Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
With more than 100,000 advisors planning to retire in the next 10 years1 and an overwhelming majority of independent RIAs facing major challenges in succession planning, making your firm as attractive as possible, whether you’re looking to acquire or to be acquired, is quickly becoming much more than a good idea; it may soon be a survival tactic.
Anticipated RIA retirements from 2024 to 2034 accounted for just over 37% of industry head count and a whopping 41% of total assets. Among those who are retiring or considering succession planning for other reasons, 86% said they are concerned about finding a qualified buyer.2
In other words, even if we’re only considering M&As driven by succession planning needs, the trend toward greater consolidation in the industry doesn’t appear to be slowing any time soon. And of course, the M&A market comprises much more than that single factor.
What are the key components that will make your firm as attractive as possible? Having led several successful acquisitions and studied many more, I’d like to suggest four elements that can move your firm to the top of the list, no matter which side of the table you’re on.
1. Organic Growth Engines
While word of mouth may be the gold standard for new client acquisition, it’s an open secret that traditional referral pipelines are slowing, especially when firm size is factored in.3 While there’s no growth driver more “organic” than referrals, they may continue to recede in importance, even as they remain highly desirable.
On a happier note, this trend overlaps with the emerging dominance of client experience as a powerful (and organic) growth tool. In fact, strategic enhancements to the client experience may be one way that leading RIAs can transition from the more passive traditional referral process to a proactive, managed system designed to transform clients into advocates.
This process, in fact, can be further leveraged into a means of building strategic center-of-influence (COI) relationships with clients’ other key advisors (attorneys, CPAs, others) to build mutually profitable alliances, further improving both the referral reach and quality for the firm.
2. Tech Stack Maturity
Another emerging factor in the attractiveness, profitability, and sustainability of leading RIAs is the firm’s tech strategy and integration. Preferably audited annually, tech stack efficiency, utilization, and maturity are coming to the fore, especially as AI integration continues to provide updrafts for firm valuations.4
Let’s face it: Spreadsheets are the new buggy whips. Add an overreliance on manual entry (especially when it has to be duplicated) and siloed data, and you get inconsistent reporting.
Automated client onboarding, real-time client access to account information and analytics, scalability (without parallel staff growth), hands-free billing and scheduling, and integrated data security across custodial and other vendor platforms are all becoming must-haves.
But beyond simply checking those boxes, RIAs must approach AI integration the right way. Many firms today are merely stitching together AI: dropping a chatbot on top of their CRM, plugging a document-summarization tool into their email workflow, or layering a meeting transcription service onto their video platform.
These are good tools, but too often the result is a patchwork: disconnected data flows, redundant inputs, and no shared intelligence across the firm. The whole ends up being less than the sum of its parts.
A fully integrated AI platform is a fundamentally different architecture, with AI running throughout the tech stack as a unified data layer: Client information, portfolio data, planning inputs, compliance activity, and communication history feeding a single intelligent system. The difference between stitched-together AI and integrated AI is the difference between a bag of power tools and a smart factory.
This is more than a technology conversation; it is a business model conversation. I believe that RIAs who fail to harness at least 70% of the positive impact AI can deliver will become increasingly uncompetitive.
Conversely, firms that build or partner into a purpose-built, fully integrated AI architecture will benefit from a structural tailwind that widens margins, deepens client relationships, and strengthens valuation multiples with every passing year.
From a platform value perspective, the strategic imperative is to build or align with a platform designed to capture AI's full potential, with the flexibility to evolve as the technology does. In a consolidating market where valuations are increasingly tied to scalability and margin profile, the value of that architectural decision is hard to overstate.
3. Efficient Centralization of Operations
Closely related to (and often driven by) technological maturity is the degree to which the RIA has centralized and systematized operational and administrative functions. The bottom line for effective and efficient centralization is that advisors are free from repetitive bookkeeping tasks and have more time for activity that increases client acquisition and grows AUM.
Too many firms equate scalability with growth, but the two terms are not synonymous. Real scalability means growing revenue faster than expenses. Efficient centralization allows RIAs to scale effectively, because it permits advisors to do what they do best: spending time meeting with clients and prospects and providing the high-touch experience that creates satisfied clients.5
Firms that can demonstrate this kind of strategic, growth-amplifying centralization will almost always rise to the top in any desirability ranking, whether as targets for acquisition or as buyers.
