Wealth management M&A activity hit record highs in Q1 2021, driven by anticipated tax changes and growing private equity interest, according to Echelon Partners’ RIA M&A Deal Report. The quarter saw 76 deals—the most ever in a single quarter—up 10% from Q4 2020 and 117% from Q2 2020 at the pandemic’s onset. Rising buyer competition, strong market conditions, and favorable terms for sellers contributed to the surge.
Average seller size also reached a milestone, managing over $2.3 billion in assets, a first for any quarter. Mega-deals, including Voya’s sale of $40 billion in assets to Cetera Financial and Warburg Pincus’ recapitalization of Edelman Financial Services, helped push total assets transacted to roughly $1.5 trillion. The report projects 2021 will surpass last year’s record of 78 $1 billion+ deals, potentially hitting 111 transactions, reflecting both rising deal numbers and increasingly larger deal sizes…