Office address: 190 Carondelet Plaza, Ste. 600, Clayton, MO 63105
Website: focuspartners.com
Year established: 2025
Company type: financial services
Employees: 1,500+
Expertise: wealth management, investment planning, financial planning, retirement plan solutions, family office services, tax services, business management, business owner services, institutional investment services, divorce and dispute resolution
Parent company: Focus Financial Partners
Key people: Adam Birenbaum (CEO), Jason Blackwell (chief investment strategist), Gina Bradley (COO), Dhruv Gupta (CFO), Joel Hirsh (CIO), Zinovy Iosovich (chief growth officer), Mitch Kovitz (chair)
Financing status: private equity-backed
Focus Partners Wealth (FPW) is an RIA that operates out of Clayton. The company covers a wide range of services, from investment and wealth planning to tax, business management, and family office solutions. It works with more than 10,000 clients in every US state.
Focus Partners Wealth launched in 2025 as a unified wealth management hub for high-net-worth clients. The firm came together through a 2024 merger between Buckingham Strategic Wealth and The Colony Group.
Both had been part of the Focus Financial Partners (FFP) network for years before the deal. The combination created a company with about $115 billion in client assets and nearly 100 locations.
The story goes back to 2004, when Rudy Adolf, Rajini Kodialam, and Lenny Chang founded FFP. They built a network of independent, fiduciary wealth firms that each kept their own brand.
FFP went public in 2018, then went private in 2023 after Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) acquired it alongside long-time investor Stone Point Capital.
That shift to private ownership freed Focus from public market pressures and pushed it toward a "hub" model that grouped smaller firms into bigger units.
That hub strategy is what turned the Buckingham and Colony merger into Focus Partners Wealth. But the firm didn't sit still after its 2025 launch. FPW quickly brought in Seattle-based Merriman Wealth Management, which added about $4 billion in regulatory AUM.
From there, it picked up Virginia-based David Wealth Management, which marked its second acquisition since the rebrand. It also brought in Churchill Management Corporation out of Los Angeles, which added roughly $9 billion more.
The pace continued into late 2025 when Kovitz Investment Group joined the fold. The company now sits as the largest domestic business within the FFP network. It manages about $175 billion in combined client assets as of January 1, 2026.
FPW splits its services across wealth planning, investments, and business solutions:
Focus Partners Wealth also connects clients with curated third-party providers for lifestyle needs like travel and wellness. It runs educational resources and community programs through partners like the Foundation for Financial Planning.
Focus Partners Wealth's stated mission is to help clients manage their financial futures through a personalized approach. The firm runs on three focus areas:
It also follows an "actions over intentions" philosophy. FPW uses the phrase "doing well by doing right" as a guiding principle across its teams. These are upheld through pro bono financial advice and community programs.
Focus Partners Wealth works with three organizations for its community work:
Focus Partners Wealth operates on a hybrid work schedule. Team members work three days in office and have the option to work remotely two days per week. Compensation includes a base salary, an annual cash bonus, and a benefits package. Base pay varies by experience, location, and skill set.
Focus Partners Wealth also holds regular learning events for its advisory teams, emphasizing teamwork over silos and collaboration across offices. One recent session brought 50 advisors together in Norwalk to meet with firm leaders and share best practices.
Adam Birenbaum is CEO of Focus Partners Wealth and president of Focus Financial Partners. He started at a small St. Louis-based RIA as an unpaid intern, rose through compliance and legal roles, and became CEO at age 31. Birenbaum holds a JD from Saint Louis University School of Law and a bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University.
An executive team supports Birenbaum in leading Focus Partners Wealth:
The leadership team oversees wealth management, investment strategy, operations, finance, and growth across all 50 states. Their focus is on delivering fiduciary advice and personalized planning to clients nationwide.
FPW earned a spot on InvestmentNews' 5-Star RIA Firms list in 2025. It qualified based on its AUM, AUM growth, and new clients added organically over 12 months. The recognition suggests that the company's post-rebrand growth strategy is gaining traction in a competitive RIA market.
To add scale in early 2026, Focus Partners Wealth folded in most of Kovitz Investment Group's business lines. Kovitz, a Chicago-based independent advisory firm, brought about $35 billion in client assets to FPW's existing $140 billion as of September 30, 2025. The deal strengthens the company's footprint across multiple US markets and adds institutional-style investment management to its platform.
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