A year in review: 2025 mergers & acquisitions

Setting a new benchmark in RIA M&A

2025 set a new high-water mark for RIA M&A activity, with 276 completed transactions totaling $796.4 billion in purchased assets. This surpasses 2024’s 233 transactions and $669.8 billion in acquired assets. Notably, the record was broken early: the 234th transaction of the year in the M&A market was announced on October 31. And, for the first time since we began tracking the market in 2015, annual purchased assets exceeded three quarters of a trillion dollars, representing a 19% increase over the prior year and more than double the total recorded in 2023.

Transaction overview

As we study the transactions, it s clear that firm leaders are not growing for growth's sake alone. Instead, firms are evolving into more sophisticated organizations as leaders recognize the imperative to “fish in bigger ponds in order to compete at scale.

This dynamic marks what we describe as Chapter Two of the industry's three-chapter M&A progression, a framework first outlined in our Q1 2024 report. In this chapter, adjacency acquisitions such as tax planning, CPA capabilities, and ultra-high-net-worth services, are becoming increasingly prominent as firms work to build comprehensive fiduciary platforms. RIAs are shifting from a narrow focus on AUM acquisition to a more strategic view of M&A as a tool for expanding and diversifying their service models.

This report explores the key statistics and structural trends shaping 2025’s record-setting M&A landscape. To illustrate how these dynamics are playing out in practice, the report also features a spotlight with Founder and CEO Marty Bicknell of Mariner, as well as a conversation with two leaders from Constellation Wealth Capital: Pat McHugh, managing director, head of Investments; and Mike Rieker, director, Advisory.

First, let's begin by examining the numbers.

Total RIA M&A transactions

While $1B+ deals may look like a roller coaster year over year, zooming out brings clarity with a steady trendline

Since 2020, transaction volume rose 111%, while purchased assets grew more than fourfold. This momentum is clearly visible in the activity trendline, which mirrors the upward trajectory of the U.S. equity markets over the same period.

Despite an increase in total volume, median deal size has remained remarkably consistent, ranging from $400M–$600M. The exception is 2021, when near-zero interest rates fueled accelerated dealmaking amid a strong sense of FOMO (fear of missing out). This stability is reflected in the flat median trendline with 2025 finishing at a median deal size of $508 million

An examination of transactions involving more than $1 billion in purchased assets reveals a similar pattern. While quarter-to-quarter snapshots may suggest rising or declining activity at the $1 billion threshold, more than a decade of data provides a broader and more reliable perspective. The longer-term view makes it clear that the RIA M&A market remains durable and well-balanced, with steady demand across firms of all sizes, both above and below the $1 billion AUM mark.

M&A activity has leveled since 2020 in the independent broker dealer (IBD) channel

The more consolidated broker-dealer space yielded five M&A transactions totaling $315B in purchased assets. The broker-dealer sector s consolidated market structure, tighter capital obligations, and a rigorous regulatory environment continue to keep transaction activity relatively muted.

Strategic acquirers dominate the acquisition market while new entrants help to shape the landscape

Strategic acquirers announced 74% of the total transactions in 2025, up from 71% in 2024.

To gain deeper insight into the forces shaping dealmaking behavior, we narrowed our analysis to the top 20 most active acquirers, referred to throughout this report as the "Leading 20 Acquirer Cohort."

As we explore strategic RIAs transitioning into full scale enterprises, we sought insight beyond our data by turning to a CEO who has navigated this very evolution, offering a grounded, real world perspective.

Spotlight: Mariner

Mariner, a financial services firm with over $600B AUA² led by CEO Marty Bicknell, began more aggressively incorporating inorganic growth into its strategy in 2017. Through numerous adjacent practice acquisitions, Bicknell remains anchored in Mariner’s mission to "positively impact the lives of many." As he puts it, "Mariner is growing, but not for growth’s sake. Our growth provides opportunities for personal and professional development and gives our advisors access to excellence in other areas for the benefit of the client."

Bicknell emphasizes that Mariner does not pursue a specific acquisition target number as part of its M&A strategy, nor is the firm operating with a “sprinter’s mentality.” Instead, it remains disciplined, generally closing 6-to-12 transactions every year after evaluating many more. Deals are guided by strategic fit, not volume, he says.

Mariner’s entry into adjacent business lines is driven by what Bicknell calls “front‑line needs.” He highlights the firm’s transformative 2025 acquisition of Woodbridge International, a boutique investment bank, which enabled Mariner to provide an in-house succession planning solution for business owners. To date, this service offering has already supported over two dozen clients, an outcome that Bicknell says surpassed his expectations greatly.

The firm’s overall integration philosophy follows a “front stage/backstage” approach: client-facing experiences remain unchanged, while back-office functions are streamlined to enhance efficiency without disruption.

As Mariner evolves into a more complex enterprise with multiple business units, governance and transparency have become increasingly essential. Bicknell stays deeply connected to the business through regular touchpoints, including bi‑weekly calls with business unit leaders, enabling him to quickly address cross‑functional needs spanning compliance, finance, and accounting.

