Advisory practice valuation benchmarks

Published transaction data in this market is thinner than anyone would like, and much of what circulates is marketing. What follows is what is actually published, with the caveats that belong to it.

Recurring-revenue multiples

Industry sources place recurring-revenue multiples across a broad band of roughly 1.6× to 4.4×. The width is not imprecision — it reflects genuine variation in revenue quality, growth, demographics and deal structure between practices at similar revenue.

What the spread actually means

Reading the top of the band as a target is the most common and expensive mistake sellers make. The upper end reflects practices with high recurring mix, real growth, a younger client base and low concentration — and often a seller willing to stay meaningfully through the transition.

Gross-revenue multipliers

Some published models start from a base gross-revenue multiplier and adjust for client size, advisory percentage, fee levels and asset base. The arithmetic differs from a recurring-revenue approach; the underlying question is identical.

Using benchmarks responsibly

A benchmark tells you the shape of the distribution. It does not tell you where you sit in it. Use published ranges to sanity-check a valuation — never to set a reserve price.

Note on sourcing: figures cited here are drawn from published industry commentary and are directional. They are not a forecast, an appraisal, or an offer.

Related: how buyers price a practice · what moves your multiple.

Advisor Practice Valuation is an authorized lead-generation partner of buyAUM. buyAUM compensates us only if a transition is completed. Sellers are never charged a fee at any stage. Valuation output is an educational estimate, not an appraisal, forecast, or offer.