Focus Financial Expands Advisor Transition Team

(Reuters) - Focus Financial Partners LLC, a firm that has grown by acquiring independent advisor teams across the United States, has hired a former Fidelity Investments director to help advisors transition as it looks to cull more top talent from the nation's biggest brokerages.

New York-based Focus said on Thursday that Garry Taylor has joined the firm as director of advisor services. He was previously director of client implementation at Fidelity, where he oversaw the transition of more than 20 teams with an upwards of $5 billion in client assets.

"We're forecasting the breakaway market to really heat up this year," Taylor said in an interview. "That's part of the reason for my hire here, to really get engaged and involved in that process."

Taylor joins Mark Dupont, who was hired last year to help with Focus Connections, the firm's transition program started in 2008 to help transition breakaway brokers. Taylor will report to Rich Gill, managing director and head of Focus Connections.

Taylor said he hopes to use his previous experience as an advisor in the industry to understand the transition needs of brokers coming from large firms.

"For the Merrill's and the UBS' of the world, we're focusing on setting up a brand new business for all of these teams," he said.

Taylor was previously an advisor at Merrill Lynch and began his career as a private client stockbroker in the United Kingdom. 

 

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