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After several years building a practice, one question often ends up being asked: what is the business actually worth, and what valuation multiple for a wealth management practice can reasonably be aimed for?
Assets under management give a first indication. Revenue and profitability matter too. Yet two practices with similar results can sell for very different prices: the question of how much a wealth management practice is worth never comes down to a single variable.
In 2026, valuations remain high, but buyers are becoming more selective.
They mainly look at what will keep working after the founder leaves: recurring revenue, client stability, team autonomy, and the quality of the organisation.
Two questions must therefore be asked:
What is my practice worth today?
What levers can increase its value before a sale?
How do you calculate the price of a wealth management practice?
There is no official scale. The method depends mainly on the size of the practice, its profitability, and the structure of its revenue.
Buyers generally work from either recurring revenue or EBITDA.
The multiple of recurring revenue
For small and mid-sized independent practices, recurring revenue remains an important reference.
It notably includes:
fees on assets under management
ongoing advisory fees
annual retainers
other predictable contractual income
H24 Finance notes that historically, a wealth management practice was valued at three to five times its recurring revenue.
A practice generating €400,000 in recurring revenue could therefore obtain a first estimate of between €1.2 million and €2 million.
This multiple remains a starting point for discussion.
A practice heavily dependent on its founder will sit toward the lower end. A profitable, autonomous, growing structure can command a higher valuation.
The EBITDA multiple
For more structured practices, groups, and deals involving investors, valuation relies more heavily on EBITDA.
The goal is to measure the practice's real profitability once certain items are adjusted for, notably the founder's compensation and one-off expenses.
H24 Finance puts the range at eight to fifteen times EBITDA.
CGP Distrib confirms these levels and notes that the best-valued practices are organised, growing structures with a high share of recurring revenue. The outlet also estimates that the market has sat on a historically high plateau for several years.
These multiples cannot therefore be applied automatically to every practice: the right valuation multiple for a wealth management practice always depends on the specific file.
Is assets under management enough to value a practice?
Assets under management remain an essential indicator, but the amount alone is not enough to calculate the price of a practice.
Two €100 million portfolios can generate very different revenue depending on:
the nature of the products held
the average fee rate
the share of recurring commissions
client stability
how long the contracts have been in place
the terms negotiated with partners
Assets under management are mainly useful for checking that revenue is consistent, and for anticipating future income.
Valuation example for a wealth management practice
Take a practice with the following characteristics:
€400,000 in recurring revenue
€150,000 in adjusted EBITDA
a relatively stable client base
steady growth
a team that still depends on the founder
At a multiple of three to five times recurring revenue, its theoretical value would be between €1.2 million and €2 million.
At a multiple of eight to ten times EBITDA, it would be between €1.2 million and €1.5 million.
The buyer will weigh both approaches before adjusting their offer based on the quality of the portfolio and the risks identified.
In this example, the dependence on the founder could lead to a valuation close to the lower or middle part of the range.
What increases the value of a wealth management practice
A buyer is first and foremost looking to secure future revenue and make the business easier to hand over.
A high share of recurring revenue
The more predictable the revenue, the more valuable the practice.
Ongoing advisory fees and retainers offer more visibility than one-off commissions tied to a handful of large transactions.
A stable and diversified client base
Long-standing clients, a low attrition rate, and broad wealth relationships secure future revenue.
Portfolio concentration also plays an important role. When a significant share of assets depends on a handful of families, the buyer factors in the risk of quickly losing part of the value they paid for.
Steady organic growth
A practice able to generate new clients demonstrates the strength of its positioning.
Buyers particularly value client referrals, partnerships with other professionals, digital presence, and structured sales processes.
Clear profitability
Revenue alone is not enough.
The buyer will analyse the costs actually needed to run the practice, including the compensation of whoever might eventually replace the founder.
High profitability achieved through an artificially low founder salary will generally be adjusted for.
A team able to take over the client relationship
Value increases when clients already know several members of the team.
A practice built entirely around its founder carries a significant risk at the point of sale. An autonomous team makes the handover easier and reduces the risk of clients leaving.
Properly documented compliance
Complete files, up-to-date client profiles, coherent suitability reports, and a clear audit trail reassure the buyer. See our article on the best compliance tools for wealth advisors to go further.
