Over 30 wealth managers turned to mergers and acquisitions deals in a bid to stay afloat in the second half of last year, compared with just 12 in the first half of the year, resulting in nearly $500bn of private client assets changing hands.

Wealth mangement tie-ups, including the $1.4bn acquisition of Sal Oppenheim by Deutsche Bank last year, and Singapore-based OCBC's $1.5bn purchase of ING Asia, are becoming more frequent due to three main drivers, said a report published this week by wealth management consultant Scorpio Partnership.