--- title: RIA M&A, Valuations, Succession Planning, and More description: Articles, guides, and field notes on RIA M&A, succession, and valuations from Gorman Jones. --- [![Gorman Jones](https://www.gormanjones.com/hs-fs/hubfs/raw_assets/public/gormanjones-cms/images/logos/gj-logo-color-hor.png?width=154&height=80&name=gj-logo-color-hor.png)](https://www.gormanjones.com/) - [Who We Are](https://www.gormanjones.com/who-we-are) - [How We Work](https://www.gormanjones.com/how-we-work) - News & Resources - [Insights](https://www.gormanjones.com/insights) - [Press](https://www.gormanjones.com/news-press-releases) - [Contact Us](https://www.gormanjones.com/contact-us) [Contact Us](https://www.gormanjones.com/contact-us) Insights # Perspectives on RIA M&A Articles, guides, and field notes from our work with wealth management owners considering a transition. Succession ### [Advisor Continuity Planning: Preparing for Every Possibility](https://www.gormanjones.com/insights/continuity-planning) July 2026 The funded plan for an unplanned exit — the buy-sell agreement that enforces it, the disability trigger, and the solo advisor’s peer-firm version. [Read article →](https://www.gormanjones.com/insights/continuity-planning) Valuation ### [Wealth Management Firm Valuation: Why the Business Model Sets the Price](https://www.gormanjones.com/insights/wealth-management-firm-valuation) July 2026 How buyers price the wealth management spectrum — fee-only, hybrid, broker-affiliated, practice or firm — and why the model frames the number. [Read article →](https://www.gormanjones.com/insights/wealth-management-firm-valuation) Succession ### [RIA Succession Planning: What a Real Plan Should Contain](https://www.gormanjones.com/insights/ria-succession-plan) July 2026 The written plan as a corporate document — governance, buy-sell pricing, financing, client consent — and the regulatory layer that makes an RIA’s different. [Read article →](https://www.gormanjones.com/insights/ria-succession-plan) Tools ### [RIA Valuation Calculator: An Honest Range, and What Moves It](https://www.gormanjones.com/resources/ria-valuation-calculator) July 2026 An interactive tool that estimates a defensible value range for your firm from a few inputs — and shows which characteristics are pushing it up and which are pulling it down. [Read article →](https://www.gormanjones.com/resources/ria-valuation-calculator) The Market ### [RIA M&A: A Primer on Today’s Market](https://www.gormanjones.com/insights/ria-m-and-a) July 2026 What’s driving the record deal activity, who’s buying, how a transaction gets done, and what separates a good outcome from a big one. [Read article →](https://www.gormanjones.com/insights/ria-m-and-a) Aggregators ### [RIA Aggregators, Explained: How They Work and What to Weigh](https://www.gormanjones.com/insights/ria-aggregators) July 2026 What aggregators are, how the PE-backed model works, how they differ from other buyers, and what to weigh before selling to one. [Read article →](https://www.gormanjones.com/insights/ria-aggregators) Books of Business ### [Selling a Financial Advisor’s Book of Business: What Drives the Price](https://www.gormanjones.com/insights/book-of-business-for-sale) July 2026 What actually sets the price when a book of business changes hands — retention, transferability, and how the deal is structured. [Read article →](https://www.gormanjones.com/insights/book-of-business-for-sale) Private Equity ### [The Role of Private Equity in Wealth Management M&A: An RIA Owner’s Guide for 2026 and Beyond](https://www.gormanjones.com/ria-private-equity) July 2026 Private equity backs most of the buyers now — the three ways owners meet it, what sponsors want, and why timing turns on control. [Read article →](https://www.gormanjones.com/ria-private-equity) The Sale Process ### [The Sell-Side M&A Process: How a Financial Advisory Firm Is Sold](https://www.gormanjones.com/insights/sell-side-process) July 2026 What a sell-side process is, how each stage works, and what separates one that protects the seller from one that doesn’t. [Read article →](https://www.gormanjones.com/insights/sell-side-process) Valuation ### [How to Value a Financial Advisory Practice: A Step-by-Step Method](https://www.gormanjones.com/insights/how-to-value-advisory-practice) July 