The M&A Desk 13 stories this week · 82 total

MassMutual cedes control just as Flourish turns 1,300 RIAs into a virtual lending and checking machine — and the hard part, distribution and partner banks, starts now.

The $224 million tuck-in works only if equity incentives keep three Portland advisors in place.

The Korean insurer's reported bid for 15 percent of Principal is really a payment for private-market distribution.

David Canter's executive chairmanship is the tell: Aquiline is buying access to RIAs, not just their cash.

Socha’s $542 million book comes with member-owner seats for its principals, a structure that shows why the RIA roll-up is now a retention game.

Dasseti's $34 trillion manager coverage is now the workflow layer of eVestment, and the real asset is the response data, not the fund count.

A $542 million Corning acquisition barely moves Savant's $56.5 billion book. The member-owner seat for the seller's CEO is the template worth watching.

The $7 billion RIA bought eight CPAs and 800 clients to make tax depth part of retaining the households it brings in.

Two tax-led firms push Allworth past $40 billion and show where its private-equity capital is going.

The Akron RIA's second $1 billion-plus deal of 2026 brings in-house tax and estate services into a $34.9 billion platform.

The four-person Glen Allen team brings a wirehouse-to-independent-to-consolidator arc to a buyer already stacking small deals this summer.

The founder who took $4.6 billion in cash says the money was never the point; the custody race has reset, and the Bogle disciple now has to prove the mission survives Vanguard's governance.

A rumored sale of the $73 billion platform would confirm the benefits/P&C cross-sell story behind RPA aggregation has broken, leaving the 26 remaining aggregators as inventory.

Vanguard is paying $4.6 billion for the custody market's most credible long-term rival to Schwab and Fidelity. The open question is whether a Bogle-era giant can own a West Coast upstart without smothering it.

The reported $4 billion-plus acquisition gives Altruist the brand it lacked and Vanguard the platform it needed — and makes the integration, not the price, the deal's real test.

Fidelity's midyear data puts the median target at $630M and private equity behind 89% of deals; the buyer pool is getting shorter.

Backed by an all-cash $4.6 billion offer, Altruist becomes a credible long-term rival to Schwab and Fidelity.

The count fell 9% while dollar volume nearly doubled, and private equity funded 89% of the deals.

The $14B Chicago RIA is selling a majority stake without a single LOI in hand—the capital is meant to build the deal machine, not feed it.

Amundi's blessing comes as 27 percent owner and lead distributor, which makes the $280 million synergy target the number to watch.

Mercer's purchase of NorthAvenue Financial Advocates shows how a consolidator buys geography and demographics, one small team at a time.

With WPCG still sourcing deals and Vistria supplying capital, Curi Capital looks built to keep buying.

Constellation's minority investment in $7.6B Confluence leaves the founders in control and the investor's return dependent on the next valuation.

Baker Street's 22-year acquisition-free run is a rebuke to the M&A machine — and the culture buyers say they prize is the one thing it won't sell.

The debt-funded model is the more honest trade, and the more fragile one.

The Kestra affiliate's $100 million facility funds its next 12 acquisitions with debt instead of equity, giving the lender a senior claim on the client book.

The Omaha RIA's purchase of an 80-year-old tax practice shows how aging solo practitioners feed the consolidation wave.

The Naperville firm adds $400 million and a new state to Stratos's SEI-backed network.

The Olympia, Wash. acquisition pushes the Minnesota consolidator past $160.7 billion and extends a summer run of niche-focused purchases.

Two Tuesday deals put the Cleveland RIA in Atlanta and extend its California reach. MAI is shifting from scale-building to market-by-market buying.

The Carlyle-backed firm makes its first Atlanta acquisition, adding a boutique with wealthy clients and two proprietary funds.

Leon Financial Network's minority-stake model offers wealth managers an alternative to the private equity roll-up timeline.

WealthManagement.com argues RIA value is a trajectory shaped by recurring revenue and client focus.

The $30.1 billion Atlanta RIA adds its sixth former Commonwealth team, closing its 61st deal.

Mesirow's second outsourced-fiduciary acquisition this year deepens its retirement plan offering.

The Bridgeway Group deal brings Merit's Commonwealth team haul to $4.7 billion.