Fidelity: M&A Deals Fell in 1H, but Total Asset Haul Rose 88%
Registered investment advisor buyers were more selective in their purchases in the first half of 2026, but they’re also going for bigger fish, according to analysis by a team at Fidelity Investments.
Fidelity found that the number of deals, compared to the first half of 2025, dropped 9% to 120. When it came to asset haul, however, the count was up 88% to $342.9 billion compared to the same period last year.
“There was an increase in $1 billion+ deals, which supports the broader trend of assets and advisors concentrating in the largest firms,” said William Bruckner, vice president, strategic client consultant at Fidelity. “[But] I think the consistency we’ve seen at the median transaction size is even more interesting.”
According to the research team, the median deal size for firms rose from $517 million to $630 million in the first half, with a steady flow of transactions happening quarter to quarter.
“Deals in this size range are being very deliberate around succession, platform requirements, and the ability to offer more services to clients,” Bruckner said.
The analysts pointed to active deal flow driven by an aging advisor population, with private equity capital fueling acquisitions.
In fact, private-equity-backed or owned buyers were responsible for 107 of 120 transactions in the first half, or 89% of deals, according to Fidelity. That is about where it has been for the past couple of years, with Fidelity posing the question of how long that run will continue.
“It remains to be seen how long this level of PE activity will continue, and how the industry reacts to changes in market dynamics,” the analysts wrote. “For the moment, private equity remains a dominant force in the RIA acquisition market, providing capital and strategic support to the industry’s most active acquirers.”
Fidelity also noted an uptick in RIAs acquiring adjacent business lines to expand services. There were 12 deals for adjacent businesses in the first half, according to the analysis, which highlights “the ongoing Chapter 2 movement of firms from traditional advisory practices into complex financial services enterprises.”
Cerity Partners and Waverly Advisors were the two most active RIAs in this regard, each acquiring two deals involving tax and accounting firms.
Fidelity also looked back at the second half of 2025 to compile a list of the most active acquirers from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026. Here, the analysts found that Beacon Pointe Advisors led the pack with 20 deals, accounting for a combined $12.4 billion in assets. It is followed by 14 deals done by Wealth Enhancement and 13 by Mercer Advisors, according to Fidelity’s count.
Beacon Pointe, like all but one of the top 20 dealmakers in the 12-month ranking, is backed by a private equity stakeholder. In the case of the Newport Beach, Calif.-based registered investment advisor, KKR is a minority owner, having bought into the firm in 2021.
“We do not view transaction count as the measure of a successful M&A strategy,” said Jack Cooper, senior director of M&A for Beacon Pointe. “What ultimately matters is whether the combination produces a better outcome for clients, advisors, and employees.”
Cooper said integration is the “most important part of our process,” and that the RIA has a dedicated integration team as well as teams across platforms that work with firms after they join.
“Those efforts are led by some of Beacon Pointe’s longest-tenured team members—people who understand not only our systems and processes, but also our culture and how the organization has evolved,” he said.
Wealth Enhancement, which has been executing a string of deals this year, is owned by Onex Corporation and TA Associates, though sources have said that The Carlyle Group and Bain Capital have both made bids to buy the RIA. None of the firms has commented on the matter.
Jim Cahn, Chief Strategy Officer at Wealth Enhancement, said of the firm landing as number two on Fidelity’s M&A list: “Markets are high, smaller RIAs are having a harder time growing, and the value proposition of larger firms to both advisors and clients continues to get better. We think a combination of those factors are contributing to the level of deal activity we’re seeing.”
Fidelity compiled its report from publicly available information, so deals that were not announced or made available would not be included. M&A activity from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026
The only RIA aggregator in the top 20 not backed by PE was Miami-based Corient, which is owned by Mubadala Capital, an alternative asset management subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Capital, a sovereign wealth fund owned by the Abu Dhabi government.
In terms of asset count, Creative Planning was the most active in the past twelve months. That Overland Park, Kan.-based firm brought in $243.8 billion in client assets, though that included the deal to acquire SageView Advisory Group, the majority of whose assets were in employer-sponsored retirement plans.