2026 A six-step method, with a worked example, for producing a defensible value range for your own firm. [Read article →](https://www.gormanjones.com/insights/how-to-value-advisory-practice) Minority Deals ### [Minority Recapitalizations: Taking On a Partner Without Giving Up Control](https://www.gormanjones.com/insights/minority-recapitalizations) July 2026 What a minority deal entails, how it differs from a sale, and why the terms matter more than the headline valuation. [Read article →](https://www.gormanjones.com/insights/minority-recapitalizations) The Buyer Market ### [RIA for Sale: A Founder's Guide to Buying and Selling Advisory Firms](https://www.gormanjones.com/ria-for-sale) June 2026 A primer on the private market for advisory firms — who the buyers are, what they want, and what a good outcome looks like. [Read article →](https://www.gormanjones.com/ria-for-sale) The Sale Process ### [Selling a Financial Advisory Practice: A Founder’s Guide to the Sale Process](https://www.gormanjones.com/selling-financial-advisory-practice) June 2026 What happens when you sell, in what order, and which decisions land on your desk along the way. [Read article →](https://www.gormanjones.com/selling-financial-advisory-practice) Valuation ### [RIA Valuation: A Practical Guide to Multiples and What Actually Drives Them](https://www.gormanjones.com/ria-valuation) June 2026 What the market pays today, how adjusted EBITDA is calculated, and why identical-AUM firms sell for very different numbers. [Read article →](https://www.gormanjones.com/ria-valuation) Succession ### [Financial Advisor Succession Planning: A Founder’s Guide to Continuity, Timing, and the Next Generation](https://www.gormanjones.com/succession-planning) June 2026 Continuity vs. succession planning, the internal and external paths, and the timing math that keeps your options open. [Read article →](https://www.gormanjones.com/succession-planning) Load More GORMAN JONES Sell-side M&A advisory for wealth management RIAs. ## Our Company - [Who We Are](https://www.gormanjones.com/who-we-are) - [How We Work](https://www.gormanjones.com/how-we-work) - [Contact Us](https://www.gormanjones.com/contact-us) ## Explore - [Insights](https://www.gormanjones.com/insights) - [Press](https://www.gormanjones.com/news-press-releases) ## Talk to Us 30 Burton Hills Blvd, Suite 300 Nashville, TN 37215 [(615) 924-0655](tel:16159240655) [team@gormanjones.com](mailto:team@gormanjones.com) © 2026 Gorman Jones, LLC. All rights reserved. - [Privacy Policy](https://www.gormanjones.com/privacy-policy) - [Terms of Use](https://www.gormanjones.com/terms) × - [Who We Are](https://www.gormanjones.com/who-we-are) - [How We Work](https://www.gormanjones.com/how-we-work) - News & Resources - [Insights](https://www.gormanjones.com/insights) - [Press](https://www.gormanjones.com/news-press-releases) - [Contact Us](https://www.gormanjones.com/contact-us) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://www.gormanjones.com/#organization", "@type" : "FinancialService", "address" : { "@type" : "PostalAddress", "addressCountry" : "US", "addressLocality" : "Nashville", "addressRegion" : "TN", "postalCode" : "37215", "streetAddress" : "30 Burton Hills Blvd, Suite 300" }, "areaServed" : "US", "description" : "Gorman Jones is a boutique investment bank providing sell-side M&A advisory to wealth management RIAs.", "email" : "team@gormanjones.com", "founder" : { "@id" : "https://www.gormanjones.com/who-we-are/rush-benton#person", "@type" : "Person", "jobTitle" : "Founding Principal", "name" : "Rush Benton", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.linkedin.com/in/rushbenton", "https://www.wealthmanagement.com/author/rush-benton" ] }, "image" : { "@id" : "https://www.gormanjones.com/#logo" }, "logo" : { "@id" : "https://www.gormanjones.com/#logo", "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "//246341757.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na2.net/hubfs/246341757/raw_assets/public/gormanjones-cms/images/logos/gj-logo-color-hor.png" }, "name" : "Gorman Jones", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.linkedin.com/company/gormanjones/" ], "telephone" : "+1-615-924-0655", "url" : "https://www.gormanjones.com" } ```