Selling an RIA or Wealth Management Firm in 2026: Multiples, Named Aggregators, and the Premium Playbook

If you own a US RIA or wealth management firm, the M&A market just had a record year and the bid for the right firm has never been more aggressive, 466 wealth deals in 2025 (up 27% over the prior record), with PE-backed aggregators accounting for ~72% of deal count and ~92% of transacted AUM. But the gap between average and premium is enormous: two $1B-AUM firms with the same EBITDA can sell for 8x and 15x, and the difference is entirely about a specific set of attributes the aggregators have built models for. Recurring revenue %, organic growth attribution, EBITDA margin, advisor productivity, niche depth, G2 succession, tech-stack simplicity, each one is controllable over 24 months, and the combination is the difference between an 8x and a 15x multiple. This guide gives you the real multiples by firm profile (with charts), the named aggregators acquiring and who backs each one, the deep operator-knowledge layer the aggregators actually diligence, a preparation sequence in priority order, the dangers and traps that kill deals, and our view on where the market is going.

We are CT Acquisitions, a buy-side M&A advisory firm with buyers in our network actively acquiring RIA and wealth management firms. Sellers pay nothing, the buyer pays our fee at closing. For adjacent verticals, see our guides on selling a medical billing / RCM company and selling an insurance agency.

What an RIA or wealth management firm is actually worth in 2026

The RIA M&A market just had a record year, 466 wealth management transactions in 2025 (up 27% over the prior record), 276 of them pure RIA deals, and the bid for the right firm has never been more aggressive. The headline multiple range for an established RIA is roughly 7x to 16x EBITDA, with the median 2025 deal landing at ~11.6x EBITDA and premium strategic deals reaching the high teens (Goldman Sachs reportedly paid ~18x EBITDA for United Capital; Clayton, Dubilier & Rice took Focus Financial private at ~13x). But that range hides what actually sets your number, and the gap between average and premium is wider here than in almost any other vertical.

Why one 2026 RIA gets 8x and another gets 15x on the same EBITDA

RIA valuation is unusually formulaic at the platform-buyer level, because the aggregators have priced thousands of these deals and built models that pay for very specific attributes. Here’s what those models actually weight:

The implication: a $1B-AUM RIA with 92% recurring revenue, 6% organic growth, 38% EBITDA margin, $120M AUM/advisor, a niche serving business owners, a G2 team in place, and a mainstream tech stack will get pulled to the top of the band (13-16x EBITDA on a $5-8M EBITDA base). Same-size RIA with 75% recurring, 1% organic, 22% margin, owner-dependent, and a complex legacy stack will sit in the 7-9x range. Two firms with the same AUM and same EBITDA, $40M+ swing in enterprise value.

The buyers acquiring RIAs in 2026, by name

2025 produced an unusual market structure: 18% more sellers than 2024, but 19% fewer buyers. The aggregators are consolidating into a smaller, deeper-pocketed group, and that group is acquiring more per firm. PE-backed aggregators and serial acquirers accounted for ~72% of RIA transactions and ~92% of transacted AUM in 2025. The active buyer landscape:

(Sources: Mercer Capital RIA M&A reports, FinTRX Q1 2026 RIA M&A Report, Wealth Solutions Report, InvestmentNews; deal counts as announced through year-end 2025. Specific deal terms are mostly undisclosed; multiples cited reflect industry benchmarks.)

The operator-knowledge layer: what aggregators actually diligence in an RIA

RIA diligence is one of the most formulaic in M&A, because the aggregators have built deal teams that price hundreds of these. They will not be impressed by the same things an owner is impressed by; they will be skeptical of revenue quality, organic growth, and post-sale economics. The depth of what gets diligenced:

