Private equity firm Lightyear Capital, which built Cetera Financial Group from a series of acquisitions made starting in 2008, sold the combined business in 2014 for $1.15 billion. Lightyear did not disclose how much it paid for Cetera's constituent businesses. It remains active as an investor in wealth management firms -- it bought a majority stake in the Minneapolis-based independent firm Wealth Enhancement Group last month.

Banks, historically among the biggest buyers of wealth management firms, are also showing interest in the deals. In 2014, banks bought 47 registered investment advisors and trust companies, twice as many as in 2013, according to the mergers & acquisitions consulting firm, Silver Lane Advisors. In one of the biggest, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce bought Atlantic Trust Private Wealth Management in Chicago for $210 million.

Prices for brokers' businesses are likely to fall in the future as clients get older and begin withdrawing money from their accounts. Most advisors have not prepared to sell their business. Roughly a third of U.S. brokers have a succession plan, and only 17 percent have created a binding agreement, according to a study by SEI Advisor Network.

Many will try to sell only after they realize their business is depreciating, potentially flooding the market, said Mark Hurley, CEO of Fiduciary Network, which has bought minority stakes in 17 wealth management firms.

However, not every broker nearing retirement age can commit to selling his or her business, Hurley said. Many have trouble letting go.

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