Beacon Pointe Advisors topped the list of wealth managers making acquisitions in the first three months of this year, with firms announcing 70 in total in the quarter, with average AuM per deal of $2.93 billion, according to FINTRX. A separate report, from ECHELON Partners, also pointed to continued M&A vigor in wealth management in the quarter.
The strong pace of deals that the firm has arranged is continuing its momentum from 2025. Our US correspondent wrote in late February that Matt Cooper has been tapped as the new CEO; Shannon Eusey, who has been chief executive and co-founder of the Newport Beach, California-based RIA, transitioned to become chair of the firm’s board of directors after leading the firm for 24 years. Cooper has been one of the industry’s biggest M&A advocates and busiest buyers.
Shannon Eusey and Matt Cooper
Since the start of January, Beacon Pointe Advisors bought businesses including MGB Wealth Management, in Addison, Texas; The Financial Advisors in Massachusetts, and Financial Planning Solutions, , Voyager Wealth Management , InvestmentHunter Wealth Services , and Litman Gregory Wealth Management, in California.
Other notable acquirers in Q1 included Cerity Partners ; EP Wealth Advisors ; Choreo ; CWM ; Creative Planning ; Savant Wealth Management ; Captrust ; Waverly Advisors ; and Mission Wealth Management .
Of the 70 firms that announced deals, 67 of them disclosed the AuM involved. The median deal size was about $500 million.
FINTRX noted that the gap between the median and average deal size shows that most acquisitions were still smaller strategic tuck-ins, while a handful of mega deals drove a disproportionate share of total market value.
Separately, in its first-quarter report, ECHELON Partners, an investment bank and advisor to wealth managers, said a total of $1.67 billion of assets under management were transacted in the quarter, covering 142 deals. It estimates that a total of 475 deals will be achieved this year.
Strategic acquirers have expanded their focus on generating scale by also executing transactions that create truly integrated and holistic platforms. Mergers such as Corebridge Financial and Equitable Holdings demonstrate this trend, combining retirement advisory, insurance, wealth management, and asset management under one roof, ECHELON said in its report. Mergers and acquisitions are increasingly being used to add tax, estate, family office, and institutional consulting capabilities.
The report also highlighted the international angle, with US firms buying foreign firms, such as with Creative Planning acquiring Swiss RIA Baseline Wealth Management in January, followed by the deal for UK-based MASECO in March.
Private equity-linked deals continued to dominate: PE-involved activity reached 102 transactions in the quarter , driven by a new all-time high of 95 PE-sponsored transactions. Notable direct investments included Carlyle’s acquisition of a majority stake in MAI Capital Management and Stone Point Capital’s overseas investment in Amber River.