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Consolidation in the RIA space cooled in August, with Dakota tracking 23 announced US wealth management M&A transactions totaling approximately $30.6B in client AUM, down from July's 33 deals and $50.5B. The Northeast led by both count and value, with six transactions totaling roughly $23.2B — three-quarters of the month's disclosed total — anchored by Corient's agreement to acquire $21B New York-based UHNW RIA Summit Trail Advisors, the month's headline deal by a wide margin.
The Southeast followed by value with three deals totaling approximately $3B, led by Hightower Advisors moving $2.5B Stearns Financial Group into its Hightower Signature Wealth platform. The West added four transactions totaling about $2.6B, headlined by Merit Financial Advisors' $900M acquisition of The Bridgeway Group, and the Midwest contributed five deals totaling roughly $1.2B, led by Wealth Enhancement's addition of $592M Miramar Capital. The Southwest was quietest, with three deals totaling about $474M. Separately, Coastline Wealth Management completed 12 full and partial practice acquisitions across multiple regions, pushing its assets under management and administration past $6B.
Outside the traditional RIA channel, Vanguard agreed to buy custody and wealth technology platform Altruist at a valuation of approximately $4B, consolidating a market long dominated by Charles Schwab and Fidelity Investments.
Minority investment activity was unusually heavy. Carlyle's Global Credit platform agreed to a $600M hybrid capital solution for nearly $50B Prime Capital Financial at an enterprise value above $1.8B, with Abry Partners exiting; The Vistria Group agreed to take a majority stake in $14B Curi Capital; FTV Capital backed $10B Kingsview Partners; and H.I.G. Capital made its first institutional investment in HBK, parent of $7.6B HBKS Wealth Advisors. Constellation Wealth Capital struck twice within a week, staking $8B Confluence Financial Partners and $4.3B Aaron Wealth.
The rumor pipeline pointed to larger deals ahead: Franklin Templeton is reportedly in talks to acquire $90B AlTi Global, World Insurance Associates is reportedly weighing a sale of its $73B wealth and retirement arm World Investment Advisors, and Corient is reportedly pursuing $21.5B RWA Wealth Partners.
Internationally, Assicurazioni Generali said it would evaluate an unsolicited all-share offer from Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena for wealth unit Banca Generali, valuing the business at roughly €8.7B ($10.13B), while UK advice consolidation continued with EFG International's agreement to sell £3.1B ($4.22B) Harris Allday to Canaccord Wealth.
Zooming out, Fidelity's midyear report, released in late August, tracked 120 US RIA transactions in the first half of 2026, a 9% decline from the same period in 2025, even as total client assets involved jumped 88% to $343B. The median acquired firm grew from $517M to $630M, deals involving $1B-plus RIAs rose 6% year over year, and private equity-backed and PE-owned buyers accounted for 89% of transactions, up from 86% a year earlier. William Bruckner, VP and strategic client consultant at Fidelity, pointed to the steady flow of sellers in the $630M range who are "making a strategic decision that could be driven by succession," a platform upgrade, or the need to widen their service offering. Fidelity also counted 22 minority investments into RIAs during the half — a channel August's tally suggests is still accelerating.
Announced M&A
Northeast
- Mubadala Capital-backed Corient agreed to acquire $21B New York-based UHNW RIA Summit Trail Advisors, which operates as an outsourced family office and CIO across 11 markets. Principals become Corient partners at closing, expected in Q3.
- Integrum Holdings-, Lightyear Capital- and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan-backed Allworth Financial acquired $1.1B Lynnfield, MA-based wealth and tax advisory firm Sachetta, adding roughly 630 Boston-area households, and separately picked up $141M Bethesda, MD-based Arthur Stein Financial, which specializes in federal employees and retirees.
- Constellation Wealth Capital-backed AlphaCore Wealth Advisory added $700M Brave Family Advisors, an eight-person HNW and UHNW practice, gaining offices in Summit, NJ and Tiverton, RI.
- Thomas H. Lee Partners-backed Hightower Advisors is adding $275M Ambler, PA-based Valley Financial Group, which serves corporate employees and first responders across Greater Philadelphia, to its Hightower Signature Wealth (HTSW) platform. It is Hightower's second external HTSW deal this year.
