Biggest deals in RIA M&A: No end in sight
December 20, 2016 3:48 PM
The active RIA M&A market: No end in sight
Merger and acquisition deals flowed mightily this year, and few expect the torrent to slow in 2017.
"I see nothing that won't lead to more consolidation," says Marty Bicknell, chief executive of Mariner Wealth Advisors, which has over $10 billion in AUM. "I think there will be a flurry of deals next year and I'm not sure the activity will crest then."
Private equity firms flush with cash are poised to pounce when the opportunity is right. Some of the industry's most prominent RIA executives are also promising to be active in 2017.
Brent Brodeski, CEO of Savant Capital Management, is eager to expandand now has a war chest of around $50 million , thanks to investments by private investors. One of those investors, Ron Carson, sold off 29% of Carson Group Holdings and plans to use the $35 million cash infusion from Long Ridge Equity Partners to make acquisitions for his own firm. Rob Francais, CEO of Aspiriant closed the year by acquiring Silicon Valley-based Stanford Investment Group , pushing Aspiriant's assets past $10 billion, and says at least two more major deals are set for next year.
Please click on the arrow above to see the RIA market's key M&A deals in 2016. Data provided by DeVoe & Co. --Charles Paikert
"I see nothing that won't lead to more consolidation," says Marty Bicknell, chief executive of Mariner Wealth Advisors, which has over $10 billion in AUM. "I think there will be a flurry of deals next year and I'm not sure the activity will crest then."
Private equity firms flush with cash are poised to pounce when the opportunity is right. Some of the industry's most prominent RIA executives are also promising to be active in 2017.
Brent Brodeski, CEO of Savant Capital Management, is eager to expand
Please click on the arrow above to see the RIA market's key M&A deals in 2016. Data provided by DeVoe & Co. --Charles Paikert
The active RIA M&A market: No end in sight
Insurance and financial services company NFP sold a majority stake in Austin, Texas-based Kestra to funds managed by private equity firm Stone Point. NFP will maintain a substantial minority ownership interest in Kestra, which supports 1,700 advisers and hybrid RIAs.
The active RIA M&A market: No end in sight
Regional brokerage firm Stifel only owned Sterne Agee for about a year before selling the IBD to INTL FC Stone , a commodities-centric financial services firm. Stifel kept the private client group.
The active RIA M&A market: No end in sight
Ladenburg Thalmann-owned Securities America scooped up struggling mid-sized IBD Foothill , which lost $674,000 in 2015. Similarly positioned IBDs facing regulatory and competitive pressure and loss of commission products with high fees are expected to be gobbled up in 2017.
The active RIA M&A market: No end in sight
The active RIA M&A market: No end in sight
An under-the-radar RIA powerhouse headquartered in Montana, Davidson strengthened their Midwest footprint with the acquisition of Nebraska-based Smith Hayes . The pick-up brings assets in Davidson's Individual Investor Group to around $40 billion.
The active RIA M&A market: No end in sight
This mega-merger of two prominent RIA firms serving the ultra-high-net worth market on both coasts pushes Tiedemann close to the $10 billion mark.
The active RIA M&A market: No end in sight
This was the second big deal Focus unveiled in January; Kovitz gives the New York-based aggregator its fourth partner in the greater Chicago market.
The active RIA M&A market: No end in sight
"With improved balance sheets and income statements about to benefit from rate increases," says M&A expert David DeVoe, "more bank acquisitions like People's United Bank's acquisition of Gerstein Fisher is likely to occur in the future."
The active RIA M&A market: No end in sight
Suburban Washington-based Convergent, hobbled by scandal and defections, has seen better days, but still had $3 billion on the books. City National Bank sold the firm off to Pathstone, giving co-CEOs Steve Braverman and Alan Zachariah more muscle in the bank-dominated family office/UHNW space .
The active RIA M&A market: No end in sight
Silicon Valley-based Atherton Lane and its wealthy tech-enabled clients was a tempting target for firms hoping to expand in the one of the nation's richest markets, and BNY Mellon opened up its check book to win the prize. Departing advisers resulted in lawsuits , however.
