For independent advisors under pressure to grow, scale, and maintain client relationships while preserving personal bandwidth, selecting the right TAMP is a critical decision. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions, a platform with 30 years of pedigree and proven advisor outcomes, is making a strong case for being the right partner—not merely a vendor.
With roots that trace back to BAM Advisor Services, Loring Ward, and then Buckingham Strategic Partners, Focus Partners has evolved into a comprehensive collaborative platform that offers a blend of institutional-grade resources and a deeply personal advisory experience. The firm’s mission is simple but bold: to elevate lives by blending top-tier resources with personalized support, helping advisors rethink the way life and finance intersect.
In an interview with The Wealth Advisor’s Scott Martin, Ben Slater, Divisional Manager, West Coast, at Focus Partners, discussed the organization’s deep-rooted history, commitment to partnerships, and the scalable support system it offers to advisors across the country.
Long-Term Partnerships Rooted in Stability
Focus Partners isn’t a startup racing to disrupt the industry. It operates with the calm precision of an experienced firm that knows exactly who it’s serving. With a track record dating back to 1997, Focus Partners has refined its advisor support model to prioritize durability and impact. That stability shows in its long-term relationships with partner firms—some of which have been with the firm for more than a decade.
“I was thinking about the longevity of the relationships we have as an organization, and how long our business unit has been in place,” Slater says, reflecting on the depth of partner ties. “Our average tenure is 15-plus years as an outsourcer, which is wild to think about when you look at the competitive landscape.”
For a profession often marked by client and platform turnover, that type of retention underscores a level of satisfaction not easily replicated. Focus Partners is not chasing volume or looking for transactional growth; it’s invested in building enduring partnerships. Such a long view can enable advisors to plan boldly, knowing their support system won’t shift beneath them.
A Consultative, Not Sales-Driven, Model
Rather than pursuing aggressive growth through sales targets, Focus Partners prioritizes thoughtful, client-first relationships. Advisors are consulted with rather than pitched to.
“We have an internal motto, which is, ‘Let’s make sure we take care of our existing clients just like we would take care of ourselves,’” Slater explains. “And then let’s see if there are any other firms out there that we can help. So, it’s not a big sales culture. It’s very much a consulting culture of: ‘How do we help and partner with you?’ We view it as a partnership along the way.”
In an industry that often leans heavily on automation and scale for its own sake, Focus Partners’ advisor-first approach represents a distinct edge. The firm sees itself as a strategic partner for growth-focused advisors—not a product provider—seeking to co-design scalable solutions that fit the advisory business, not the other way around.
Helping Advisors Navigate Today’s Growth Constraints
With an increasing number of advisory firms looking to scale while preserving quality of life and client service, Focus Partners’ role becomes especially compelling. The firm aims to enable growth without sacrificing bandwidth or burning out teams.
“There’s a big crunch,” Slater says. “What I see is this idea of growth and bringing a sort of family office mentality to Main Street, which is something we’re focused on.”
The pressure to grow is amplified by staffing challenges and the operational drag of scaling. “There’s a crunch on hiring and finding the right people,” he adds, “and how to build the strategy to scale and grow their organizations in a manner that’s efficient, that protects them in some capacity with lifestyle but also allows them to grow in the way they want, with metrics in place to help them do so.”
Against this background, Focus Partners emphasizes systems that reduce administrative load and enhance capacity. “What we’re trying to focus on is allowing advisors to spend more time with clients and less time fiddling with tech integrations or managing people,” Slater explains.
In essence, the firm enables advisors to grow smarter, not just faster, without sacrificing what makes their work meaningful. It’s growth minus the grind.
Streamlining for the Enterprise Advisor
Focus Partners is especially well positioned to help firms moving from solopreneurship toward an enterprise structure. This transition requires more than a willingness to grow—it demands operational leverage, strategic clarity, and the right partner.
Such advisors “get to a certain level then want to move into more of an enterprise model,” Slater says, “but they realize that every time they add a new staff member, they’re going to spend a lot of time coaching, training, and managing that person. So, they look for outsourcers along the way of, ‘How do I scale that process? And how do I do it in a revenue-favorable manner?’”
As an example, he points to a success story wherein one firm partnered with Focus Partners in 2020 with just five employees. Since then, that advisory business has grown past $850 million in assets under management, without adding staff.
That kind of growth, with flat headcount and expanded service, is not accidental. It’s the result of efficient systems, strategic planning, and the kind of behind-the-scenes support that Focus Partners specializes in.
A Coaching Mindset Backed by Real Metrics
Advisors working with Focus Partners don’t just receive outsourced services—they also benefit from strategic counsel. The firm incorporates ongoing coaching as part of its offering, using advisory-specific data and goals to drive tailored advice.
“One thing that we’re always coaching towards is for advisors to really spend time doing the things that they find meaningful and impactful,” Slater says. “And when they look at the revenue per full-time employee or the revenue that they generate, they really shouldn’t be doing anything that doesn’t match their hourly value.”
