Focus Financial picks up $575M RIA

Pettinga Financial Advisors Inc. has joined Focus Financial Partners LLC. The registered investment advisory firm based in Evansville, Ind., has about $575 million under management. Terms of the arrangement, which was announced Tuesday, were not disclosed. The deal brings Focus Financial, a partnership of independent advisory firms, to more than $40 billion in assets across 20 partner firms, and expands its presence in the Midwest, Focus said in a statement. With the "onslaught of regulatory and compliance matters, I wanted to make sure we have the resources to stay on top," Mark Pettinga, the firm's founder and managing principal, said in an interview. Focus can help with the regulatory side, he said, and it also brings expertise and capital to the table for acquisitions. "I'm good at what I do — helping clients with their finances — but I've not had experience in approaching independent business owners and putting attractive packages together for them," Mr. Pettinga said. Likely acquisition targets would be advisory firms based in Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana that offer a "fiduciary client service," and have assets in the range of $50 million to $500 million, he said. Pettinga Financial's other principals are Matthew Volkman and Brian Goebel.