Focus Financial's long post-IPO blues

After a little more than four years that spanned the tail end of a decade-long bull market and 2022’s sharp downturn on Wall Street, Focus Financial Partners is rethinking the benefits of public ownership.

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The registered investment advisory firm, whose profits have lagged those of competitors ever since it issued publicly-traded shares in July 2018, is exploring going private, Financial Planning’s Tobias Salinger reports. The potential price: $53 per share in cash, or $4.1 billion.

It’s a stark shift for the rare wealth management firm that has opted for ownership by ordinary investors alongside institutional shareholders — and a sign of the scrutiny and balance sheet pressures that come with trading on the Nasdaq exchange. As such, the inner workings of the unfolding transaction reveal a lot about where big wealth management firms are headed.

Read more: Focus in exclusive talks to go private in deal worth $4.1 billion

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