Report: Focus Financial is preparing SEC paperwork for its initial public offering -- but is it jumping the gun?

Doesn’t this produce a conflict of interest for clients of Focus Financial? Won’t shareholders become the #1 master. Where will that leave clients? Last? What’s that saying—No one can serve two masters?

Great piece on why the strong desire to do an IPO is not always the best idea. A lot of companies yearn to go public and wave that goal for years, but it’s not easy and there are a lot of people who will poke around into your business and performance. Your company had better have a great story, management, and financials. Not all have that, and the wish — even if you say it over and over again — will just not become reality just because that’s your ultimate exit strategy. It’s why every segment of financial services has those that do, those that don’t and those that …. well you know.

Thanks for the comments.

Brooke

Charles Schwab Corporation is publicly traded firm. They also operate their own RIA division. They serve several masters. The same can be said of others like TD Ameritrade. These are all public companies operating their own fiduciary RIAs having to serve several stakeholders not the least of which are their shareholders.

Shareholders often demand ROR and it could be at the expense of others. I’m sure shareholders were quite excited at the fact that Schwab and the others are rolling out their own Robo RIA divisions too. It’s all about adding shareholder value.

Very interesting to see how the advisory services alternative to retail brokerage is slowly evolving. Large scale institutionalized support for professional standing in advisory services which give advisors control over their value proposition, cost structure, margins and professional standing is still a work in progress. Yet it clearly has an edge in consumer protection and ongoing accountability for recommendations for future generations of investors relative to brokerage and its responsiveness to the best interest of the investing public and the expert fiduciary standing of the advisor.

SCW
Stephen Winks