months of 2026. That represented an increase of nearly 40% from the 162 transactions recorded in the same period of 2025 and placed the industry on a trajectory to surpass last year’s full-year record.

The pace was particularly strong during the opening quarter. Berkshire recorded 124 transactions from January through March, the busiest quarter in its database. That compared with 83 deals in the first quarter of 2025 and 90 during the final three months of last year. Activity moderated in the second quarter, but the 101 transactions announced from April through June still made it the third-most active quarter tracked by the firm.

The figures indicate that the market has moved beyond a narrow wave of founder retirements or opportunistic acquisitions. Consolidation has become embedded in the strategic planning of firms across the wealth management sector, from regional advisers seeking their first outside investment to national platforms pursuing multiple acquisitions each year.

The expansion is occurring at both ends of the market. Large RIA platforms are pursuing transactions that can materially increase assets, revenue and specialist capabilities, while smaller acquisitions remain attractive because they can add advisers and clients with comparatively limited integration complexity. Mid-sized firms have also continued to transact, giving the market a broad base rather than leaving activity dependent on a small number of exceptional combinations.

One of the most significant changes from 2025 was the increase in deals involving larger firms. Berkshire identified 26 first-half transactions involving RIAs with more than $5 billion in assets, compared with 15 during the same period last year. The rise reflects continued consolidation among established platforms as well as a developing recapitalization cycle for firms that accepted institutional capital several years ago.

Many large RIAs received private equity or other outside investment during the expansion of 2020 and 2021. Some of those firms are now reaching the stage at which early investors seek liquidity, management teams want additional growth capital or ownership groups consider bringing in larger sponsors. The resulting transactions can take the form of majority sales, minority investments, strategic combinations or recapitalizations that replace or supplement existing shareholders.

Berkshire recorded 31 financings, minority investments and recapitalizations during the first half, including seven involving platforms with more than $10 billion in assets. That activity shows how the industry’s ownership structures are becoming more complex. A firm may remain operationally independent while changing financial sponsors, sell only a minority interest or combine with another platform while retaining substantial equity for management and advisers.

Equity is becoming a more prominent element of transaction structures, although cash remains important, particularly for owners seeking retirement liquidity. Buyers frequently ask selling principals to reinvest part of their proceeds in the combined company. Such arrangements can align the interests of advisers and acquirers, preserve client continuity and give sellers exposure to future growth. They also transfer some transaction risk back to the selling shareholders because the ultimate value of rolled equity depends on the buyer’s execution and eventual liquidity strategy.

Private equity-backed RIAs remained the dominant group of strategic acquirers. Berkshire found that sponsor-backed firms accounted for 85% of strategic acquisitions in the first two quarters. The percentage was slightly below the level for full-year 2025 but remained consistent with the industry’s recent ownership pattern.

Financial sponsors have been drawn to wealth management by recurring fee revenue, relatively durable client relationships, low capital requirements and opportunities to improve profitability through scale. The fragmented structure of the advisory market also provides a long pipeline of potential acquisitions. Thousands of independent firms remain in operation, many of them led by founders who must eventually address ownership succession.

The acquisition strategies of sponsor-backed platforms typically combine organic growth with repeated purchases of smaller firms. Acquirers may centralize compliance, finance, investment operations, cybersecurity and technology while allowing acquired advisers to retain their client-facing brands or local identities. The model is intended to lower duplicated costs and give advisers access to resources that would be expensive to build independently.

Carson Group led Berkshire’s first-half buyer ranking with 12 transactions, nine of which were classified as internal consolidations. Savant Wealth Management completed nine deals. Beacon Pointe Advisors, Hightower Advisors and Wealth Enhancement each recorded eight, while Cerity Partners and Merit Financial Advisors completed six apiece. EP Wealth Advisors, Mercer Advisors and Waverly Advisors each announced five.

The presence of internal consolidations in the totals is important because many national platforms have developed networks containing partially independent affiliates, legacy partnerships or businesses with separate legal ownership. Combining those entities can simplify governance, create a more unified operating structure and prepare a platform for a future recapitalization or strategic transaction.

For firms approaching a sale or capital raise, continued acquisition activity can also strengthen the growth story presented to prospective investors. Buyers and sponsors generally assess not only a platform’s existing earnings but also whether it can source, close and integrate additional transactions. That can encourage large RIAs to maintain an active deal pipeline even as they evaluate changes to their own ownership.

Succession remains one of the industry’s strongest long-term drivers. Many advisory firms were built around founders who retain both controlling equity and primary responsibility for key client relationships. Internal succession can be difficult because younger advisers may lack the capital to purchase the founder’s stake, particularly when strong industry valuations produce a large gap between business value and the borrowing capacity of employees.

