# Private equity share of RIA deals eases as overall volume holds near record URL: https://www.financialadvsr.com/article/private-equity-share-of-ria-deals-eases-as-overall-volume-holds-near-6514bd Published: October 28, 2026 By: Vivian Cole, Deals Correspondent Section: Deals Publisher: Financial ADVSR (https://www.financialadvsr.com) Echelon's third-quarter report shows PE-backed acquirers announced 73.6% of 125 RIA deals, down from a second-quarter high, while Echelon projects a record year. WealthManagement.com reported on Oct. 27 that private equity-backed buyers accounted for a slightly smaller share of registered investment adviser transactions in the third quarter, even as total deal volume stayed close to record levels for the year. The reporting draws on a quarterly report from Echelon Partners, the investment bank and advisory firm that tracks the sector. Echelon's Q3 2026 count shows 125 transactions announced during the quarter. Private equity was involved, as a direct investor or as a buyer's sponsor, in 102 of them. PE-backed acquirers announced 92 of the 125 deals, or 73.6%, down from 75.8% in the second quarter, which Echelon described as the high point for the category. Echelon's tally for January through September 2026 reached 387 transactions, a 12.2% gain over the matching period a year earlier. Total transacted assets reached $389 billion in the quarter. That figure measures the assets under management of the firms involved, not the price paid for them. Among the larger strategic deals Echelon highlighted, Wealth Enhancement's purchase of RWA Wealth Partners and Corient's acquisition of Summit Trail Advisors, which Echelon put at $21 billion in assets, led the list of deals of $1 billion or more. Echelon also said Hightower accounted for five of the 12 deals of $1 billion or more completed by the 10 largest repeat buyers, and that four of those five were conversions of affiliated practices into its Signature Wealth channel. Wealth Enhancement is a national independent wealth manager based in Minneapolis and founded in 1997, according to FA Magazine. According to the firm, it runs roughly 200 local offices across the country, and as of Aug. 31, 2026, the company and its RIA together reported $164.6 billion in client assets, $5.5 billion of which was brokerage. RWA is headquartered in Boston and had approximately $22.46 billion in client assets as of June 30, 2026, according to a release carried by Summit Partners, which took a stake in RWA in 2020 and will exit on closing. The firm was formed in 2023 from Adviser Investments and Ropes Wealth Advisors. Wealth Enhancement announced the agreement on Sept. 30, 2026. Financial terms were not disclosed, and the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026. The companies say the combined firm would hold more than $187 billion in client assets. Other trackers reported different figures for the same period. WealthManagement.com reported that DeVoe recorded a 17% quarter-over-quarter drop in third-quarter deal activity, while Piper Sandler reported a slightly higher tally than DeVoe alongside a slight year-over-year dip. Echelon told WealthManagement.com that the differences between trackers are definitional rather than directional, and said its count covers U.S. deals involving firms with at least $100 million in assets. The article also quotes DeVoe saying the third-quarter slowdown has put a record year in doubt without ruling one out. For context, Echelon's second-quarter 2026 report counted 120 transactions, with PE-backed acquirers closing 75.8% of them, according to FA Magazine. AdvisorHub reported that Echelon's Q3 2025 count of 125 deals was also a record for that quarter. Echelon's full-year 2025 count was 466 transactions, a record. Echelon projects about 510 deals for 2026, up from a July forecast of 500, which would exceed that mark. By Echelon's reckoning, around 2.9% of the roughly 17,000 registered advisers do a deal in a typical year, while the firm treats a healthy level as near 5%. Key facts: - Echelon counted 125 RIA transactions in Q3 2026; PE was involved in 102 of them. - PE-backed acquirers announced 92 of 125 deals (73.6%), down from 75.8% in Q2 2026. - Echelon counted 387 deals in the first nine months of 2026, 12.2% ahead of the same period in 2025. - Total transacted assets reached $389 billion in Q3 2026, an assets under management figure rather than a price. - Echelon projects about 510 deals for 2026, against a 2025 record of 466. Why it matters: For advisors and teams weighing a move, a larger share of deals by PE-backed buyers generally means more sellers are choosing a sponsor-backed route, which can change how terms, retention and post-deal structures are negotiated. For firm leaders, a slight dip in that share while volume holds steady suggests competition for targets remains active even as the buyer mix shifts. Sources: - WealthManagement.com: https://www.wealthmanagement.com/ria-news/pe-backed-buyers-slip-as-ria-ma-deals-stay-strong - prnewswire.com: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/echelon-partners-reports-ria-ma-holds-steady-in-the-third-quarter-as-2026-runs-12-2-ahead-of-last-year-302920567.html - advisorhub.com: https://www.advisorhub.com/ria-ma-hits-another-high-water-mark-in-q3-echelon/ - planadviser.com: https://www.planadviser.com/q3-sees-record-1-2t-in-ria-ma/?a= - fa-mag.com: https://www.fa-mag.com/news/pe-backed-buyers-and-repeat-acquirers-tighten-their-grip-on-ria-m-a-87933.html - americanbanker.com: https://www.americanbanker.com/news/as-pe-crowds-out-ria-buyers-heres-what-sellers-need-to-know