For firms preparing to operate at enterprise scale, Bicknell says it’s imperative to have clarity around the desired client and advisor experience. Rather than focusing on size or structure, Bicknell urges firms to define the value they intend to deliver and to use that commitment as the lens for every strategic decision. Firm leaders must understand “what client value proposition and what advisor value proposition you’re striving for,” Bicknell says, and then remain disciplined in building an enterprise that fulfills those promises.

Additionally, Bicknell points out one of the industry’s emerging vulnerabilities: the lack of formal training and structured career paths for new advisors. Many firms still rely on informal shadowing models, which he warns will not keep pace with the wave of advisor retirements. “We’re going to have to have strong training and development programs inside our firms in order to keep up with the growth,” Bicknell says.

To help fuel Mariner’s growth, the firm accepted minority investments from Leonard Green & Partners in 2021 and Neuberger Berman in 2024. Bicknell describes both as exceptional partners, providing strategic capital while allowing Mariner to maintain operational autonomy in its M&A program. “Transparency and performance buy autonomy,” Bicknell says.

Private equity continues to influence the M&A market

In 2025, private equity continued to fuel the RIA M&A landscape, backing 88% of total deals.

We spoke with two leaders at Constellation Wealth Capital: Pat McHugh, managing director, head of Investments, and Mike Rieker, director, Advisory, to get their thoughts on strategic capital in the M&A market.

Spotlight: Constellation Wealth Capital

Constellation Wealth Capital (CWC) is a private equity firm focused exclusively on minority, non-controlling investments in scaled, independent wealth management firms. Since launching its investment program in 2023, CWC has rapidly built a portfolio of 14 partner firms, ranging from $2B to $85B in AUM, with an emphasis on long‑term partnerships and tailored strategic support, while allowing the partner businesses to operate with autonomy.

CWC stays aligned with its partner firms by tailoring its involvement to each firm’s growth model, maintaining daily communication, and earning influence through trust, not control. Some firms focus on M&A; others grow purely organically. CWC supports each approach directly, without forcing a one‑size‑fits‑all strategy.

Because the investments and advisory teams engage with firms every day, major decisions, especially transformative M&A, surface early. This mitigates surprises and allows both sides to shape the opportunity together rather than react to it after the fact.

CWC intentionally avoids exercising control over day‑to‑day operations to protect entrepreneurial independence. “We don’t have operational consent on every single thing,” McHugh says, “because the second that we become overbearing, you’re going to lose that autonomy and the independence that’s made the firm so special.”

That philosophy encourages partners to voluntarily involve CWC, creating alignment through credibility and trust rather than mandates.

CWC sees the definition of “wealth management” expanding to include additional services. They encourage firms to pursue adjacencies but only when aligned with client needs and long‑term strategic intent.

When asked what advice firms should follow to prepare for the next phase of complexity, McHugh stresses the importance of starting with absolute clarity on long‑term goals, and not just the deal math. Firms should align on their long-term vision and seek targeted advisor input before delving into options. “People can get very caught up in the transaction dynamics,” McHugh says, “and you really lose sight of the ultimate objective for the partnership.”

As for hurdles RIAs might face in building an enterprise model, he warns that leaders often underestimate the time and operational strain of a transaction. It can take up eighteen months, not three, for a successful transaction, and leaders who cut hiring to boost EBITDA may ultimately hurt growth and morale. Firms may be better off maintaining momentum, preparing financials, and setting a realistic timeline, McHugh states, that allows them to run the business while navigating the build‑out.

Future outlook

So where is the M&A landscape headed?

It appears that the market has yet to reach Chapter 3: the scale of “mega-mergers.”  Bicknell sees a mega-merger in the RIA space as increasingly likely, fueled by significant private equity interest and the industry’s natural push toward larger fiduciary platforms. He notes that even the biggest RIAs remain small compared to legacy institutions with thousands of advisors, creating ample room for scale to expand within the independent model. “There’s no RIA that’s a large firm, and there will be,” Bicknell states. The combination of capital, consolidation momentum, and the strength of the fiduciary model, Bicknell believes, creates the conditions for a transformative deal to emerge in the near future.

McHugh says that the firms most likely to thrive and potentially help shape the industry’s next-generation RIA leaders will be those that enter capital or M&A discussions with real clarity about shared goals. He emphasizes that alignment will matter more than ever as deals get larger and more complex, advising firms to ask upfront, “If this goes well, what are you solving for?” to ensure both sides are building toward the same long-term vision. McHugh and Rieker also point to people as the defining engine of tomorrow’s scaled platforms; firms that invest in next-generation ownership, compensation, and development may be the ones best positioned to grow into (or become part of) the future mega-RIA the industry increasingly expects.

Suffice it to say, 2025’s M&A volume reflects more than record-breaking activity; it points to a structured demand for scale, specialization, and enterprise-ready platforms. Capital in strong supply, a widening amount of buyers, and sharpening strategic intent, suggest that demand is unlikely to meaningfully recede anytime soon. The question ahead is not whether M&A will continue, but which firms will be most deliberate in shaping what comes next.