A Midwestern RIA aligned with Focus Financial Partners is buying a mutual fund firm in one of Focus' biggest ever sub-acquisitions.

On Tuesday John Buckingham, chief investment officer of Austin-based AFAM Capital [profile], and Mitch Kovitz, founder and principal of Chicago-based Kovitz Investment Group, confirmed that AFAM is merging into Kovitz. The deal is expected to close in Q4 2018.

Silver Lane Advisors advised AFAM on the deal.

Buckingham confirms that he and the investment team at AFAM will remain intact. AFAM offers a mutual fund, the Al Frank Mutual Fund, and an investment newsletter, the Prudent Speculator.

A spokesman for New York City-based Focus declined to comment on the deal, though Focus CEO Rudy Adolf described the AFAM deal as "a perfect microcosm of [Focus'] business model" when talking to analysts yesterday on Focus' first ever quarterly earnings conference call. (Focus IPOed a month ago.) Adolf pointed to Kovitz being a "very successful market leader" while AFAM is a "more specialized firm."

"We don't disclose the specific terms or financials in the transaction," Adolf said on the call. "It is one of the largest mergers that we have supported for one of our partner firms."

"This is our bread and butter," Adolf added. 

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