Kovitz Investment Group acquires Northern Capital Management

Chicago-based registered investment adviser Kovitz Investment Group announced Monday it is acquiring Northern Capital Management, a Madison, Wisc. -based RIA with $544 million under management. The deal, which will close early next year, marks the second acquisition of the year for Kovitz, which has grown to more than $4 billion since its founding in 2003. In August, Kovitz announced its acquisition of AFAM Capital, which has approximately $1 billion under management. eals represent sub-acquisitions for Focus Financial Partners (FOCS), which raised $565 million through an initial public stock sale in July. During both of Focus' earnings calls since going public, chairman and chief executive officer Rudy Adolf said there are about 500 suitable RIA partner firms that could potentially join the 60 firms now making up Focus' partner network. Regarding the latest Kovitz deal, Mr. Adolf said, "With our M&A expertise and value-added program, we expect continued excellence from the Kovitz team." "As I recently mentioned, Focus is working on more opportunities than in any other time I can remember," he added. "We anticipate having a number of similar announcements in the weeks ahead." Year to date, Focus has closed eight direct transactions and 16 mergers by partner firms.