The move is an example of how Focus Financial Partners has been converting many of its semi-independent network firms into fully-fledged partner businesses.

Three RIAs operating within the Focus Financial Partners network, Coastal Bridge Advisors, Waddell & Associates and One Charles Private Wealth last week said they have completed a strategic merger, producing a firm under the Coastal Bridge Advisors moniker with a combined $10 billion-plus in assets under management, measured as of June 30, 2026. 

Coastal Bridge Advisors, dating back to 2008. The merger of the trio is an example of how Focus – as explained here by our US correspondent – has been focused on converting as many of its approximately 60 semi-independent “network” firms into fully-fledged “partner” firms that the RIA owns outright. Focus is owned by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. 

In the latest move, the unified business operates under the Coastal Bridge Advisors brand. It brings together about 20 partners and 52 professionals across offices in Hingham, Massachusetts; Milford and Westport, Connecticut; Charlotte, North Carolina; Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; and Los Angeles, California.

David Waddell (formerly CEO and chief investment strategist of W&A) serves as CBA's chairman and chief investment strategist, alongside Kevin G Burns, CBA's founder and co-chairman; Jim Betzig, CEO; Mark Dupont, president; and Bill Loftus, chief revenue officer. 

Two long-standing brands will disappear: "Waddell & Associates," a 40-year-old brand, and "One Charles Private Wealth."