• Revenue quality breakdown. Recurring AUM fees vs planning fees vs commissions vs one-time engagements, by client and by year, with margin per stream. The aggregator wants to model the post-close run-rate, and they’ll discount aggressively for non-recurring revenue you’ve been counting in EBITDA.
• Organic growth attribution. Net new AUM in the last 3 years, split into: new client acquisition, organic growth from existing clients (additions + referrals), M&A growth (acquired books), and market appreciation. They want to see true organic growth isolated. If most of your AUM growth is market drift, your multiple takes a real hit.
• Advisor productivity and seat structure. AUM and revenue per advisor, fees per household, fee schedule (flat AUM fee, tiered, asset-based vs financial planning), book mobility (which advisors own which client relationships), and whether the advisors have non-competes/non-solicits that survive the change of control. Loss of one or two senior advisors during diligence can kill a deal.
• Client demographics and concentration. AUM by household, household tenure, age profile (concentration in 75+ households without next-gen relationships is a real risk), top-10 household share of AUM, top-10 share of revenue, retention rate (PARR , percentage attrition revenue rate), and any single client over 5-10% of revenue.
• Custodial and tech stack. Custodian (Schwab, Fidelity, Pershing, etc.), portfolio management system (Black Diamond, Tamarac, Orion, Addepar, etc.), CRM (Salesforce, Wealthbox, Redtail), planning tools (eMoney, MoneyGuidePro, RightCapital), billing system, reporting capabilities. “Simple” stacks integrate cleanly; bespoke setups are an integration cost.
• Investment management approach. In-house models vs TAMP vs third-party SMA/managers, ETF vs mutual fund usage, alternatives exposure, model portfolio construction, ADV Part 2 disclosures alignment. Aggregators prefer “simple investment operations” they can absorb without compliance retraining.
• Compliance posture. ADV history, any SEC examination findings (with timing), CCO depth, custody-rule edge cases, performance-reporting standards, social media policies, recent client complaints or FINRA marks. Clean compliance file is table stakes; problems here can kill deals.
• G2 and succession. Equity participation by junior partners, retention agreements with key advisors, age and tenure distribution, named successor for the founder’s book, written succession plan. A firm that runs through one founder is the founder’s annuity; a firm with credible G2 ownership is a platform.
• Profitability normalization. Owner comp (often inflated, especially if owner is the rainmaker), real estate paid above market to a related party, family salaries, personal expenses run through the firm, the difference between “shown EBITDA” and “post-normalization EBITDA the buyer uses.” Aggregators have seen every trick; their QoE will rebuild this.
• Service model and capacity. Average meetings per household per year, advisor utilization, support-staff ratios, capacity for new clients. Constrained capacity is a growth ceiling; underutilized advisors is a cost problem.

How to prepare an RIA for sale, in priority order

1. Push recurring revenue to 90%+. Convert one-time planning fees into ongoing financial-planning subscriptions where possible; transition commission-based clients to fee-only AUM accounts; document any annual retainers. Every percentage point of recurring share above 80% materially helps the multiple, and crossing 90% changes which buyer pool you’re in.
2. Drive organic growth and isolate it in your reporting. Document new-client wins, existing-client additions, referrals, separately from market appreciation and M&A. Get to 5%+ organic AUM growth for 24 months before listing. This is the single biggest premium driver outside of recurring revenue.
3. Get EBITDA margin to 35%+. Review fee schedule (are you under-priced?), advisor seat count (one advisor too many is a margin sink), administrative overhead, real estate cost. A 32% margin business and a 40% margin business at the same revenue are very different assets.
4. Build (or document) the G2 team. Promote internal successors, give them equity participation, get them on retention agreements, have them lead 25%+ of client meetings. If you don’t have a G2 yet, hire one 24+ months out so they’re real by the time of sale.
5. Document the niche. Pick the 2-3 strongest specializations (business-owner exits, physicians, executives at specific companies, decumulation/retirees with $2M+, ESG, etc.), and build the marketing/content/operations around them. A documented niche is a moat that aggregators pay for.
6. Simplify the investment operations. Move toward mainstream stacks, ETF/mutual fund-based portfolios, standard custodians, mainstream tech. If you run bespoke models, document them and consider whether the complexity earns its keep against the multiple discount.
7. Strengthen advisor non-competes and non-solicits, and put retention packages on key advisors. If a senior advisor walks during or after the sale with a portion of the book, the deal repricing is brutal. Lock them in before you list.
8. Clean compliance and QoE. Resolve any open examination items, document the compliance program, prepare a normalized EBITDA bridge that survives a QoE rebuild (owner comp, related-party rent, family salaries, personal items all explicitly addressed). For $3M+ EBITDA firms, hire a sell-side QoE , it pays for itself in retained multiple.

