Rudy Adolf

Ruediger "Rudy" Adolf is an Austrian-born American business executive. He is the founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Focus Financial Partners, an international partnership of independent and fiduciary wealth management firms. In 2017, Focus’s CEO Rudy Adolf was named to the list of Icons & Innovators by InvestmentNews, honoring visionaries who have shaped and transformed the financial advice profession.[1]

Rudy Adolf
Born
Innsbruck, Austria
NationalityAmerican
OccupationCEO, Focus Financial Partners
Years active1987 - present

In July 2018, Adolf took Focus Financial public, offering over 16 million shares of the firm’s Class A common stock.[2] The IPO gathered a total of $615.4 million in gross proceeds.[3] The stock increased 14% on its first day of trading on the NASDAQ Stock Market.[2]

Media commentary on the IPO was positive. The Wall Street Journal stated that the Focus IPO was the “first opportunity for stock investors to get in on the booming market for independent financial advice.”[2] It was also described as “a bellwether that could open the door to liquidity for RIAs,” by Barron’s[4] and “a watershed moment for the RIA space,” by WealthManagement.[5]

Early life

Adolf was born in Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria. Adolf's interest in financial services began at an early age, thanks to exposure to his father's work as the owner of a local accounting firm. In 2007, Adolf told InvestmentNews that whenever he meets with a potential partner firm for the first time he "feels as if he's walking into his father's accounting office back in his hometown of Innsbruck."[6] Adolf graduated from the University of Innsbruck, Austria with a Doctor and Magister of Jurisprudence degree.[7]

Business background

Adolf began his career at his family's CPA firm. In 1987, he relocated to Munich, Germany to work for the global consulting firm McKinsey & Company. In 1990, he moved to the United States, where he was named partner at McKinsey. As partner, Adolf oversaw strategy, organization, corporate finance, acquisitions and marketing engagements primarily in financial services.[8]

In 1998, Adolf joined American Express as the SVP Strategy and Business Development, reporting to CEO Harvey Golub.[9] Adolf was then appointed SVP and General Manager of the American Express Global Brokerage and Banking division.[10]

Focus Financial Partners

In 2004, Adolf incorporated Focus Financial Partners with his former colleagues from American Express, Rajini Kodialam and Lenny Chang. Focus Financial's stated goal was to support independent RIA firms through access to capital, expertise in M&A and a range of value-added services while protecting their entrepreneurial culture and closeness to clients.[11] In an interview with InvestmentNews in 2007, Adolf summarized the firm’s philosophy when describing the Focus operating model: “We never want to turn successful entrepreneurs into employees”.[12] He elaborated further in a 2017 interview: “What we understand is the power of the entrepreneur combined with the fiduciary model. We celebrate the uniqueness and individuality within this industry.”[13]

Following an investment in July 2017 by private equity firms Stone Point Capital and KKR, Focus was valued at over $2 billion.[14] Focus’ IPO in July 2018 valued the firm at an enterprise value of $3.5 billion. As of August 2018, Focus has partnered with approximately 60 wealth management firms in the U.S., Australia, Canada and the U.K.[2]

Adolf has been featured on several lists of influential people in the industry. In 2017, Adolf was named to the list of Icons & Innovators by InvestmentNews, honoring visionaries who have shaped and transformed the financial advice profession.[15] In 2006 during Focus’ inception, Wealth Management magazine named him one of its annual "Ten to Watch."[16] He was also named to Investment Advisor magazine's fifth annual IA 25 in 2007[17] He has been featured in The Wall Street Journal,[14] The New York Times,[18] CNBC,[19] Bloomberg Businessweek,[20] and a 2014 Harvard Business School Case Study.[21]

Fintech Investment

Under Adolf’s guidance, in June 2018, Focus invested in New York-based FinTech company SmartAsset’s series C funding totaling $28 million, along with Javelin Venture Partners, TTV Capital, IA Capital and Citi Ventures among others. Adolf stated that he sees “a scalable approach to digital client acquisition” as “an important lever for the wealth management industry.”[22]

Personal life

Adolf resides in New York City with his wife and their three children,Isabel, Marcus, and Conrad [23] and is an avid skier and heli-skier.[24]

References
  1. Nason, Deborah. "Icons & Innovators 2017: Rudy Adolf". InvestmentNews. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  2. Bielfuss, Lisa. "Focus Financial Shares Gain at Their Nasdaq Debut". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 9/1/2018. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. "Focus Financial Partners Inc. Announces Full Exercise of Underwriters' Option". Business Wire. Retrieved 9/1/2018. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. Garmhausen, Steve. "Here's Why the Focus IPO is Smart". Barron's. Retrieved 9/1/2018. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  5. Louis, Diamond. "Why the Focus Financial IPO Is a Watershed Moment for the RIA Space". Wealth Management. Retrieved 9/1/108. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  6. Paikert, Charles. "With Ruediger 'Rudy' Adolf of Focus Financial Partners". www.investmentnews.com. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  7. "Ruediger Adolf: Executive Profile & Biography - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  8. "Rolling Up the Firms: Focus Financial's Rudy Adolf". Financial Planning. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  9. Kuykendall, Lavonne. "Rudy Adolf: The focus driving Focus". www.investmentnews.com. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  10. RIABiz. "RIABiz Goes To New York In Search Of RIA Life In Land Of Investment Banking Giants". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  11. "Focus Financial Acquires Two More Firms". Wealth Management. 2006-06-22. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  12. Charles, Paikert. "With Ruediger 'Rudy' Adolf of Focus Financial Partners". Investment News. Retrieved 9/2/2018. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  13. Nason, Deborah. "Icons & Innovators 2017". Investment News. Retrieved 9/1/2018. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  14. Wursthorn, Michael (2017-04-19). "Focus Financial Stake Sale Underscores Allure of Independent Advisers". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  15. Nason, Deborah. "Icons 7 Innovators 2017". Investment News. Retrieved 9/1/2018. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  16. "Ten To Watch 2006". Wealth Management. 2006-08-01. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  17. "The Fifth Annual IA 25: 2007". Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  18. Sullivan, Paul (2014-12-12). "What to Do When Your Financial Adviser Retires". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  19. "Some boomers leery of investment brokers". msnbc.com. 2006-04-20. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  20. Turning to Independent Wealth Managers, Bloomberg.com, retrieved 2017-07-16
  21. "Focus Financial Partners and the U.S. RIA Industry in 2014". hbr.org. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  22. "Focus Financial acquires minority stake in fintech firm SmartAsset". Private Banker International. Retrieved 9/1/2018. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  23. "Focus Financial Partners". focusfinancialpartners.com. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  24. Crunchbase https://www.crunchbase.com/person/ruediger-adolf#section-recent-news-and-activity. Retrieved 2018-09-19. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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