Wealth manager and Chartered Financial Planner Fairstone is planning more than 20 acquisitions of financial advice firms this year and has already completed 8 deals in Q1 alone.
Fairstone says the deals so far this year have helped it boost its assets under management by £2bn through the takeover of eight financial advice firms - with a further 13 acquisitions in the pipeline.
Fairstone says the deals this year, in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, mark a “step-change” in growth.
The acquisitions this year so far include Fairstone’s largest purchase to date – the acquisition of West Midlands wealth management and corporate financial planning specialist Prosperity Wealth in February.
Other acquistions are in Northern Scotland, Northern Ireland, the South of England, the West Country, the East Midlands and the North East of England. Fairstone says the deals have helped expand its geographic footprint across the UK.
Fairstone CEO Steven Cooper said: “In just the first quarter of the year, we have added substantially to the business, not only in terms of the bare figures of client assets under management, but also in terms of our strategic presence and the depth and breadth of the services which we can offer our clients.
“For example, bringing Prosperity on board has added substantially to our expertise in areas such as corporate Financial Planning and employee benefits.
“Every one of the eight firms who became part of Fairstone during Q1 brings something new to the business and strengthens the group as we look to help many more people achieve their financial goals and face the future with confidence.”
All eight firms acquired in Q1 joined Fairstone via its Downstream Buy-Out (DBO) model, a scheme which allows progressive acquisition of firms, often over a number of years. The eight firms acquired so far this year first signed their DBO agreements between two and four years previously.
Steve McNicol, chief development officer at Fairstone, said a further 13 acquisitions were on the way.
He added: “We have a further 13 acquisitions scheduled before the end of the year with firms that will have completed a partnership period with us spanning anywhere from one to five years.”
Steve McNicol said: “So far in 2026, an additional eight firms have signed up to the DBO across the UK and Ireland, bringing with them more than £1bn of client assets under management. We expect that number to grow during the rest of the year as we target ambitious, client-focused firms in strategic areas across the country.”
Further details about the firms fully-acquired in the first quarter of 2026 will be revealed over the coming weeks, the firm says.
Fairstone operates from more than 50 different locations and employs 1,350 operational staff and regulated advisers. It has £23 billion in assets under management on behalf of over 125,000 clients.
• Financial Planning Today Analysis: Fairstone's announcement suggests that the current M&A boom in the Financial Planning sector, which has been a little quieter of late, is picking up pace again. With a wall of private equity cash keen to find a home in the UK, Financial Planning and Wealth Management sectors it seems likely further acquisitions will be made across the board in the coming months. It should be borne in mind, however, that while some are big deals, some are small and mostly connected to advisers looking to retire and exit the market. Many Financial Planning firms have no intention of selling up, at least not just yet.