This mentality recognizes where advisory time should go: toward clients not custodians or compliance checklists. A performance orientation is embedded in Focus Partners’ consulting process, helping advisors eliminate inefficiencies and focus on high-value activities. This approach is not just a philosophy—it’s a measurable path to margin, growth, and sustainability.
Efficient Investment Infrastructure as a Foundation
Every scalable advisory practice begins with investment operations that are clean, consistent, and aligned. Focus Partners seeks to deliver that infrastructure while allowing for the flexibility that complex client lives require. From portfolio construction to model management, the platform offers systems that are consistent yet adaptable.
“If you’re going to grow, if you’re going to expand your offering and spend time where you can, you have to build systems and models that allow you to replicate a process that still delivers a good experience along the way,” Slater explains.
Focus Partners doesn’t enforce a one-size-fits-all model but instead starts by aligning on investment philosophy. “If we can agree there,” he notes, “that opens the doors to a litany of other resources to help firms expand.”
Building from that understanding, the firm offers access to a broad suite of tools and services—from tax optimization and insurance to alternative investments through partners such as CAIS—building a platform that adapts to each advisory business’s strategy.
The investments are not the sole concern. Focus Partners also supports advisors with family office services, trust and estate planning, business valuation, and more—all designed to deepen client relationships and reduce advisor workload.
Prioritizing Planning Grounded in Diligence and Experience
Focus Partners sees planning as the core of its advisor relationships, not a commodity. And although it makes models available to advisors, they’re never imposed. Each plan is built in partnership to reflect the advisor’s style and the client’s complexity. Planning is a two-way process, designed to respect the uniqueness of each client’s financial situation while giving advisors the tools to scale efficiently.
“We obviously have models that we love,” says Slater. “But we also know that clients can be messy. There’s a lot of things they might be interested in, and inside that planning process, advisors have this difficult task of managing around things for the longevity of the plan. So, how do we manage out and build a more diversified approach to getting you to where you need to be for your long-term success?”
Addressing such challenges is critical not only in typical planning scenarios but especially in complex engagements, such as family office–style service delivery. However, Focus Partners’ value proposition isn’t about overpromising a full suite of bells and whistles. Rather, the goal is to deliver scalable, sustainable planning solutions that can be executed well—consistently and without compromise.
The firm’s deeply ingrained culture of diligence makes doing so possible. Focus Partners doesn’t rush services to market or chase the next flashy trend. Instead, the team prioritizes reliability, stability, and quality of experience. Every new strategy, product, or service is rigorously tested internally—often over long time frames—before being rolled out to advisors and clients.
Slater recalls a recent conversation with renowned advisor and thought leader Michael Kitces, who joined Focus Partners last year as Head of Advanced Planning. Kitces pointed to the firm’s history as a strategic advantage. “You guys have been doing this for such a long time that a lot of the processes and procedures you have in place, you’ve been able to curate that and really test it and model it over that 30 years.”
That type of experience provides a foundation and serves as an engine of continual improvement. Focus Partners understands that execution matters just as much as intent. “An idea is great, but if rollout and execution are poor, it’s going to deliver a bad experience,” Slater explains. “So, to use an Alex Potts saying, we’re going to ‘measure twice, cut once.’”
This principle extends beyond internal operations. Among its advisor outreach efforts, Focus Partners maintains an in-house advisor council, convened annually, to gather ongoing feedback from partner firms. The goal is to ensure every new offering is based on both internal expertise and real-world advisor needs and operational realities. It’s a practice that helps the firm avoid missteps and deliver solutions that genuinely resonate.
Built to Evolve Alongside Growing Firms
From insurance and lending to human resources and junior advisor training, Focus Partners is actively expanding its offerings. Each new layer is designed to remove friction and give firms tools to build sustainable, efficient practices.
Slater highlights how the practice management team is building tools to help firms model capacity at the ownership level, plan for junior advisor hiring, and support those new hires with structured, CFP-centric training. This forward-thinking approach is designed to enable partner firms to grow sustainably while staying focused on long-term succession and service delivery.
“We’re excited about all the firms we’ve been to that are new to our partnership and continue to watch the growth, continue to move forward,” he says.
That mindset reflects Focus Partners’ objective of delivering more than a single solution and growing in tandem with the advisor.
The Bottom Line: Delivering Growth Without the Grind
For financial advisors ready to scale but unwilling to compromise on service, quality, or quality of life, Focus Partners stands apart for its long track record, consultative culture, and comprehensive infrastructure. The firm doesn’t just support growth—it enables it, sustainably and strategically.
With deep planning expertise, coaching support, and a robust platform, Focus Partners empowers advisors to grow on their own terms—confidently and sustainably.
“Our intent and goal are to come in and battle up next to you and help you identify solutions that you have challenges to and look for a good outcome in there that helps you scale and grow your business in a manner that fits how you want to do it,” Slater says.
That’s not just talk. For the advisors who team with Focus Partners, it’s how the work gets done.
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