The dangers and traps: what kills RIA deals in diligence

• Organic growth that turns out to be market drift. The owner says “we grew 12% last year.” The aggregator separates the components and finds 9% was market appreciation, 2% was a single client, and 1% was true new business. The multiple compresses immediately.
• Senior advisor flight risk. A key advisor with 30% of the book and no non-compete decides not to come along, or starts shopping to competitors mid-deal. Lose them and the buyer either kills the deal or restructures into a heavy earn-out tied to client retention.
• Recurring revenue that isn’t really recurring. Annual planning fees billed once a year that the client renews “in practice” (but isn’t contractually obligated to) get treated as project revenue by the aggregator, not recurring. Same for “ongoing” planning engagements without subscription agreements.
• Hidden client concentration. Top client at 10%+ of revenue, or top family at 15%+ of AUM, or one professional referral source generating 30% of new business. Each is a structural risk priced into the deal or earn-out.
• Compliance landmines. An undisclosed past SEC exam issue, a CCO doing custody-rule work incorrectly, performance reporting that doesn’t comply with GIPS or SEC marketing-rule requirements, a U4 with a recent customer complaint. Each is an immediate diligence flag.
• Owner-dependency in client relationships. The founder personally manages 70% of the client meetings. The aggregator is buying the founder’s relationships, not a business, and structures the deal accordingly (large earn-out tied to founder retention 5+ years).
• Demographic cliff. Average client age 72 with no next-gen relationships. The aggregator runs an attrition model and discounts for the predictable AUM decline as clients pass on assets to heirs (who often don’t stay with the firm).
• Bespoke investment operations that don’t fit a platform. Complex in-house models, esoteric custodial arrangements, individual security selection at scale, alternative investments that don’t fit the aggregator’s compliance stack. Either get repriced as integration cost or kept as a “carve-out” with reduced overall value.
• EBITDA bridge that doesn’t survive QoE. “We had $4M of EBITDA last year.” Aggregator’s QoE rebuilds with proper owner-comp normalization (market rate for a CEO of this size firm), related-party adjustments, run-rate adjustments for advisor seats added late in the year, capitalized vs expensed software, and arrives at $3.1M. Your 13x multiple just lost $11.7M of enterprise value before negotiation even started.

Our view on where the RIA M&A market is going

2025 was the market’s tell. Record deal volume (466 wealth deals, 27% above the prior record). Buyer concentration (the top 10 aggregators did the majority of deals). Sub-$500M-AUM tuck-ins dominated transaction count, while platform deals (the Mercer recaps, the United Capital-style strategic acquisitions) defined the upper end of pricing. PE capital deployed into wealth management was at an all-time high. Three forces drive this and they aren’t going away: aging founder demographics (massive retiring-advisor cohort), strong economics (90%+ recurring revenue + 30-45% margins is a profile PE will pay up for indefinitely), and the platform/aggregator model’s clear advantages (scale, tech, compliance, succession solutions).

The implication for an owner: the bid for the right RIA is structurally strong and likely to stay that way through 2027-2028. But the gap between average and premium is widening, not narrowing. A firm at 80% recurring, 2% organic, 25% margin, and owner-dependent will get 8x and a retention earn-out. The same AUM at 92% recurring, 6% organic, 38% margin, with a G2 team and a niche will get 13-15x with a clean structure. That’s a 70%+ premium for execution, on the same book, controllable over a 24-month preparation window. The aggregators are sophisticated buyers; they pay for prepared assets, and they have models for everything else.

Related guides: healthcare business valuation, selling a medical billing / RCM company, selling an insurance agency, selling an IT / MSP business, selling a cybersecurity services company, selling a co-packing business, selling an industrial distribution business, how private equity creates value, which industries PE is buying most, sell your business, the buyer-paid broker alternative, business brokers by state, how to value a small business, about CT Acquisitions, or use our free valuation tool or book a confidential call.

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Frequently asked questions

How much is my RIA or wealth management firm worth in 2026?

