82% of RIA Buyers See H2 2026 Valuations Flatlining as 73% Report Wider Price Gap
Updated
Updated · Wealth Management · Jul 16
82% of RIA Buyers See H2 2026 Valuations Flatlining as 73% Report Wider Price Gap
1 articles · Updated · Wealth Management · Jul 16
Summary
82% of surveyed RIA acquirers expect valuations to hold steady in the second half of 2026, 18% see declines and none expect increases, marking a shift from 2025 when some still expected prices to rise.
73% of consolidators said the gap between seller expectations and buyer willingness to pay is widening, as years of record deal volume and headline private-equity multiples have kept many sellers anchored to premium pricing.
20x-plus multiples are still available, but DeVoe said those deals are largely limited to RIAs with tens or hundreds of billions in assets, strong growth and competitive sale processes; 46% of buyers are targeting firms with $1 billion to $5 billion in AUM.
167 RIA deals were recorded in the first half of 2026, up 13% from a year earlier, even as second-quarter activity cooled to 74 transactions; advisers still expect historically strong M&A and some forecasts call for more than 400 deals this year.