FUNDRAISING NEWS | November 06, 2024
San Francisco-based RIA consultancy DeVoe & Company noted a surge of M&A activity in the RIA space during the month of October, representing the “highest monthly volume of SEC RIA M&A transactions on record.”
The consultancy said 39 transactions were recorded in October, exceeding the previous record of 33 transactions from January 2021. Additionally, the October figure is almost double the 21 deals made in October 2023, and accounts for the highest number of deals in a month out of this year’s 232 transactions recorded so far, which in itself represents a 12% year-to-date increase over the 208 transactions logged within the same period last year.
Of the transactions, 83% were transacted by private equity firms and affiliated consolidators and acquirers, indicating a notable increase in activity by strategic buyers who have historically accounted for approximately 70% of deal volume, DeVoe said. Nearly 50% of the record-breaking number of transactions in October were made by consolidators, with Beacon Pointe, Cerity Partners, and Waverly Advisors each making three acquisitions in the month.
Founder and CEO David DeVoe said that the October peak is a “conspicuous spike” during what has been something of an extended lull, with activity generally remaining within the range of 65 transactions per quarter since 2021. DeVoe, however, predicted a rise in overall acquisitions due to declining cost of capital and interest rates that would “likely drive up PE-backed buyer activity.”
