New York-based financial technology company CAIS today signed a deal with independent wealth management firm Focus Financial Partners that will provide Focus access to its alternatives investment platform, company officials said.
Under the terms of the deal, Focus partners and affiliated firms will have access to the CAIS platform and its end-to-end alternatives investment solution, including its execution, reporting and analytics capabilities, and third-party due diligence.
CAIS CEO and Managing Principal Matthew Brown said the deal gives Focus Financial ''access to all the resources independent wealth management firms and private banks need to level the playing field as they compete for clients against larger institutions."
Focus Financial founder and CEO Rudy Adolf, Founder and CEO said its CAIS partnership will give Focus advisors the ability to give their clients "the appropriate alternative investments available that are consistent with each client's individual financial goals and needs.''
"The CAIS platform also furthers our economies of scale and differentiated services that help us attract new wealth management partners,'' Adolf added.
A former partner with McKinsey & Co., Adolf co-founded Focus in 2006 with backing from two private equity firms: Summit Partners and Polaris Venture Partners.
With over $45 billion in assets and over 750 employees, Focus' Partners is comprised of 23 independent wealth management firms throughout the U.S. and U.K., offering wealth management, benefit and investment consulting services to individuals, families, employers and institutions.
Focus Financial has added several partners in the past two months, including Rochester, N.Y-based LVW Advisors, with $4.9 billion of assets under management. Earlier this year, Focus also added Pettinga Financial Advisors, an Evansville, Ind.-based RIA with $600 million of assets under management. In September, Focus added Boston-based RIA The Colony Group, with $1.3 billion in assets under management.