An established US RIA typically sells for roughly 7x to 16x EBITDA in 2026, with the median 2025 deal landing at ~11.6x EBITDA. By profile: small owner-dependent advisor books at 4.5x-7x; sub-$500M AUM firms (the typical tuck-in target) at 7x-10x; established RIAs with real teams and growth ($500M-$2B AUM) at 9x-13x; scaled aggregator-target RIAs ($2B+ AUM, 95%+ recurring, organic growth, G2 team) at 12x-16x; premium strategic deals reach 16x-20x (Goldman reportedly paid ~18x EBITDA for United Capital). On a revenue basis, 2-6x annual revenue is the typical range. The biggest multiple drivers are recurring fee revenue percentage (90%+ is premium territory), organic growth rate (5-10% annual organic AUM growth = top of range), EBITDA margin (30-45%+ for well-run firms), advisor productivity, niche depth, succession/G2 quality, and tech-stack simplicity. Use our free valuation tool for a sector-adjusted estimate.

Why are some RIAs getting 8x EBITDA and others 15x on the same size?

Because the aggregators price RIAs on a very specific set of attributes, and the gap between average and premium is enormous. Two $1B-AUM firms can sell for 8x and 15x on the same EBITDA. The 8x firm: 75-80% recurring revenue (heavy commission/planning-fee mix), 1-2% organic growth (most of last year’s growth was market drift), 22-25% EBITDA margin (overstaffed or under-priced), founder runs 70% of client meetings, single owner with no G2, complex in-house investment models, generic suburban book. The 15x firm: 92%+ recurring fee revenue, 6%+ organic AUM growth documented for 3 years, 38%+ EBITDA margin, $120M+ AUM per advisor, G2 team with equity and retention agreements, niche serving business owners or physicians, mainstream tech and custodial stack, clean compliance file. Same AUM, same EBITDA, ~$40M+ swing in enterprise value. The premium is for execution against the aggregators’ checklist, and that checklist is well-known and entirely controllable over 24 months.

Who is buying RIAs in 2026?

PE-backed aggregators dominate the buy side: ~72% of RIA transactions and ~92% of transacted AUM in 2025. The most active by deal count in 2025: Wealth Enhancement Group (17 deals, backed by TA Associates and Onex), Merit Financial Advisors (13, Wealth Partners Capital Group + HGGC), Beacon Pointe Advisors (12, Abry Partners), Mercer Advisors (11, Genstar Capital / Oak Hill / Altas Partners), Creative Planning (10, General Atlantic + TPG), EP Wealth Advisors (10, Wealth Partners Capital Group + Berkshire), Mariner Wealth Advisors (9, Leonard Green & Partners). CW Advisors, Focus Partners Wealth, Waverly Advisors at 8 each. Plus CAPTRUST (GTCR, Carlyle), Focus Financial Partners (CD&R take-private), Goldman Sachs (acquired United Capital at ~18x), and 20+ other aggregators below the top 10. Buyer pool also includes strategic banks/brokerages and search funders for smaller books. CT also has buyers in its network specifically targeting RIAs.

Why does recurring revenue percentage matter so much for an RIA’s value?

Because the aggregators’ models explicitly underwrite based on it. Recurring AUM-fee revenue is the closest thing to SaaS-quality revenue in financial services: predictable, sticky, scales without proportional labor, and survives advisor transitions if the firm is set up properly. The aggregator’s post-close run-rate model treats 90%+ recurring revenue as essentially the full revenue base; treats 75-80% recurring as substantially discounted; and treats <70% as 'this is really a project-fee business that I'm only partly buying.' That cascades into the multiple. Practical implication: every commission-based account you can convert to fee-only AUM, every one-time planning engagement you can convert to ongoing planning subscription, every annual retainer you can convert to AUM-tied billing , all of those increase the recurring percentage and directly increase your multiple. It's the single highest-return preparation move.

What’s the difference between organic growth and total AUM growth, and why do aggregators care?

