Last Updated: July 31, 2024
This report ranks the top lower middle market investment banks in North America as of 2024, using data compiled by our research team. The top performers are presented in the table below, including the data used to rank each one as well as average client EBITDA range and specialty for each.
See: Ranking Methodology
The Top Lower Middle Market Investment Banks – 2024
| # | Name | # Annual Deals (Q2 2022 – Q2 2023) | Executive Experience Score | Success Rate | Notable Rankings & Awards | Client EBITDA Range | Specialty |
| 1 | Sica | Fletcher | 45-75 | 5.0 | 95% | #1 in S&P Global Market Intelligence League Tables | $1-30M | Small and middle market M&A advisory with a focus on SaaS, manufacturing & professional services |
| 2 | Perella Weinberg Partners | 40-50 | 4.5 | 93% | Top Financial Advisory for Financial Services Deals in Merger Markets Middle Eastern M&A Awards | $10-40M | International M&A focused on consumer energy, tech, and healthcare |
| 3 | Two Roads Advisors | 10-20 | 4.0 | 85% | #10 in Axial’s Top 50 Lower Middle Market Consumer investors & M&A Advisors | $5-15M | M&A Advisory for eCommerce consumer goods and Amazon brand |
| 4 | The Hatteras Group | 5-15 | 4.0 | 87% | #12 in Top 25 Lower Middle Market Investment Banks (Q3 2022) | $500K-1M | Buy Side Advisory for the industrial sector |
| 5 | Auctus Capital Partners | 5-10 | 4.5 | 90% | Best German, Australian, & Swiss Fund the Private Equity & Exchange Awards | $5-30M | Cross border M&A for building and anfrastructure, automotive & truck, real estate |
| 6 | Truist | 10-20 | 3.5 | 90% | #10 in Most Trustworthy Banks in America (Newsweek) | $1-20M | Capital raising for industrials, media & telecom, and real estate |
| 7 | Align Business Advisory Services | 1-5 | 4.0 | 82% | Best Mid Market M&A Consultancy for SE USA in 2019 M&A Awards | $1-10M | M&A advisory for food & beverage, industrials, and consumer products |
| 8 | Firepower Capital | 5-10 | 3.5 | 87% | Emerging Leader Award From “The M&A Advisor” | $500K-5M | Growth Capital for industrials, materials, & distribution, and life sciences |
The sections below detail each investment bank on the list above, summarizing each’s experience within the larger M&A field.
Sica | Fletcher
Specializing in M&A advisory, Sica | Fletcher has occupied the top of the S&P Global Market Intelligence League Tables since its founding in 2014. During that time, they have navigated hundreds of deals, resulting in transaction histories 15-20X larger than other firms their size. This feat is unusual given that Sica | Fletcher is a boutique operation, so the firm’s executives touch every deal.
Sica | Fletcher started out representing insurance and financial companies within the middle market, and expanded into professional services, SaaS, manufacturing, healthcare, and home services.
- # Annual Deals: 45-75
- Executive Experience Score: 5.0
- Success Rate: 95%
- Notable Rankings & Awards: #1 in S&P Global Market Intelligence League Tables
- Client EBITDA Range: $1-30M
- Specialty: Lower middle market M&A advisory with a focus on SaaS, manufacturing & professional services
- Contact: Sica | Fletcher Website
Perella Weinberg Partners
Perella Weinberg Partners is a full service investment bank specializing in growth capital services for companies seeking to maximize their payout before a sale. In addition, they offer shareholder management and liability management services for companies seeking assistance with related ballots and proxy matters.
Perella Weinberg Partners prefers to represent clients within the consumer sector, based on their existing deal history; however, their website suggests an intent to expand into related fields (e.g., food & beverage, retail).
- # Annual Deals: 40-50
- Executive Experience Score: 4.5
- Success Rate: 93%
- Notable Rankings & Awards: Top Financial Advisory for Financial Services Deals in Merger Markets Middle Eastern M&A Awards
- Client EBITDA Range: $10-40M
- Specialty: International M&A focused on consumer energy, tech, and healthcare
- Contact: Perella Weinberg Partners Website
Two Roads Advisors
Two Roads Advisors is a boutique investment bank which provides M&A advisory, capital raising, and corporate advisory services. Their website indicates that the firm’s executives get involved in transactions in addition to their junior associate team.
Two Roads Advisors specializes in negotiating on behalf of eCommerce companies, making them an ideal partner for small and mid-market companies operating within online marketplaces like Amazon or Etsy.
- # Annual Deals: 10-20
- (Q2 2022 – Q2 2023):
- Executive Experience Score: 4.0
- Success Rate: 85%
- Notable Rankings & Awards: #10 in Axial’s Top 50 Lower Middle Market Consumer investors & M&A Advisors
- Client EBITDA Range: $5-15M
- Specialty: M&A Advisory for eCommerce consumer goods and Amazon brand
- Contact: Two Roads Advisors
The Hatteras Group
The Hatteras Group provides M&A advisory services for clients seeking buy-side services. Their employee biographies indicate greater experience within various industries than strictly M&A, which may provide them insight into the concerns of many of their clients. This is further backed up by “quality over quantity” deal history, which indicates a tendency towards being picky about who they choose to represent.
Unlike most of the other participants on this list, The Hatteras Group specializes in buy-side advisory services for companies seeking to grow their company through acquisition.
