What RIA principals in the Focus Financial family have to say about a rumored deal for the consolidator

Focus’s stregnth is its weakness—every advisor is a free agent and very sucessful. The weakness is it is not possible to create scale, advance innovation, enhance the advisors value proposition, drive down cost, or create a brand as everyone is an independent free agent—thus, its achilles heel. Its impressive critical mass achieved accrues little value added for its acquired firms as an operating entity.

SCW

This is simple, word is that Focus owns an estimated $22M in EBITDA and they have $175 in debt and $80 million in preferred stock which leaves very little room for equity shareholders. That is a heavy cap table. I agree with SCM’s view, but regardless of them owning a non-controlling interest in an amalgamation of disparate firms their cap table is a joke. In an environment where The Mutual Fund Store and Edelman traded a very rich multiples and Summit has been shopping their piece hard for over a year suggests their is no bid.