If there was one phrase to sum up 2015’s M&A activity in the RIA space, it would be “go big, or go home.” It has been the year of the “mega-deal”—those over $5 billion, according to David DeVoe, managing partner at DeVoe & Company, which tracks RIA deals.
In fact, the first half of 2015 saw a total of eight mega-deals, compared to one acquisition over $5 billion in the first half of 2014 and two deals over $5 billion during the same period in 2013.
DeVoe attributes the size of deals to the fact that large, well-financed acquirers are interested in the space. RIA firms and consolidators—defined as an organization whose business model is predicated on making RIA acquisitions—have dominated M&A over the last couple years. But lately private equity firms and banks are again buying RIA firms.
As the year comes to a close, we highlight some of the biggest RIA deals of the year, many of which are mega-deals.
