Carlyle and Bain Capital are the final bidders for Wealth Enhancement, a registered investment adviser overseeing nearly $160bn in client assets, with a potential valuation of roughly $7bn including debt. The sale is being run by current owners TA Associates and Onex via Evercore.

Under TA and Onex, Wealth Enhancement has acquired at least six smaller RIAs since last year to build scale. It is among the larger private equity-backed independent wealth managers driving industry consolidation. RIAs compete with banks to advise wealthy clients for recurring fees, making them attractive to private equity.

Recent major deals include Mubadala Capital's $8.8bn take-private of CI Financial and Clayton Dubilier & Rice's $7bn buyout of Focus Financial Partners in 2023. Advent International and TPG have also invested in Fisher Investments and Creative Planning. However, some executives worry the sector is overinvested, with valuations of listed firms like LPL Financial falling amid AI disruption concerns.

The sale process is advanced but not guaranteed to close; current owners could retain the asset. Carlyle, Bain Capital, Wealth Enhancement, TA, Onex, and Evercore declined to comment.