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.

Rudy Adolf
Born
Innsbruck, Austria
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)CEO, 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.[1] The IPO gathered a total of $615.4 million in gross proceeds.[2] The stock increased 14% on its first day of trading on the NASDAQ Stock Market.[1]

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.[3] Adolf graduated from the University of Innsbruck, Austria with a Doctor and Magister of Jurisprudence degree.[4]

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.[5]

In 1998, Adolf joined American Express as the SVP Strategy and Business Development, reporting to CEO Harvey Golub.[6] Adolf was then appointed SVP and general manager of the American Express Global Brokerage and Banking division.[7]

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.[8]

Following an investment in July 2017 by private equity firms Stone Point Capital and KKR, Focus was valued at over $2 billion.[9] 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.[1]

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.[10] In 2006 during Focus’ inception, Wealth Management magazine named him one of its annual "Ten to Watch."[11] He was also named to Investment Advisor magazine's fifth annual IA 25 in 2007[12] He has been featured in The Wall Street Journal,[9] The New York Times,[13] CNBC,[14] Bloomberg Businessweek,[15] and a 2014 Harvard Business School Case Study.[16]

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.”[17]

Personal life

Adolf resides in West Palm Beach with his wife and their three children, Isabel, Marcus, and Conrad.[18]

References
  1. Bielfuss, Lisa. "Focus Financial Shares Gain at Their Nasdaq Debut". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  2. "Focus Financial Partners Inc. Announces Full Exercise of Underwriters' Option". Business Wire. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  3. Paikert, Charles. "With Ruediger 'Rudy' Adolf of Focus Financial Partners". www.investmentnews.com. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  4. "Ruediger Adolf: Executive Profile & Biography – Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  5. "Rolling Up the Firms: Focus Financial's Rudy Adolf". Financial Planning. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  6. Kuykendall, Lavonne (18 December 2011). "Rudy Adolf: The focus driving Focus". www.investmentnews.com. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  7. RIABiz. "RIABiz Goes To New York In Search Of RIA Life In Land Of Investment Banking Giants". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  8. "Focus Financial Acquires Two More Firms". Wealth Management. 2006-06-22. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  9. Wursthorn, Michael (2017-04-19). "Focus Financial Stake Sale Underscores Allure of Independent Advisers". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  10. Nason, Deborah. "Icons 7 Innovators 2017". Investment News. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  11. "Ten To Watch 2006". Wealth Management. 2006-08-01. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  12. "The Fifth Annual IA 25: 2007". Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  13. Sullivan, Paul (2014-12-12). "What to Do When Your Financial Adviser Retires". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  14. "Some boomers leery of investment brokers". msnbc.com. 2006-04-20. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  15. Turning to Independent Wealth Managers, Bloomberg.com, retrieved 2017-07-16
  16. "Focus Financial Partners and the U.S. RIA Industry in 2014". hbr.org. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
  17. "Focus Financial acquires minority stake in fintech firm SmartAsset". Private Banker International. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  18. https://wallmine.com/people/64905/ruediger-adolf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
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