The Rise in Interest Rates and the Impact on Wealth Management M&A Strategies

Over the last several years, merger and acquisition activity within the financial-advisor industry remained strong, with valuations for registered investment advisory firms in 2021 up 15-25% from a few years ago and hitting an all-time high^[1].

However, to tamp down inflation, the U.S. Federal Reserve is on track to hike interest rates at various points in 2022. These increases could signal the end of the era of ultra-cheap money that helped fuel the period of M&A activity, especially for younger advisors seeking to buy businesses.

Hear from Steve Leivent, Co-GM and SVP, SS&C Advent, who is joined by David DeVoe, CEO and Founder, DeVoe & Company, and Richard Frisk, Managing Partner and CEO, Gladstone Wealth, as they discuss how the Fed may be inadvertently slowing down M&A strategies in 2022.

Topics will include:

• The recent increases in interest rates
• Due diligence critical for buyers and sellers
• M&A selling points provided by technologically advanced firms

^[1] DeVoe: RIA Valuations Are at Historic—but Appropriate—Highs, Wealth Management, Oct. 29, 2021