Insufficient compliance can lead to a lower price, additional guarantees, or an obligation to fix files before the sale.
What brings the price of a practice down
The main causes of a discount are generally:
heavy dependence on the founder
an ageing client base with no relationship established with heirs
significant concentration of assets under management
low profitability
a high proportion of one-off commissions
incomplete client data
insufficiently documented compliance
an absence of procedures
partner contracts that are difficult to transfer
unresolved legal or regulatory liabilities
These issues increase the risk taken on by the buyer, and therefore reduce the price they will be willing to pay.
Can technology increase the price of a practice?
In financial services, buyers already place a premium on organisations able to scale thanks to their technology.
The acquisition of 70% of Saxo Bank by J. Safra Sarasin, for around €1.1 billion, illustrates this logic. J. Safra Sarasin's leadership presented Saxo's technology architecture, and its ability to adapt quickly to market shifts, as the deal's main motivations, as we were already analysing in March.
This logic is progressively showing up at the scale of financial advice.
Tavistock, for instance, acquired 87.9% of Plus Group, a company specialising in paraplanning and AI agents. Plus Group's turnover was slightly under £1 million, with EBITDA of around £340,000. Tavistock explicitly presents the deal as a way to strengthen its technology capabilities and improve adviser productivity.
At the scale of a wealth management practice, the right tools reassure the buyer on the same criteria: data reliability, compliance quality, documentation of procedures, team productivity, and the capacity to absorb more clients. Discover our comparison of the best AI tools for wealth advisors in 2026 to identify the right options.
They make the practice easier to read, simpler to integrate, and less dependent on knowledge held only by its founder. This is exactly what Apana Advisor helps document on a day to day basis.
Conclusion
The price of a wealth management practice depends less on the volume of assets under management than on its ability to generate durable revenue after the sale.
Multiples give a first order of magnitude. The final value depends on the quality of revenue, client stability, profitability, the team, and how structured the practice is.
Preparing the sale of a wealth management practice therefore means making the business easier to hand over, whether the outcome is a family succession or an acquisition by a consolidator group.
This means making data reliable, documenting procedures, securing compliance, and gradually reducing dependence on the founder.
Practices able to show that their organisation can keep running, welcome new clients, and maintain the quality of advice have the strongest arguments to defend their valuation.
FAQ
How much is my wealth management practice worth? A first order of magnitude can be calculated with a multiple of three to five times recurring revenue, or eight to fifteen times EBITDA for more structured practices. The exact level depends on revenue recurrence, client stability, and dependence on the founder.
What multiple should I use to value a wealth management practice? Small independent practices tend to be valued on recurring revenue (three to five times). More structured practices, or those targeted by investment funds, are valued on EBITDA (eight to fifteen times).
Is assets under management enough to set a sale price for a wealth management practice? No. Assets under management mainly serve to check that revenue is consistent. Two portfolios of the same size can generate very different revenue depending on the nature of the products, the recurrence of commissions, and client stability.
What has the biggest negative impact on the value of a practice? Dependence on the founder remains the most penalising factor, followed by insufficiently documented compliance and an ageing client base with no relationship established with heirs.
Can technology really increase the price of a wealth management practice? Yes. Buyers increasingly value a practice's ability to function without its founder, thanks to reliable data and documented processes, as shown by the logic behind Tavistock's acquisition of Plus Group and J. Safra Sarasin's acquisition of Saxo Bank.
Sources
H24 Finance, "Combien coûte un cabinet de CGP?", January 9, 2025. The article sets out the historical benchmarks of three to five times recurring revenue and eight to fifteen times EBITDA.
CGP Distrib, "La consolidation du marché des CGP va encore s'accélérer", April 1, 2025. The outlet analyses valuation levels and the criteria associated with the best-valued practices.
Reuters, "Safra CEO says Saxo deal shows need for tech scale in AI era", March 2, 2026. The article details the central role of Saxo Bank's technology architecture in the deal.
Tavistock Investments, "Acquisition of Plus Group", July 28, 2026. The press release specifies the stake acquired, Plus Group's financial results, and the technology rationale behind the deal.