That was fast — Focus nabs $1.9B RIA breakaway on heels of PE deal

Focus Financial Partners didn't waste any time.

A brand new Silicon Valley firm with $1.9 billion in assets under management is joining the RIA aggregator less than two weeks after Focus announced it accelerate its growth following an infusion of capital from two major private equity firms.

Bordeaux Wealth Advisors will become Focus' 47th partner. The deal follows a $2 billion valuation of Focus by private equity firms KKR and Stone Point Capital, who acquired a majority stake in the company.

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Rudy Adolf, the founder, CEO and chairman of Focus Financial Partners.
A.E. Fletcher Photography

Bordeaux is an RIA breakaway — the firm was launched just this past March by Tom Myers and Dave Murdock, who split with their nine person team from Brownson, Rehmus & Foxworth, an independent wealth management firm based in Chicago with an office in Menlo Park.

DEAL DONE WITH 'MULTIPLE GENERATIONS' IN MIND
Succession planning was a key reason Menlo Park, California-based Bordeaux signed on with Focus, according to Myers, the firm's CEO.

“Our relationship with Focus originated out of a need to plan for the future for our firm," Myers says. "We intend to build Bordeaux Wealth Advisors not only to serve our clients and their families, but also to support multiple generations of advisers at the firm."

Bordeaux is an RIA breakaway, launched just this past March by Tom Myers and Dave Murdock, who split from Brownson, Rehmus & Foxworth.

Myers was a principal of Brownson, Rehmus & Foxworth for more than 10 years. He previously held senior executive positions at Bessemer Trust, Morgan Stanley and Deloitte. Before joining Brownson, Murdock was a partner of Silvercrest Asset Management and a managing director of Northern Trust.

Succession Planning Flowchart-Cruz

TARGETING UHNW CLIENTS
Bordeaux targets high- and ultrahigh-net-worth Silicon Valley and Bay Area entrepreneurs, corporate executives, technology professionals and partners in the private equity and venture capital partners, and also has clients in Seattle, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin.
The partnership is the fifth of the year for Focus.

Stone Point Capital CEO Chuck Davis said in a statement announcing the purchase of Focus' shares in April that the private equity firm was "excited to enhance [Focus'] continued expansion with our sector expertise and deep network of relationships throughout the financial services industry."

Indeed, Michael Nathanson, the CEO of one of Focus' largest partner RIAs, Boston-based Colony Group, told Financial Planning at the time of the deal that he expected the deep pockets and resources of Stone Point and KKR, to be a "catalyst for growth" for the RIA aggregator.

“We expect Bordeaux Wealth Advisors to become a hub for attracting top-tier wealth management talent in the Western U.S.” said Focus CEO Rudy Adolf.

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RIAs M&A Succession planning Practice management High net worth KKR Focus Financial Partners
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