Recent momentum at the firm signals continued industry M&A and breakaway advisor activity.

Focus Financial Partners has added a new partner firm, Relative Value Partners, while Quadrant Private Wealth Management has completed its transition to become an official Focus partner. Focus has also facilitated merger deals for two existing partners: JFS Wealth Advisors and Buckingham Asset Management.

The addition of Relative Value Partners in Northbrook, IL, brings the number of Focus partner firms in Chicago’s RIA market to three, following previous transactions with Vestor Capital and Strategic Wealth Partners. RVP has over $1 billion in AuM and a team of seven investment professionals serving entrepreneurs and Wall Street executives. The firm was founded in 2004 by Maury Fertig and Bob Huffman, who have held senior roles at CitiGroup/Salomon Brothers.

Quadrant Private Wealth in Bethlehem, PA, is a $500 million independent wealth management firm formed in May 2014 by a team of former Merrill advisors. The founding partners include Herman Rij, Jason Cort, Kori Lannon and Brian Cort. Last September, Quadrant added Brian Murray as director of wealth structuring from Merrill Lynch.

Meanwhile, Thomas Paulus has joined Hermitage, PA-based JFS Wealth Advisors as part of a continuity plan, should his ability to serve his clients ever be compromised. Paulus will remain as a managing principal at JFS while his addition to the management team will allow JFS to expand its presence in Pennsylvania - particularly in the Philadelphia area, Focus said.

Lastly, Buckingham Asset Management of St Louis, MO, has merged with Posey Capital Management, a $200 million Houston-based RIA founded by Thomas Posey. Through this merger, Posey and Jeffrey Eschman, the firm’s director of planning, will leverage Buckingham’s resources to enhance its services to existing clients, while accelerating Buckingham’s growth in Houston. Buckingham has completed five mergers and strategic transactions in 2015, following the most recent addition of Classic Capital - a Short Hills, NJ-based RIA - in April.