- SkyKnight Capital- and Dragoneer Investment Group-backed Simplicity Group acquired Wayne, PA-based Mid-Atlantic Wealth Advisory Group, which serves professionals, business owners and pre-retirees and rebrands as Simplicity Wealth Advisors.
Southeast
- Hightower Advisors moved $2.5B Greensboro and Chapel Hill, NC-based Stearns Financial Group, an affiliate since 2020, into its Hightower Signature Wealth platform, adding 30 team members.
- Carlyle-majority-owned MAI Capital Management acquired $490M Atlanta-based fee-only RIA Waypoint Wealth Counsel, marking its entry into the Atlanta market and adding more than 100 client households and two proprietary private investment funds.
- Simplicity Group bought $69.5M Mobile, AL-based Mobile Bay Financial Solutions, a retirement planning firm tracing its roots back 104 years. It rebrands as Simplicity Wealth Advisors: Mobile Bay.
Midwest
- TA Associates- and Onex-backed Wealth Enhancement acquired the advisory business of $592M Northbrook, IL-based Miramar Capital, a dividend-growth manager serving HNW families, corporations, and foundations.
- SEI Investments-backed Stratos Wealth Enterprises agreed to acquire $400M Naperville, IL-based RPI Financial Life Planners, a former Osaic affiliate. It is Stratos' 12th partnership since SEI took majority control in 2025.
- Oak Hill Capital-, Genstar Capital- and Altas Partners-backed Mercer Advisors acquired $220M Columbus, OH-based NorthAvenue Financial Advocates, a predominantly women-led RIA that adds to Mercer's Women & Wealth practice.
- 119th Street Capital- and Pelican Capital-backed Maridea Wealth Management acquired Chicago-based Park Ridge Financial, folding it into the office Maridea opened last September. Maridea has roughly $1.8B in AUM and administration.
- Simplicity Group acquired Geneva, IL-based Wright Wealth Group, an estate and protection planning practice serving retail clients across Illinois and the Midwest.
Southwest
- WPWealth, the wealth arm of accounting firm Whitley Penn, added $264M Coppell, TX-based RIA Optimus Capital Advisors. Fort Worth, TX-based WPWealth reports more than $1B in AUM.
- Wealth Enhancement acquired the advisory business of $210M Oklahoma City-based RIA Servo Wealth Management, whose founder previously worked at Equius Partners, a firm that joined Wealth Enhancement in 2023.
- Atlanta-based Ty J. Young Wealth Management, which manages more than $1B for nearly 10,000 clients, acquired Conroe, TX-based Ray Cessna Advisory in a retirement succession deal.
West
- Constellation Wealth Capital-backed Merit Financial Advisors acquired $900M Pasadena, CA-based The Bridgeway Group, the sixth Commonwealth Financial Network team to join Merit since LPL Financial's acquisition of Commonwealth, bringing those deals to roughly $4.7B.
- Wealth Enhancement acquired the advisory business of $644M Olympia, WA-based RIA Weinand Financial, which specializes in Washington State employees navigating pension and retirement benefits.
- MAI Capital Management acquired $551M OG Private Wealth, a fee-only RIA with offices in Chico and Hermosa Beach, CA that serves more than 300 households with pre-sale and tax planning for entrepreneurs and business owners.
- Alpine Investors-backed Aspen Standard Wealth bought $550M Denver Private Wealth Management, which advises through RIA Vista Private Wealth Partners.
Multiple Regions
- Long Island, NY-based Coastline Wealth Management completed 12 full and partial practice acquisitions, pushing assets under management and administration past $6B, alongside a senior secured credit facility of up to $100M from Brightwood Capital Advisors.
Other deals
- Vanguard agreed to acquire RIA custody and wealth technology platform Altruist at a valuation of approximately $4B. Vanguard first invested in the Culver City, CA-based firm in 2020 to add competition to a custody market dominated by Charles Schwab and Fidelity Investments. Altruist will operate as a standalone business.
Rumored M&A
- Franklin Templeton is reportedly in talks to acquire Constellation Wealth Capital-backed AlTi Global, a publicly traded wealth manager with roughly $90B in client assets. AlTi has explored a sale since August 2025; Corient held talks in December 2025 but withdrew over terms.
