Focus Financial Partners : News

Focus Financial Partners Acquires Five RIA Firms, Further Expanding its Leadership in Fiduciary Wealth Management

Client Assets Surpass $25 Billion

(NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 4, 2007) With a transaction pace exceeding forecasts, Focus Financial Partners, LLC, the leading partnership of independent fiduciary wealth management firms, today announced its partnership with five highly rated wealth management firms with an aggregate of $8 billion in client assets. The new firms are GW & Wade and Dion Money Management, both of Massachusetts; Lara, Shull & May, of Washington, D.C.; Benefit Funding Services Group (BFSG) of California; and JFS Wealth Advisors of Pennsylvania.

With these transactions, Focus’ 14 partner firms currently handle over $25 billion in client assets, further strengthening its market leading position in the independent investment advisory market. With 550 employees and 11,000 clients, Focus is majority owned by its partners, and has reached a scale, depth, and breadth that is second to none. The firm was founded in January 2006 with four partners and a total of $3.5 billion in client assets.

“We believe that the fiduciary model, where client interests come first, is a superior one, and has enabled some of the most talented wealth managers to bring their collective expertise together to build Focus into an unrivaled national wealth management organization,” said Rudy Adolf, Focus’ Founder and CEO.

Through the transaction, Focus partners realize part of the equity value that they have created in their successful companies. At the same time, the partners maintain their operational independence. Donald R. Dion, Jr., President and Chief Investment Officer of Dion Money Management said, “The Focus model is built around the notion of not turning successful entrepreneurs into employees; rather, it is built on the premise of helping successful entrepreneurs build even more successful companies.”

Focus partners reap the benefits of shared resources that come from being part of a larger organization including marketing, compliance, acquisition support, and human resources.

“Partnering with Focus allows us to confidently grow over many years, better servicing our clients while better managing our practice,” said Michael H. Glor, Principal and Founding Partner of GW & Wade. “At the same time, by engaging with Focus, we have a structure to help facilitate succession planning that ensures our firm can seamlessly serve our clients for generations to come.”

“As we deliberated the next phase of our firm, the Focus partnership met our criteria of quality, sophistication, and best of breed,” said Robert C. Jazwinski, Founder of JFS Wealth Advisors. “Focus is a validation of our philosophy of independence and fiduciary advice. We are part of a movement that is redefining wealth management.”

About Focus Financial Partners

Focus Financial Partners, LLC, is the leading partnership of independent, fiduciary wealth management firms in the United States. With more than $29 billion in client assets and more than 600 employees, Focus partners provide wealth management, benefit and investment consulting services to individuals, families, employers, and institutions. Focus is majority owned by its partners. Clients benefit from Focus’ partners independence, unrivaled access and continuity: Focus principals maintain their entrepreneurial independence; benefit from the synergies, scale, economics and best practices of the market leader; and achieve an eventual, smooth ownership transition. For more information, please visit www.focusfinancialpartners.com.