Focus Financial Partners, a partnership of independent wealth management firms, has hired Mark Dupont as director, advisor services, tasked with transitioning breakaway advisors and client assets for the teams who form independent RIAs, underscoring a key trend. 

The transition process will be handled through the Focus Connections program, a turnkey service that helps establish best-in-class RIA practices, Focus Financial Partners said in a statement. 

Dupont will also lead the transition of breakaways joining existing Focus partner firms and affiliates as sub-acquisitions. He reports to Rich Gill, vice president and head of Focus Connections.

“Clients are demanding strictly fiduciary care that wire-house advisors struggle to provide in a Wall Street environment riddled by conflict of interest. With the growing deficit of trust in Wall Street institutions, we expect to continue seeing clients and advisors voting with their feet and joining the independents. Focus is dedicated to championing these new firms by leveraging our resources as the largest independent wealth management partnership,” Rudy Adolf, founder and chief executive officer of Focus, said in a statement.

Focus has over $40 billion in assets and over 650 employees, providing wealth management, benefit and investment consulting services to individuals, families, employers and institutions from offices in New York and San Francisco.