- Charlesbank Capital Partners- and Goldman Sachs Asset Management-backed World Insurance Associates is reportedly evaluating a sale of wealth and retirement arm World Investment Advisors, formerly Pensionmark, which counted $73B in total assets at year-end 2025 across 130 branches.
- Corient is reportedly in talks to acquire $21.5B Boston-based RWA Wealth Partners, majority-backed by Summit Partners since 2020 — which would be Corient's second 2026 deal for an RIA of at least $21B.
Minority Investments
- Abry Partners-backed, nearly $50B Overland Park, KS-based Prime Capital Financial agreed to a $600M hybrid capital solution from Carlyle's Global Credit platform at an enterprise value of more than $1.8B. Abry exits, Carlyle takes two of seven board seats, and about 180 advisors remain owners.
- The Vistria Group agreed to take a majority stake in $14B Chicago-based RIA Curi Capital, joining employee owners and existing shareholders Curi and Wealth Partners Capital Group. The firm, formed in a 2024 merger with RMB Capital, plans to fund further RIA acquisitions.
- FTV Capital made a growth investment in $10B Grants Pass, OR-based Kingsview Partners, which supports more than 100 advisors across 70 offices in 23 states and has grown at above 35% annually over three years.
- Constellation Wealth Capital took a minority stake in $8B McMurray, PA-based RIA Confluence Financial Partners, a former Wells Fargo FiNet and Raymond James affiliate that will use the capital for recruitment and acquisitions.
- H.I.G. Capital made a strategic growth investment in Canfield, OH-based accounting and wealth firm HBK, its first institutional partner. HBK owns $7.6B RIA HBKS Wealth Advisors and technology practice Vertilocity across 27 offices in seven states and India.
- Constellation Wealth Capital took a minority stake in $4.3B Chicago-based Aaron Wealth, its third deal with a Dynasty Financial Partners affiliate. Capital will fund UHNW-focused recruiting, with M&A a secondary option.
- Merchant Investment Management-backed, $21B Concurrent Investment Advisors took a stake in Proxima Wealth Partners, a new Tampa, FL-based firm launched by two former Raymond James executives that aims to reach $4B to $5B within five years.
Notable International News
August's international activity was headlined by a contested Italian bank bid and continued consolidation in UK advice, with additional deals in Luxembourg, Brazil, and Australia.
In Europe, Assicurazioni Generali said it is willing to evaluate an unsolicited all-share takeover offer from Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena for wealth management unit Banca Generali, valuing the business at about €8.7B ($10.13B), a 10% premium. MPS launched the bid August 21 alongside a separate all-share offer for Banco BPM, together worth roughly €34B ($40B), plus a €4B ($4.66B) extraordinary dividend funded partly through Generali shares held via its stake in Mediobanca. Generali's 50.1% holding gives it a de facto veto against MPS's 50% minimum acceptance threshold, and MPS has called an October 29 shareholder meeting on both offers.
Also in Europe, IK Partners-backed Cinerius Financial Partners agreed to acquire a majority stake in €1B ($1.15B) Contern, Luxembourg-based Nordlux Vermögensmanagement and will merge it with existing holding GSLP International to create what it calls Luxembourg's largest independent wealth manager for German-speaking clients, overseeing roughly €1.5B ($1.7B).
In the UK, EFG International agreed to sell 175-year-old Birmingham-based Harris Allday to Canaccord Wealth, adding roughly £3.1B ($4.22B) in AUM. Private equity firm WestBridge agreed to buy a majority stake in £2.1B ($2.84B) Bury St Edmunds-based Beckett Investment Management Group from Foresight Group, which retains a minority position and reported a return of more than 5x invested capital. Elsewhere, Sovereign Capital Partners-backed Equilibrium acquired £285M ($385M) Cheshire-based Gresham Wealth Management, its first bolt-on since Sovereign's September 2025 investment, with more deals expected this year.
In Latin America, XP-backed Brazilian advice firm Inove Investimentos incorporated Nauta Investimentos, adding roughly BRL$1.5B ($289M) in assets under custody and lifting Inove past BRL$9B ($1.74B) against a BRL$10B goal for year-end 2026.
In Asia-Pacific, Sydney-based Pemba Capital Partners agreed to take a majority stake in Melbourne, Australia-based Hewison Private Wealth, which has $3B in assets under advice, in a deal reportedly funded through Pemba's $625M Fund III.
