Focus Financial Partners Inc. continues to snap up wealth management firms, and on Thursday morning said it had reached an agreement to buy Ullmann Wealth Partners of Jacksonville Beach, Fla. with $582 million in client assets.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
In an era when mergers and acquisitions of registered investment advisers seems to only be ever increasing, this is the 28th acquisition this year for Focus Financial Partners. In 2019, Focus Financial Partners had its most significant year in terms of M&A and when it clocked a total of 34 acquisitions.
Just three weeks ago, Focus Financial Partners said it was acquiring Cardinal Point Management and Cardinal Point Wealth Management, a $1.2 billion Canadian wealth management business that operates in both the U.S. and Canada.
Focus Financial Partners over the summer raised $800 million to fund its M&A pipeline, according to the company. Focus Financial Partners has two categories for deals: partner firms and mergers. The Ullmann purchase was deemed a "partner firm" by the company.
Partner firms maintain their operational independence, according to the company, while using the scale, economics and best practices offered by Focus Financial to meet their business objectives.
RIA aggregators like Focus Financial have seen an explosion in growth over the past decade, fueled in large part by private equity managers seeking the stable 25% to 35% returns of well managed wealth management firms.
Counting advisor moves in and out of firms requires some art as well as science.
“I'm just a big believer that based on demographics alone, we are looking at a 10-to-15 year bull market in M&A in the RIA and independent wealth space,” said Michael Belluomini, SVP of M&A at Carson Group.
As a tsunami of retirees comes crashing in, three-fifths of those surveyed believe – wrongly – that the federal safety net will cover their LTC needs.
Orion's latest update, a partnership with 11th.com, focuses on an underserved area of compliance for advisors and wealth firms.
The latest arrivals, including a 10-advisor ensemble from Ameriprise, bolster the firm's independent contractor and employee advisor channels.
Barely a decade old, registered index-linked annuities have quickly surged in popularity, thanks to their unique blend of protection and growth potential—an appealing option for investors looking to chart a steadier course through today's choppy market waters, says Myles Lambert, Brighthouse Financial.
How intelliflo aims to solve advisors' top tech headaches—without sacrificing the personal touch clients crave