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Investcorp has made its first push into US wealth management, acquiring Berger Financial Group after a multiyear search for the right target, the firm told PitchBook.
The deal makes Investcorp the latest PE firm to chase the wealth management boom, joining a wave of similar tie-ups this year.
The $62 billion alternatives manager didn’t disclose the size or valuation of the deal.
Wealth management firms of Berger’s size can expect to trade in the region of 11 to 16 times adjusted EBITDA, according to PitchBook data.
Berger manages $3 billion and serves 3,800 clients across offices in Minnesota, Arizona, Vermont, Maine and Illinois, mainly in the mass affluent segment. Berger’s management team and financial advisers will maintain a significant stake in the business.
Vitali Bourchtein, a managing director on Investcorp’s North American Private Equity team, said the plan is to build Berger into “another sizable player” by rolling up smaller RIAs. The market’s size and fragmentation, plus favorable demographics, make wealth management attractive, he said, despite fierce competition from other PE firms and strategic buyers.
RIAs control around $9.8 trillion, up from $6.6 trillion in 2019, equivalent to an annual growth rate of 12%, according to research from Cerulli Associates.
PE firms have taken heed: $30.3 billion has gone into wealth management deals this year, versus a record of nearly $36 billion in 2025, according to PitchBook data. Bain Capital and The Carlyle Group are currently battling to acquire Wealth Enhancement Group in a deal valued at around $7 billion. |