Wealth Management M&As Continued Strongly in July

The uptick in wealth management merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in June continued through July and ended with the most deals and client assets under management (AUM) for any two-month period since Fidelity began tracking such data in 2016.

Combined, June and July had 27 deals representing $38.9 billion in AUM. This was a dramatic jump from the three-month slowdown from March through May, when there were 10 deals representing $4.1 billion in AUM.

In addition, Fidelity says, July’s 13 registered investment adviser (RIA) deals and $18.3 billion in AUM are the highest totals for any July ever recorded. Fidelity says activity so far this month suggests that there is continued energy for wealth management M&As.

However, the independent broker/dealer (B/D) space is dormant, with no July deals and only two small transactions since the beginning of the year.

For RIAs, Fidelity says, the trend of well-capitalized serial acquirers leading M&A activity has continued, with Creative Planning completing its fifth deal of 2020 in July. Mercer Advisors closed two deals in July, bringing its 2020 tally to four deals. Hightower Advisors closed two deals in July, adding to two deals earlier this year. Both CAPTRUST and Dynasty Financial Partners have completed three deals in 2020.

The multi-family office space had some activity, as Pathstone acquired $4 billion Cornerstone Advisors.

Buyers’ interest in minority stake investments also continued, represented by Kudu Investment Management’s investment in $4.7 billion Sequoia Financial Group.