The RIA M&A market has rarely looked better for sellers. Deal volume reached 276 transactions in 2025, the median valuation crossed 11.6x adjusted EBITDA, and nearly 100 unique firms completed at least one acquisition.
What the headlines miss is what separates a premium outcome from an average one. In the June 2026 issue of the Journal of Financial Planning, AGS Partner Brandon Kawal argues that the most consequential transaction an RIA owner will ever make is not the one signed with an external buyer. It is the internal commitment made to next-generation talent years before any deal discussions begin.
The data backs this up:
- For a firm with approximately $500 million in AUM, valuations can range from 9x to 15x adjusted EBITDA depending on how the business is built
- Firms outside a buyer’s target profile receive valuations 20 to 30 percent below ideal targets, with deal structures that shift more risk to the seller
- The top five acquirers from 2025 had 248 job openings available in March 2026, many of which will be filled by talent currently sitting at competing RIAs
Kawal also addresses the objections owners raise most often: that next-gen hasn’t earned equity yet, that ownership dilution isn’t worth it, and that succession planning can wait. Each one, he argues, tends to cost more than it saves.
As he writes: “Compensation keeps people. Equity commits them.”