An external sale can solve the ownership problem while providing continuity for clients and staff. Acquirers may offer financing, equity participation, management support and a structured transition for the founder. The appeal of those options rises when independent firms face increasing costs for compliance, technology, data security, insurance and talent.

Client expectations are reinforcing the economic case for scale. High-net-worth households increasingly seek coordinated advice extending beyond portfolio management to tax planning, trust and estate services, charitable strategies, lending, business-owner planning and family governance. Delivering those services requires specialists, integrated systems and operational capacity that smaller firms may struggle to fund on their own.

Acquisitions allow platforms to build capabilities more quickly than they could through internal hiring. A wealth manager can purchase an RIA with an established tax practice, acquire a team specializing in corporate executives or business owners, or enter a new metropolitan market through a firm with existing client relationships. Some buyers are also moving into adjacent areas such as retirement consulting, outsourced investment management and trust administration.

For clients, the potential advantages include deeper research resources, improved digital tools, expanded planning services and greater organizational continuity if an individual adviser retires. A larger organization may also have stronger cybersecurity controls, compliance systems and access to specialized investment strategies.

Those benefits are not automatic. Rapid acquisition programs can create operational strain if firms use different portfolio systems, pricing models, service standards or investment philosophies. Clients may also be concerned about changes in personnel, fees or the level of independence retained by their advisers. The effectiveness of integration is therefore becoming a central competitive issue as consolidators move from assembling firms to operating them as coherent wealth management businesses.

The record deal total does not necessarily mean that every RIA is receiving a higher valuation. A separate first-half study from DeVoe & Company counted 167 transactions under its own methodology and found that acquisition activity remained historically strong despite a second-quarter decline from an exceptional opening period. DeVoe’s survey of major buyers also showed greater caution about pricing.

None of the consolidators surveyed by DeVoe expected RIA valuations to rise during the second half, while 18% anticipated declines and the remainder expected pricing to remain stable. Almost three-quarters believed that the gap between sellers’ expectations and buyers’ willingness to pay was widening. The findings suggest that abundant capital is not eliminating scrutiny of growth, profitability, management depth and client concentration.

Differences between the Berkshire and DeVoe transaction counts reflect variations in inclusion criteria, asset thresholds and deal classification. Both datasets nevertheless point in the same direction: the first half was a record period, the first quarter was unusually active and the structural forces supporting consolidation remain intact.

Valuation discipline may become more visible as the market distinguishes between large institutional-quality platforms and smaller founder-led practices. The highest earnings multiples are generally reserved for firms with strong organic growth, scalable operations, durable management teams, high client retention and differentiated services. Practices heavily dependent on one rainmaker, a concentrated client base or limited infrastructure may not command comparable terms.

Financing conditions will also influence the next stage of the cycle. Wealth management acquisitions are often supported by private credit, bank financing or sponsor equity. A more restrictive lending environment could make highly leveraged transactions harder to complete, but well-capitalized platforms may benefit if weaker buyers become less competitive. The growing use of buyer equity can also reduce immediate cash requirements, though it requires sellers to evaluate the quality and future prospects of the acquiring company.

The surge has implications for independent firms that are not currently pursuing a transaction. As competitors gain scale, smaller RIAs may need to invest more heavily in technology, compliance and specialized planning. Some will form strategic partnerships or shared-service arrangements rather than sell. Others may become selective acquirers themselves, using outside capital or equity consideration to add teams and strengthen their position in regional markets.

For family offices and wealthy investors choosing an adviser, ownership is becoming a more important due-diligence issue. Clients may need to understand whether their firm is controlled by advisers, employees, a national platform or a private equity sponsor; how acquisition debt is structured; whether adviser compensation may change; and what protections exist for service continuity and data privacy.

Berkshire expects activity to ease from the extraordinary pace established early in the year but sees limited basis for a significant contraction. Large platforms continue to seek scale, the supply of smaller potential sellers remains substantial and a growing group of mid-sized RIAs is developing acquisition strategies of its own. Recapitalizations are also expected to generate further transactions as established firms revisit their capital structures.

At the current first-half pace, 2026 could exceed the 349 transactions Berkshire recorded for all of 2025. The final total will depend on financing markets, valuation expectations and the ability of active buyers to absorb the firms they have already acquired. Even if quarterly volume normalizes, the industry’s direction is increasingly clear: M&A has become a permanent mechanism for succession, capability building and competitive expansion in U.S. private wealth management.