4. Scalable Client Experiences
Speaking of high-touch experiences, we come to the importance of creating repeatable, yet personalized client interactions. This means effective client segmentation that can be applied in predictable ways across accurately identified client cohorts.
Firms that insist on treating every client the same way may have an admirable goal, but it isn’t scalable. Effective firms make explicit, strategically informed decisions about which clients will receive what kind of treatment. And honestly, doesn’t that make sense?
How often will the needs and goals of a $7 million client with a multigenerational family enterprise be the same as those of a $500,000 client with a simple, married-filing-jointly 1040? Yes, both deserve sound, evidence-based, fiduciary advice, but their needs will almost always differ in complexity, approach, and the firm resources required.
Instead, firms that want to present themselves as worthy of a merger partner’s consideration (not to mention preserving their ability to grow and thrive) will have model client profiles that align with the firm’s strengths and ideal client personas.
Further, they will clearly communicate the expectations for each level during the (automated) onboarding process and will integrate them throughout the firm’s tech stack. Rather than reinventing the wheel with each client, firms will have repeatable, systematized, technologically supported processes that ensure every client receives the experience they require for their individual needs, goals, and priorities.
Whether acquiring or being acquired, RIAs need to take a look in the mirror and honestly assess how they’re doing in the four dimensions described here. Check these boxes, and you’ll be a contender.
Mac O’Brien is chief growth officer at Rothschild Wealth Partners™ headquartered in Chicago, where he is responsible for driving the firm’s expansion strategy with a focus on identifying and integrating acquisition opportunities that align with the firm’s long-term vision. Mac has more than two decades of experience in financial services, most recently serving as head of Investment U.S. Distribution at Morningstar Wealth, where he led national distribution efforts and collaborated with leading broker/dealers, financial advisors, and RIAs across the country. In this role, he played a key part in building and executing a nationwide growth strategy while managing a high-performing sales organization. Investment advisory services are offered through Rothschild Wealth, LLC and Rothschild Investment, LLC, each an SEC-registered investment adviser. Securities are offered through Rothschild Investment, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC. Rothschild Wealth, LLC and Rothschild Investment, LLC are affiliated companies collectively referred to as Rothschild Wealth Partners™ (founded in 1908). Registration with the SEC or FINRA does not imply a certain level of skill or expertise. Additional information regarding each firm's services, fees, and conflicts of interest is available through the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website:
SOURCES:
1. Andrew Blake, “Twenty-Six Percent of Advisors Remain Unsure of Their Succession Plan,” U.S. Advisor Metrics 2024, Cerulli Associates, https://www.cerulli.com/reports/us-advisor-metrics-2024#:~:text=Over%20the%20next%20decade%2C%20105%2C887,indicating%20that%20is%20their%20plan.
2. Amanda Umpierrez, “Acquisitions Remain Aplenty as RIAs Begin Succession Planning,” 401(k) Specialist, January 15, 2025, https://401kspecialistmag.com/acquisitions-remain-aplenty-as-rias-begin-succession-planning/#:~:text=Nineteen%20percent%20of%20firms%20surveyed,client%20referrals%2C”%20he%20says.
3. Kristine McManus, “What Do Advisory Firms Need to Keep Growing? A Move Beyond Client Referrals,” Investment News, February 9, 2023, https://www.investmentnews.com/opinion/what-do-advisory-firms-need-to-keep-growing-a-move-beyond-client-referrals/233885.
4. Harris Baltch, “AI Is Reshaping RIA Valuations as Tech-Forward Firms Command Premiums,” Wealth Solutions Report, February 5, 2026, https://www.wealthsolutionsreport.com/ai-is-reshaping-ria-valuations-as-tech-forward-firms-command-premiums/#:~:text=A%20firm%20that%20automates%20billing,automatically%20lead%20to%20higher%20valuations.
5. Robert Patton, “Balancing Centralization and Autonomy in a Growing RIA,” Investment News, September 26, 2023, https://www.investmentnews.com/opinion/balancing-centralization-and-autonomy-in-a-growing-ria/243876
A message from Advisor Perspectives and VettaFi: Discover something new! Click here to register for our upcoming webcasts.
More Fiduciary Rules Topics >
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.