M&A activity in asset and wealth management looks poised to surpass pre-crisis levels, yet it's also increasingly concentrated with a small number of serial acquirers.

David M. Mrazik MarketCounsel Managing Director

Those were two key takeaways this morning at the "Acquisition Disruptors" panel at the 2015 MarketCounsel Summit at the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami Beach. David DeVoe, managing partner of DeVoe & Company, introduced a panel that included: moderator David Mrazik, managing director at MarketCounsel; Liz Nesvold, managing partner at M&A advisory shop Silver Lane Advisors; and Bob Thornton, president of serial acquirer First Republic Private Wealth.

Nesvold estimated that asset and wealth management deals would pass 250 this year, which would surpass the previous peak of 246 deals back in 2007. DeVoe estimated that there will be over 100 RIA M&A transactions alone.

Nesvold pointed to low capital costs and big growth as driving M&A interest in RIAs.

David Devoe David Devoe Company Managing Partner, Founder

"This is such a great space," Nesvold said.

"Buyers feel confident about the businesses," Thornton said. "They also don't see material threats that could slow the growth of the business."

Yet a flurry of deals doesn't necessarily translate into a flurry of acquirers. DeVoe said that, of those RIA acquirers, 90 percent have acquired before.

"We're seeing the success of those organizations that have created inorganic growth muscle," DeVoe said. 

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