The final three quarters of 2017 witnessed another busy period for M&A action in the world of registered investment advisors, figures show.

There were 41 completed merger and acquisition deals involving US registered investment advisors in the fourth quarter of 2017, rising from 35 such deals in the previous three months but below the totals of 47 and 45, respectively, for the first and second quarters of the year, new figures show.

The data on M&A in the registered investment advisor space, from ECHELON Partners, a business specialising in advising firms in the sector, showed that in total, there were 168 deals, the fifth straight record year, and up 21.7 per cent in deal terms from the level reported in 2016.

“The heightened deal activity has coincided with a revitalized interest from consolidators and private equity buyers, as these firms increasingly are seeking and finding and established businesses that fit their investment criteria,” the report said.

There have been a number of “mega-transactions”, ECHELON noted, such as KKR and StonePoint Capital’s acquisition of Focus Financial’s $100 billion in assets under mamagement.

ECHELON said the trend of advisors breaking away from large wire-houses has been a notable trend, arguing that Morgan Stanley’s decision late last year to walk away from an industry “Protocol” over waiving lawsuits in the event of staff defections was a factor. Citigroup and UBS have also left the pact. (The “Protocol” is an industry pact, entered into in 2004, through which firms agree not to sue each other if staff defected to rivals. Morgan Stanley decided to pull out, claiming the program was being abused.)

Among other details, the average size of a M&A deal pushed above $1 billion for the second year in a row last year.