Total AUM growth has three components: (1) market appreciation (your existing portfolios grew because the market grew, ~7-10% in a typical year), (2) M&A growth (you acquired another book), and (3) organic growth (true net new AUM from new clients you acquired and existing clients adding to their accounts, net of attrition). Aggregators isolate component 3, because it’s the only thing that proves your business development engine works. If you grew AUM 12% last year but 9% was market and 2% was an acquired book, your true organic was 1% , and the aggregator will price you as a 1%-organic-growth business. 5-10% organic AUM growth sustained for 2-3 years is premium territory and adds real multiple turns. The path to documenting it: track every new client win, every existing-client addition, every referral source, separately from market and M&A, with clean attribution, for the 36 months leading into a sale.

How do I increase the value of my RIA before selling?

In priority order: (1) push recurring fee revenue to 90%+ by converting commissions and one-time engagements; (2) drive organic AUM growth to 5%+ and isolate it from market appreciation in your reporting (start tracking 24+ months out); (3) push EBITDA margin to 35%+ via fee-schedule review, advisor headcount discipline, and overhead control; (4) build and document the G2 team with equity, retention agreements, and client-meeting leadership; (5) document and own the niche (business owners, physicians, decumulation, etc.); (6) simplify investment operations toward mainstream stacks; (7) strengthen advisor non-competes/non-solicits and put retention packages on key seniors before listing; (8) clean compliance and prepare a normalized EBITDA bridge that survives a QoE rebuild. Recurring revenue and organic growth are the two biggest levers and both are controllable over 12-24 months. The combination, executed well, can shift the multiple from 8x to 13-15x on the same firm.

How long does it take to sell an RIA?

Traditional broker-listed RIA processes typically take 9-15 months. Off-market sales to a PE-backed aggregator (Wealth Enhancement, Merit, Beacon Pointe, Mercer, Creative Planning, Mariner, etc.) typically take 90-180 days, because the buyer is pre-qualified, actively rolling up, and looking specifically for firms in your AUM range and profile. RIA diligence is well-trodden ground for these acquirers, they reconstruct your KPIs (recurring %, organic growth attribution, advisor productivity, retention), audit the ADV history and compliance file, do a QoE rebuild of your EBITDA, review every advisor employment agreement and non-compete, and run client demographic and concentration models , but that work moves fast because they’ve done it many times. Many RIA deals include earn-out structures tied to client retention or advisor retention that extend the full payout 24-60 months beyond closing; well-prepared, well-positioned sales pay out cleanly at close or with much smaller earn-outs.

Do I need a business broker to sell my RIA?

For very small advisor books (under ~$100M AUM), an industry-specific business broker can work but charges 8-15% commissions. For established RIAs ($200M+ AUM), a buyer-paid sell-side advisor with direct relationships into the major aggregators (the 15-20 most active platforms above), the dedicated wealth-management PE sponsors (TA Associates, Onex, HGGC, Abry Partners, Genstar, General Atlantic, TPG, Leonard Green, Berkshire, Patient Square, Carlyle, etc.), and strategic acquirers (banks, brokerages, large RIAs) usually produces better outcomes , higher multiples (often 1-3 turns above what a broker pulls from a generic marketing process), better-matched buyers, faster close, no seller fee (the buyer pays at closing). A competitive process that puts 3-5 aggregators in active bidding routinely lifts the price by 15-25% over a single-buyer negotiation in this sector, especially given the 18% more sellers / 19% fewer buyers dynamic of 2025 means the buyers expect competition.

Related research

• Free Business Valuation Tool, your business is worth in 90 seconds
• The Business Broker Alternative Guide (national pillar)
• Business Brokers by State, with a free alternative
• The Complete Guide to Selling Your Business in 2026
• What’s My Business Worth? Founder’s Valuation Guide
• Who Buys These Companies? Buyer Types Explained
• How to Sell to Private Equity, A Founder’s Walkthrough
• Owner’s Pre-Exit Checklist, 90 Days Before You List
• CT Commentary, Founder & M&A Insights

About the Author

Christoph Totter is the founder of CT Acquisitions, a buy-side partner headquartered in Sheridan, Wyoming. We work directly with 76+ buyers, search funders, family offices, lower middle-market PE, and strategic consolidators, including direct mandates with the largest home services consolidators that other intermediaries can’t access. The buyers pay us when a deal closes, not the seller. No retainer, no exclusivity, no contract until close. Connect on LinkedIn · Get in touch