Focus Financial IPO marks an RIA milestone one year on, but year two hinges on how Rudy Adolf handles the millstone around his neck--mounting debt
The rollup CEO needs to do deals to grow and debt to do deals; he also needs a window to de-leverage, but it's nowhere in sight

Jeff Spears
Related Moves
With RIA valuations ticking down and successions ticking up, Focus Financial deep sixes 'drunken sailor' pause, forgoes buyback plan and adds a CEO
CEO Rudy Adolf sees a 'softening' in multiples after a couple of frothy years when CI Financial dominated headlines and big RIA deals
August 13, 2022 at 12:39 AM
Focus Financial makes 'abrupt' CEO call, lets Rudy Adolf go into 'retirement,' with 'no solution in place;' the eighth RIA chief executive unseated since June as VCs move in -- where is the EBITDA?
Clayton, Dubilier & Rice closed on its $7-billion purchase of the roll-up on Aug. 31 -- with no hint that its parting of the ways with legendary 60-year-old founder was in the offing.
October 24, 2023 at 1:19 AM
Looking past Covid-19 pandemic, Louisiana RIA buys $1-million building after hitting $1 billion in AUM and hiring the town's mayor
Summit Financial Wealth Advisors was sold to Focus Financial in 2014, growing its assets by $400 million since then but keeping staffing about the same
December 17, 2020 at 3:02 AM
Focus Financial Partners, LLC
Consolidator/Roll-up Firm
Top Executive: Rudy Adolf