Focus Partners Wealth to Acquire Churchill Management Group

RIA aggregator Focus Financial Partners announced plans for hub firm Focus Partners Wealth to acquire Churchill Management Group, a Los Angeles-based registered investment advisor with $9.4 billion in client assets. This represents Focus Partners Wealth’s first external acquisition since it was rebranded from The Colony Group and Buckingham Strategic Wealth earlier this year.

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.

Churchill will operate as a division of Focus Partners Wealth for some time, but will eventually transition to an RIA.

Churchill was founded in 1963 by Fred A. Fern, who now serves as chairman of the RIA. The firm serves over 7,000 clients, providing dedicated service teams and tactical and fully invested strategies. The firm has a national team of advisors and business development professionals.

“M&A remains an avenue for us to add high-quality firms that are committed to evolving for the benefit of their clients,” said Michael Nathanson, CEO of Focus Financial Partners, in a statement. “Firms like Churchill, with its commitment to outstanding client service and industry-leading success, are ideal for the integrated model we are building.”

In January, Focus announced a new corporate brand and brand structure for its “hub” firms, giving those businesses the Focus name.

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About a year ago, Focus hatched an ambitious plan to consolidate about 90 independently operated subsidiaries into a handful of large firms that would operate as hubs. That followed the firm’s decision to go private in a sale to private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. All three Focus founders, including former COO Rajini Kodialam, former M&A Head Lenny Chang and CEO Rudy Adolf, exited around that time.

Focus Financial Partners recently announced changes to its executive leadership team with the internal promotions of Adam Birenbaum as president and Justin Ferri as chief operating officer. The appointments represent a strategic move by CEO Michael Nathanson to strengthen the company’s executive ranks as he continues the firm’s transformation from a holding-company model to an integrated business platform.

Citywire.com was the first to report in March that Focus was in talks to acquire Churchill.