The new FO is a sign of how Florida continues to be a busy space for the North American wealth management sector. This new organization has been created by the grandsons of the German sports apparel and equipment entrepreneur.

The three grandsons of Adi Dassler, creator of sports and apparel brand Adidas, have created a Florida-based multi-family office.

Called the Adi Dassler International Family Office (ADIFO), the organization is based in Miami and Tampa, it said in a statement late last week.

“Lead, don’t copy. This is the lifelong principle by which our grandfather lived. We continue to embrace this philosophy and are constantly searching for ways to improve our family office concept through unique investment opportunities and strong partnerships,” Horst Bente, one of the grandsons, said. 

The CEO of the office is Julian Bradham. 

Founded and originally based in Nassau, Bahamas, Bradham and the Adi Dassler family restructured ADIFO and relocated the headquarters to Miami along with founding partner Allen Johnson, formerly of Alex Brown.

“The additional services we can now offer through ADIFO are actually 70 years in the making. The benefits to our clients are simply a formalization of what the Adi Dassler family has been accessing and providing to its family members for generations,” Johnson said. 

In addition to launching US operations, ADIFO has partnered with Merchant Investment Management backed registered investment advisor Apollon Wealth Management, to provide financial planning, technology, client support, and business platform services. Founded in 2018 and based in Charleston, Apollon set out to change the individual investor model from one that focuses on product to one that is client directed. 

The creation of this new body is another sign of how Florida has become a wealth management hotspot in recent years.

The Florida story
A number of wealth firms have set up offices in Florida. The type of firms range all the way from family offices catering to ultra-high net worth clients all the way through to RIAs, fiduciary services providers and discretionary wealth advisors. The market is also highly varied across the various counties of the state - with some firms catering to the sort of clients who shuttle back and forth between New York and Miami, while others to a more local audience.

At one end of the spectrum - Dynasty Financial Partners -  it has moved its headquarters there from New York City. Hamilton Capital, a Columbus-based registered investment advisor with more than $2.5 billion in assets under management, opened an office in Palm Beach. The Glenmede Trust Company, which formed a transatlantic pact with a multi-family office, has opened a new office in West Palm Beach, Florida – the firm’s first office in the state.

Boston Private expanded its Florida presence a few days ago, opening a new office in downtown Miami. In January this year, Fieldpoint Private, the private banking and advisory firm serving ultra-high net worth clients, expanded into the Orlando, Florida area by adding a former Bank of America Private Bank team which had managed $1.2 billion.

Among other firms expanding in Florida are Goldman Sachs, which has added hires in its private wealth management business; Rockefeller Capital Management, which has made a raft of hires and named the first person to join its newly-opened office in Florida; Evercore Wealth Management opened a new office in Palm Beach; Landsberg Bennett Private Wealth Management launched in 2019 in Punta Gorda, Florida; and Boston Private appointed advisors as part of its work with a Florida-based firm. SunTrust Bank added a team of four wealth management professionals to its business in Naples. In 2019, the personal finance website WalletHub put Florida as one of the states with the highest return on investment in terms of its tax burden and provision of public services.