Red-hot acquisition activity among registered investment advisor firms appears to be cooling off, a potential consequence of recent bouts of market volatility related to macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty.

That is according to investment bank and consulting firm DeVoe & Company, which says RIA M&A activity is on pace to decline in the third quarter of 2026. If that happens, it will end a seven-quarter streak of record-setting activity, says DeVoe, which produces regular reports on M&A dealmaking among RIAs.

The firm says that 72 RIA transactions have been announced during the third quarter as of Sept. 22. That represents a 19% decline from the 89 transactions announced during the same period in 2025 and continues a decline in dealmaking activity that began in the second quarter.

Acquisition activity has been robust in recent years because RIAs are seeking to achieve greater scale and efficiency. Many RIAs also have ample war chests to pursue dealmaking as private-equity firms, attracted to wealth management firms' steady revenue, have poured money into the sector. But M&A activity is considered a lagging indicator because acquisitions take time to plan and execute. A professionally managed sale process commonly lasts approximately six months, according to DeVoe. RIA owners who manage their own sales process typically take up to a year-and-a-half to complete a transaction.

"The transactions announced on a given day are the result of a decision to sell, which came six to 18 months ago," says David DeVoe, founder and CEO of DeVoe & Company. "The volatility and distraction created by tariffs, the war with Iran, gasoline price surges and other economic shocks over the last 18 months caused some advisors to pause before moving forward with a sale. That hesitation is now emerging in our transaction data."

The firm points to waves of market volatility related to tariffs and the start of the war with Iran, which may have forced RIA owners considering a sale to shift focus. "During periods of volatility, advisors appropriately turn their attention to clients," DeVoe says. "Major strategic decisions move down the priority list."

He believes that any slowdown is temporary because the forces that propelled record RIA acquisition activity remain intact.