Retirement Advisory M&A Climbed in 2025, Driven by Consolidators

Retirement advisory firms, wealth advisory firms and registered investment advisers all saw increases in mergers and acquisitions in 2025. According to MarshBerry’s “U.S. Quarterly Wealth M&A Market Update,” there were a record 374 announced wealth advisory M&A deals in the U.S. last year, as well as a record 322 RIA M&A deals, according to the fourth quarter 2025 edition of DeVoe & Co.’s “RIA Deal Book.”

Of last year’s deals, 28 transactions involved retirement-focused advisory firms, representing a 16.7% increase from 2024, according to MarshBerry. While 2025 fell short of the record 35 M&A deals carried out in 2021, it tied with the second-highest year, 2022.

Wealth advisory firms were also an increasing portion of the buyers, up to 75% in 2025 from 37% in 2021. Notable 2025 acquisitions by wealth management firms included LPL Financial purchasing Commonwealth Financial Network in March and Creative Planning acquiring SageView Advisory Group in October. MarshBerry wrote that wealth advisory firms are likely increasing their buying of retirement-focused advisory firms to “expand their service offerings” and “capture a greater share of wallet across the full financial lifecycle.”

John Orsini, director of MarshBerry’s wealth advisory division, previously told PLANADVISER that insurance buyers are not pulling back, but are increasingly selective and strategic after their high point of acquisitions from 2021 to 2023.

M&A activity was increasingly driven by private equity, as MarshBerry found that 74% of last year’s buyers were backed by private capital, up from 72% in 2024 and 52% in 2020. Last year ended strong, with a record-setting 93 RIA M&A deals in Q3 2025 and 81 transactions in Q4, according to DeVoe. Each quarter since Q4 2024 has set a new record for its respective period.

DeVos found that “consolidators” drove M&A last year, as there were 95 RIA buyers, down from 117 in 2024, and first-time buyers also declined to 8% in 2025 from 14% in 2024. The 2025 average of 3.4 transactions per firm rose from 1.3 transactions a decade before.

“2025 had 18% more sellers, yet 19% fewer buyers,” said David DeVoe, founder and CEO of DeVoe & Co., in a statement. “The buyer pool is becoming more concentrated—with the leaders putting more space between them and the rest of the pack.”

The momentum in the M&A market will continue in 2026, according to MarshBerry, as valuations remain strong and “well-capitalized acquirers are still leaning in.” Similarly, DeVoe called current M&A activity “robust” and “embedded in the operating rhythm of the RIA industry” and predicted that the industry is likely headed in the direction of “a smaller number of large meta-RIAs operating national or multi-regional platforms.”

However, the MarshBerry report noted that, although what was seen last year was “real momentum, built over time and carried forward by a market that has grown up,” M&A conditions are cyclical, and it was a matter of “not whether valuations will shift, but when and under what conditions.”