And Then There Were Three

A popular question asked recently is “Why did the three of you decide to form this partnership?” A common vision, a passion to be a financial force for good, and friendship created this partnership.

Scott, Rebecca, and Julie met through the Financial Planning Association several years ago and joined a monthly study group of financial planners who come together to encourage and share best practices. As the years passed and they watched each other’s careers evolve, they found that they had similar ideas on how they would like to practice financial planning and serve their clients.

Rebecca was pouring many hours into managing a successful firm that she created on her own. She focused on financial planning and loved being an advocate for her client’s financial success. Business was prevalent but Rebecca was struggling with the limitations of the hourly service model and wanted to find a way to create deeper ongoing client relationships.

Julie was an advisor in a successful financial planning firm in which she was considering taking a part of succession planning. However, she found that she was not able to be the detail-oriented financial planner that she would like to be when managing too many client relationships.

 Scott had launched IMPACTfolio with an incredible vision of focusing on sustainable investing practices. As a solo practitioner, he was wearing “too many hats” and could use a bit more help.

Coincidentally on the same day, the three came together and decided it was time for a change. They spent many hours discussing a potential equal partnership and their visions aligned. Each of the three partners could focus on what he/she does best. Scott could continue managing the impact portfolios, and Rebecca and Julie could focus on the financial planning. And more importantly, each partner is grounded in the belief that every day is a gift and friendship is the basis of any successful partnership.

Julie Fletcher McDaniel, CFP®, has been in the financial services industry since 2006.  She is a co-founder of IMPACTfolio, a wealth management firm that specializes in IMPACT investing and holistic financial planning for one flat-fee.