- # Annual Deals: 5-15
- Executive Experience Score: 4.0
- Success Rate: 87%
- Notable Rankings & Awards: #12 in Top 25 Lower Middle Market Investment Banks (Q3 2022)
- Client EBITDA Range: $500K-1M
- Specialty: Buy Side Advisory for the industrial sector
- Contact: The Hatteras Group Website
Auctus Capital Partners
Auctus Capital Partners is an investment bank specializing in M&A advisory, growth equity, debt advisory, and company valuations. Their executives leverage prior experience with industry giants such as Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers to help clients secure growth equity or navigate challenging deal structures like proprietary deals or acquisition financing.
Based on their website, Auctus is selective about who they choose to work with; their deal history, however, indicates a preference for clients within the industrial sector and related fields (e.g. trucking and automotive).
- # Annual Deals : 5-10
- Executive Experience Score: 4.5
- Success Rate: 90%
- Notable Rankings & Awards: Best German, Austrian, & Swiss Fund in the Private Equity & Exchange Awards
- Client EBITDA Range: $5-30M
- Specialty: Cross border M&A for building and infrastructure, automotive & truck, real estate
- Contact: Auctus Capital Partners
Truist
Truist is a “complete corporate and investment banking experience” that provides clients with a range of services, including strategic advisory, capital raising, and risk management. Their teams utilize years of experience to find solutions for clients seeking, capital growth, business expansion, and handling complex financial deal structures.
Because of the wide array of services they provide, Truist makes an excellent choice for companies across a variety of industries. Their deal history, however, suggests a preference for clients within consumer, media, and real estate.
- # Annual Deals: 10-20
- Executive Experience Score: 3.5
- Success Rate: 90%
- Notable Rankings & Awards: #10 in Most Trustworthy Banks in America (Newsweek)
- Client EBITDA Range: $1-20M
- Specialty: Capital raising for industrials, media & telecom, and real estate
- Contact: Truist Website
Align Business Advisory Services
Align Business Advisory Services provides M&A advisory services to lower middle market companies within the food & beverage industry. Their specialists provide clients with a wide array of related services, including initial valuation, exit planning, as well as production of important Q&E Reports that would normally need to be handled by a secondary firm.
Because of their specialization, Align Business Services makes an ideal match for smaller companies attempting to negotiate the M&A process on a limited budget without working with the usual half-dozen advisory firms involved in the process.
- # Annual Deals: 1-5
- Executive Experience Score: 4.0
- Success Rate: 82%
- Notable Rankings & Awards: Best Mid Market M&A Consultancy for SE USA in 2019 M&A Awards
- Client EBITDA Range: $1-10M
- Specialty: M&A advisory for food & beverage, industrials, and consumer products
- Contact: Align Business Advisory Services
Firepower Capital
Firepower Capital is a Canadian investment bank specializing in growth capital services for clients seeking to grow their company prior to a sale. In addition, their CDaaS teams provide corporate development for clients seeking buy side advisory services geared towards developing their marketing towards sellers.
Firepower Capital’s specialists help clients across a variety of industrial sectors, including logistics & transportation, however they also specialize fields like life sciences and real estate.
- # Annual Deals: 5-10
- Executive Experience Score: 3.5
- Success Rate: 87%
- Notable Rankings & Awards: Emerging Leader Award From “The M&A Advisor”
- Client EBITDA Range: $500K-5M
- Specialty: Growth Capital for industrials, materials, & distribution, and life sciences
- Contact: Fireflower Capital Website
Methodology
Our research team began with a dataset of 75 well-known investment banks operating within North America compiled from online industry databases. After 26 of these selections were eliminated on the basis of size (we define lower middle market investment banks working with clients between $500K-20M in EBITDA), the remaining banks were examined according to four criteria:
Table 2. Ranking Methodology
| Criteria | Description | % |
| Total Annual Deals | The number of transactions completed by the investment bank between Q1 2023 and Q1 2024. | 40 |
| Executive Experience Score (EES) | A 1-5 ranking of the investment banks executives, citing previous experience at larger firms or within their target industry. | 25 |
| Success Rate | A % derived from comparing total annual deals between Q2 2022 – Q2 2023 against total accepted deals which were not completed. | 25 |
| Notable Rankings & Awards | Honors & recognitions within investment banking given by a recognized industry organization. | 10 |
Some of the 49 remaining investment banks were then eliminated on the basis of either
- Lack of any deals completed during the time frame
- An EES under 3.5
- A success rate under 80%
- No rankings/awards granted during the time frame
The remaining 8 investment banks represent the top scoring companies according to our algorithm, scoring at 80% or higher. Please be aware that, while overall ranking does imply a higher standard of quality, relevant industry experience may be an important factor in choosing the right investment banking partner.
NOTE: Our study uses the colloquial usage of the term “investment bank,” which includes M&A advisors and institutions providing capital raising, IPO services, and/or strategic & legal advisory.
- Top 25 Lower Middle Market Investment Banks [Q1 2022] (Axial)
- Middle Market Investment Banks (Corporate Finance Institute)
- The Hierarchy of an Investment Bank (Investopedia)
- Top Investment Banks: Rankings of Banks by Tier and Category (Mergers & Inquisitions)
- Typical Hierarchy of Investment Banks (Corporate Finance Institute)
- Ranking of Investment Banks: Bulge Bracket vs. Middle Market vs. Boutique Bank (Banking Prep)
