Advisory holding co. names CFO, acquisition chief

FWR Staff

6 November 2006

Fledgling fee-based network ramps up administrative, acquisition efforts. Focus Financial Partners, a year-old holding company for fee-only advisories, has appointed James Shanahan as CFO and Michael Paley as head of business development, both new positions at the company.

"Focus has grown in a very short time on a national scale to a leading partnership of six fiduciary wealth management firms with over $5 billion in client assets," says Rudy Adolf, CEO of New York-based Focus. "As we continue to grow, Jim and Michael will be key components to the success of our organization."

Six affiliates

Shanahan joins Focus from a Microsoft subsidiary, where he was also CFO. Paley, who will lead Focus' business development and acquisition efforts, was a principal at Kidd & Company, a Greenwich, Conn.-based private equity firm.

Focus has six affiliates: Cupertino, Calif.-based Founders Financial Network, New York-based Geller Group, Providence, R.I.-based StrategicPoint, Richmond, Va.-based Capital Advisory Group, San Diego-based HoyleCohen and Westport, Conn.-based Resnick Investment Advisors.

Early this year Summit Partners, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based venture-capital firm, put $35 million into Focus. -FWR