Comparing the Top Agency M&A Advisors: MarshBerry, Sica Fletcher, Reagan Consulting, OPTIS Partners

Most principals select an M&A advisor on referral, brand recognition, or the partner who pitched them most aggressively. That is the wrong process for a decision that determines the buyer pool you reach, the structure you negotiate, and the seven-figure outcome on the other side. Per Sica Fletcher’s 2025 valuations report, advisor-represented deals cleared roughly 25 percent higher multiples than unrepresented transactions across the same period. That is a directional headline; it frames the selection conversation but does not absolve the seller from picking the right advisor for the deal profile.

This guide is an operator-perspective overview of the four major firms (MarshBerry, Sica Fletcher, Reagan Consulting, and OPTIS Partners), followed by a six-step selection framework you can run in sixty days. Per-firm characterizations of fit, posture, and reputation are subjective; this piece sticks to what each firm publishes about itself and what the public M&A-data record shows.

Why advisor selection matters

The advisor brings the buyers. The buyer pool the advisor surfaces is the buyer pool you negotiate against. If your agency profile is best served by one buyer category and your advisor specializes in another, the mismatch shows up as fewer competitive bids and a weaker negotiating position.

Quality of buyer pool. A serious advisor for a mid-sized agency runs a structured process surfacing multiple qualified bidders rather than a single-buyer reactive negotiation. Competitive tension is the leverage; advisor selection determines how much tension is in the room.

Negotiation outcomes and structure quality. Headline multiple is the marketing number. Structure determines the actual after-tax outcome. Earn-out metric definitions, escrow holdbacks, indemnification caps, rollover equity terms, non-compete scope: every line of the LOI and definitive agreement is negotiated. Strong advisors negotiate the structure as hard as they negotiate the price.

Advisor vs. broker. A broker brings a buyer. An advisor runs a process. The economics, the buyer pool, and the structural quality differ materially. For any transaction above $5M enterprise value, pay for an advisor.

The four major advisors

The profiles below use what each firm publishes about itself plus public M&A-data references. Subjective comparative judgments (process style, buyer-pool reach, fee structure) vary deal to deal and are negotiated rather than published.

MarshBerry

Founded 1981. Headquartered in Cleveland (Woodmere), Ohio with a European central office in Amsterdam. Per MarshBerry’s About page, the firm is a global investment banking and consulting firm focused on insurance brokerage, wealth management, and accounting/tax industries; the firm cites 650+ diagnostic and confirmatory due-diligence projects since 2004 and 310+ benefit agency transactions since 2008 (more than $4.8B of transaction value). Recent corporate development matters editorially: per the Lincoln International announcement, Lincoln International acquired MarshBerry in September 2025. Principals evaluating MarshBerry as an advisor in 2026 should weigh the post-acquisition integration as part of the engagement decision.

MarshBerry publishes the periodic Insurance Brokerage M&A reports the industry cites, including the 2025 “Stays Active in 2025 Amid Market Headwinds”, and operates the MarshBerry360 benchmarking and consulting practice alongside the transaction work.

Sica Fletcher

Founded 2014 by Michael Fletcher and Al Sica. Per Sica Fletcher’s firm overview, SNL Financial ranked the two founders as the top two advisors in the insurance industry from 2014 through 2023 by total deals advised on, excluding diligence assignments. The firm publishes the quarterly valuations research this guide cites throughout.

Sica Fletcher’s 2025 valuations report is a primary reference document for industry multiples (the 11.8x H1 2025 average for deals greater than $1 million of EBITDA cited across the industry comes from this report). Mike Fletcher publishes recurring market commentary in Leader’s Edge and other trade publications.

Reagan Consulting

Founded 1995. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Per Reagan Consulting’s About page, the firm provides M&A advisory, capital raising, valuation, growth consulting, perpetuation planning, and industry research. The firm cites consulting and M&A advisory work with hundreds of insurance distribution firms, including more than 66 of the top 100 agents and brokers and more than 150 banks and savings institutions.

The dual identity of Reagan Consulting matters editorially: the firm is both an M&A advisor and the publisher of widely cited operating benchmarks (the Reagan Consulting Best Practices Study, co-hosted with the Big I). Sellers using Reagan as their transaction advisor receive operating-benchmark context inside the engagement that pure-play M&A boutiques do not produce.

OPTIS Partners

Founded 2002 by Tim Cunningham and Steve Germundson. Headquartered in Chicago. Per OPTIS Partners’ About page, the firm focuses exclusively on the insurance-distribution marketplace, providing M&A advisory, ownership planning, and valuation services.

OPTIS publishes the year-end and quarterly North American Agent & Broker M&A reports that this publication and the industry both cite as primary deal-volume references: the 2025 Year-End report and the Q1 2026 report (Insurance Journal coverage; 148 deals in Q1 2026, the lowest Q1 since 2016). OPTIS partner Steve Germundson said the three-year slide in deal volume “is beginning to bottom out to about 650 deals per year.”

The advisor brings the buyers. If your agency profile is best served by one buyer category and your advisor specializes in another, the mismatch shows up as fewer bids and a weaker negotiating position.

Boutique alternatives

The four major firms do not cover every transaction. Credible boutiques exist, and for some sellers, a boutique is the better choice. Three conditions favor a boutique. First, deal size is below the major firm’s natural range; smaller agencies are systematically under-served at the top of the market. Second, the principal values senior partner attention and a tailored process more than the breadth of buyer relationships. Third, the buyer pool is concentrated regionally or by specialty in a way that aligns with the boutique’s network. When all three are true, a boutique is frequently the better choice. When fewer than two are true, a major firm is usually the right call.

How to choose

Run the framework. Sixty days. Six steps.

1. Define your transaction profile. Revenue, EBITDA, line-of-business mix, geographic footprint, target buyer category (PE rollup, strategic regional, internal succession, or undecided), target timeline. Write it down. This is the brief you will give to every advisor you interview.

2. Interview at least three advisors. Two from the major firms, one boutique or regional specialist. The third interview reveals what the first two are not telling you. Single-interview engagements are how principals end up in the wrong process.

3. Reference-check with recent clients of similar profile. Two references from the advisor are marketing. Three references you find independently (through industry contacts, attorneys, or principal networks) are research. Ask about the buyer pool surfaced, the negotiation experience, and what they would do differently. Recent transactions, not engagements from five years ago.

4. Evaluate communication and trust fit. A sale process is a 9-to-15-month relationship in which the advisor will know your financials, your producer compensation, your succession plan, and your private intent. Communication style and trust fit matter as much as competence. The principal who hates their advisor’s communication style at month three will hate it at month nine.

5. Compare fee structures honestly. Headline percentage is the starting point. Retainer credits, tiering above thresholds, expense reimbursement provisions, what counts as transaction value for fee calculation, success-fee triggers. All of it is negotiable. Get the engagement letter in writing and read it.

6. Confirm process and access to senior advisors. The senior partner at the pitch meeting is not always the senior partner on the engagement. Confirm in writing who runs the process, who attends buyer meetings, who negotiates the LOI, and who is on the line for the closing. If the named senior partner is not contractually committed to the engagement, the pitch was marketing.

Conclusion

Run the framework. Talk to three. Reference-check with people you find yourself. The advisor you select is the most consequential decision you will make in the months before signing. Treat it accordingly.

For the underlying valuation methodology and the publicly available 2025 multiple data that frames these advisor conversations, see our companion guide on how to value an insurance agency in 2026.