RIA Deal Buyers Say Valuations Have Hit a Ceiling

DeVoe & Co.’s second-quarter RIA M&A Deal Book reports that none of the 11 large consolidator executives surveyed in May expect sale prices for registered investment adviser firms to rise in the next six months. Eighteen percent of respondents forecast price declines, up from 7% a year earlier, and 10% said they plan to make fewer acquisitions in the coming six months, a response not given in last year’s poll.

The report states buyers who previously helped push valuations higher now believe the market has reached a ceiling. “Buyers are not signaling an imminent correction, but they do appear to believe the market has reached its ceiling,” DeVoe wrote.

DeVoe said reports of deals selling for 20 times EBITDA have shaped seller expectations, but transactions at those multiples are uncommon. The firm noted that multiples north of 20x tend to occur only for firms managing tens or hundreds of billions in assets with strong growth, high profitability and experienced leadership.

Respondents showed clear preferences by assets under management. Forty-six percent favored targets with $1 billion to $5 billion in AUM, 27% preferred firms with $500 million to $1 billion, and none selected targets in the $100 million to $500 million range.

The type of buyer also affected price outcomes. DeVoe found that private-equity-backed consolidators generally pay the highest EBITDA multiples, while internal succession sales often yield lower prices. In some comparisons, a PE-backed buyer may pay nearly twice what an internal buyer would offer for the same firm.

Haig Ariyan, founder and CEO of Arax Investment Partners, pointed to higher borrowing costs and concentrated capital among consolidators as limits on how high buyers will pay. Ariyan said Arax focuses mainly on organic growth but will acquire firms that add complementary capabilities, including family office services, retirement planning expertise and additional tax planning resources.

Corey Kupfer, an attorney who handles RIA M&A, observed that consolidators’ public forecasts may reflect negotiation postures. He does not expect a sharp correction in prices but said valuations may have leveled off at a higher plateau than in past years, estimating current levels at roughly two and a half to three times the plateau of five to seven years ago.

Deal volume remained active. DeVoe counted 167 completed transactions in the first half of the year, up from 148 in the same period of 2025; last year saw a record 322 completed deals.

DeVoe and other consultants highlighted that actual multiples still vary widely by AUM, growth and buyer type. The report also said a gap is widening between what sellers expect and what consolidators are willing to pay, driven in part by headline-grabbing valuations that do not represent the broader market.