Focus Financial Partners Appoints Long-Time Merrill Exec To Board Of Directors

Eliane Chavagnon

1 August 2014

Focus Financial Partners, the US international partnership of independent wealth management firms, has appointed Dan Sontag, a former long-time president of Merrill Lynch’s global wealth management unit, to Focus’ board of directors.

The addition of Sontag brings the total number of Focus directors to seven; of those, six are independent and unaffiliated with Focus.

Sontag’s most recent role at Merrill Lynch was head of global wealth management, overseeing all investment platforms, technology and operations support for the nearly 20,000 advisors in Merrill’s wealth management offices, private bank and international wealth businesses. Sontag joined Merrill Lynch in 1978 as an advisor in Colorado Springs.

In other recent news, in June Focus appointed long-time Merrill Lynch executive and managing director, Chris Dupuy, as co-president of Focus Connections in San Francisco, CA.

Focus Connections is a program that helps wirehouse teams transition their business and launch their own independent wealth management firms.

Since the beginning of 2014, IFM Capital Advisors, Summit Financial and Quadrant Private Wealth left UBS, Wells Fargo, and Merrill Lynch, respectively, via the Connections program.