Raymond James Financial (NYSE: RJF) is buying the U.S. Private Client Services (PCS) unit of Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management.

The PCS unit provides banking and financial services to high-net-worth individuals. Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) is selling the business to focus on other strategic priorities, including investing in its U.S. Private Bank operations, which provides bank services ultra-high-net-worth clients.

The acquisition builds Raymond James' presence up geographically and gives the firm a foothold in the alternative investments market. The PCS unit will be rebranded Alex Brown & Sons after the first U.S. investment bank, which was also the business' original parent company. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2016.

Raymond James, headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, is a financial services holding company with subsidiaries that provide investment and financial planning services, including investment banking. The business has more than 6,000 financial advisers and about $480 billion in client assets under management.

Dealmakers have been actively pursuing M&A in the financial services sector, partially because of sector regulations. Recent transactions include Lightyear Capital LLC's purchase of a stake in lender Pathlight Capital LLC, and Piper Jaffray Cos.' (NYSE: PJC) purchase of energy investment bank Simmons & Co. International.

In the middle-market, dealmakers are expecting more financial services M&A, according to Mergers & Acquisitions Mid-Market Pulse, a forward-looking sentiment indicator derived from monthly surveys of approximately 250 executives.