M&A deals for RIA firms are up: Here's what you need to get started

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are now a common growth strategy for RIA firms, as more advisors look beyond organic growth to scale their businesses. The trend is clear in Schwab and industry research. In fact, Schwab's Independent Advisor Outlook Study found that 71% of firms—regardless of size—are looking to grow their client count over the next three years and 59% aim to increase AUM per household.¹

While prospecting and cultivating referrals continue to be the most common paths to growth, many advisors are also pursuing M&A. In fact, DeVoe & Company reports that M&A had its biggest year in 2025 with firms closing more than 300 deals.² Schwab's RIA Benchmarking Study points to a similar trend in activity, with 41% of firms saying they engaged in inorganic growth activity in 2024, including M&A.³

If you're looking to grow, now's a good time to weigh whether M&A supports the long-term strategy of your business. There are four paths to consider:

• Buy: Adding advisors and clients from another firm could help accelerate progress toward reaching your growth goals.
• Sell: This may be an opportunity to explore succession or monetize your business, while ensuring continuity for your clients.
• Merge: Combining strengths with another firm can expand capabilities and support more complex client needs.
• Hold: If your current organic growth strategy is working, you might want to keep your focus there, while keeping M&A as a potential future option.

Whatever your path, this article, and others in the series, can help you think through what M&A might mean for your firm and how to step forward with clarity and confidence.

What do you hope to achieve?

Before pursuing M&A, RIA firms should define clear goals, a strategic vision, and rationale for entering a deal. This blueprint can save you time and improve your chances of finding the right fit.

"The most successful deals start with a buyer and seller who each have absolute clarity on what they want to achieve through a transaction," says Mike LaMena, CEO at Wealthspire Advisors. "Both visions need to be clear—and then, they need to be aligned."

As you develop your blueprint:

• Revisit your strategic plan. Look at your firm's long-term goals and decide which ones can reasonably be addressed by M&A.
• Write a vision statement. This is a simple paragraph that articulates what you want to achieve through M&A.
• List your strategic rationale. You should have good reasons for pursuing M&A, whether expanding into new regions, developing a succession plan, or enhancing capabilities. Your strategic rationale articulates in a few sentences why M&A matters for your firm.

Sample M&A vision statements

Sample buyer vision statement: 
Acquiring a young, fast-growing firm will accelerate our desired expansion into new niche markets, such as high-net-worth (HNW) millennial entrepreneurs, and propel us toward our goal of reaching $2 billion in AUM. The revenue and efficiencies that result will enable us to offer a wider range of services and further attract prospective clients and employees. 

Sample seller vision statement: 
Selling to a firm with broader offerings and greater resources will provide our clients with expanded access to services and enable our team to grow their careers while allowing our principals to retire.

Who is your ideal partner?

The right M&A partner for an RIA firm is one whose business model, culture, and long-term goals closely align with your own. To find an ideal fit, get specific about the traits that matter most in a partner.

When imagining your ideal partner, consider:

• Firm basics: What business model, location, or specializations are you looking for in a partner? What other general characteristics are important to you?
• Culture: What core values, decision-making processes, and leadership philosophies matter to you? What kinds of firm cultures would be a good or bad fit?
• Performance: What range of performance would you consider in a partner and what metrics will you use to evaluate performance?
• Client experience: What do you want to change for your clients and what do you want to stay the same?
• Human capital: How big do you want your new team to become and what talents and specializations do you need new people to bring?
• Additional factors or non-negotiables: What else is on your mind? Do you want the deal to help with technology, scalability, or other operational needs? Is timing a factor? Are there elements of the deal that could be tricky?

Taking the time to define these criteria up front can help you find partners that are not only a strategic fit, but also a cultural and operational match.

What do you bring to the deal?

A strong M&A value proposition clearly communicates what your RIA firm offers a potential partner, both strategically and operationally. Start by identifying your firm's strengths and differentiators. What makes your firm stand out from the pack? How can you help a potential partner achieve their own goals?

From there, write a clear M&A value proposition. Your value proposition is a high-level description of what makes your firm great. It should appeal to both the head and the heart so that potential partners can not only see business opportunities but also feel excited about building a future with you.

Buyer value proposition example

We are interested in acquiring another firm or firms to expand our footprint into a new geographic location and niche market and grow our AUM by 25% over the next 12 months. We believe we are the ideal match for your firm given several characteristics that remain at the core of our success.

To help you attract and retain HNW individuals and families, especially successful entrepreneurs, we can offer your clients customized wealth management and planning, including tax, estate planning, and charitable giving services through our family office approach. With our size and scale, we can take on many of the day-to-day operational functions that reduce your capacity for client interactions. Our internal training programs, benefits, and above-market compensation structure—combined with defined career paths and an attractive equity ownership program—will enable your team to thrive, feel valued, and be the best they can be for your clients.

We take the burden of marketing, technology, and compliance off your shoulders, so you can focus on the things that fulfill you, like working with clients, developing new relationships, and mentoring your team.

The firms we believe will be the best fit are rapidly growing and based in the Northeast. They are eager to get back to the client work they love while placing the complexity of running the business with a firm that has well-established operational capabilities. We are actively looking to connect with firms that are seeking to be acquired by a larger firm like ours in order to meet evolving client needs and continue their growth momentum. The transition for you, your team, and your clients will be smooth and fully transparent, and you will be supported every step of the way.

M&A: Yay or nay?

Deciding whether to pursue M&A comes down to whether it aligns with your firm's goals, readiness, and long-term strategy. If it does, commit fully and start laying the groundwork for a deal that can get you where you want to go. If it doesn't, continuing to focus on organic growth while keeping M&A as a future option may be the right path forward.

In part two of our M&A series, we'll explore how to build momentum and prepare for a potential deal. 

What you can do next

• Learn more about how M&A can power your growth. Check out an excerpt from our action guide, "Activating Your M&A Strategy." If you're a Schwab client, log in for the complete guide.
• Have questions about M&A or just want to know more about how Schwab supports RIAs? Our experienced team is ready to help you think through your opportunities. Let's talk.